Research Catalog

Gordon Anderson collection

Title: Gordon Anderson collection [graphic].
Author: Anderson, Gordon, 1920-
Publication: 1947-[198-]

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Item details
Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	Still image	Use in library	Sc Photo Gordon Anderson Collection	Schomburg Center - Photographs & Prints

Details

Description

401 items (1.8 lin ft., 6 boxes); 26 x 26 cm. and smaller.
217 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
183 photographic prints : col. ;
1 photomechanical print : b&w ;

Summary

The Gordon Anderson Collection documents Anderson's professional career in New York, events at the Apollo Theatre, and some of the personalities and news events connected with the African American community in New York, from the late 1940s to the 1980s.

Alternative Title

Gordon Anderson photograph collection

Subjects

Genre/Form

Snapshots – 1940-1989.
Group portraits – 1940-1989.
Portrait photographs – 1940-1989.
Self portraits – 1950-1989.
Photographic prints – color – 1950-1989.
Photomontages – 1950-1989.
Silver gelatin photographic prints – 1940-1989.
Photomechanical prints – 1950-1989.

Note

Title devised by cataloger.
Some photographs have photographer's handstamp or signature on verso: Anderson's handstamp often identifies him as Gordon "Doc, El Fabuloso" Anderson and "El Fabuloso"; his signature is often Gordon "Doc" Anderson.
Some photographs have descriptive information on verso.
Attached to the verso of a number of photographs are gallery announcements for Anderson's exhibitions and photocopies of publicity collages that he created.
Only a portion of the entertainers represented in the collection have been traced. Contact the Photographs and Prints Division, Schomburg Center for additional information on this collection.

Terms of Use (note)

Restricted; permission of photographer is required for duplication.

Biography (note)

Gordon Anderson, a self-taught photographer, is best known for documenting the musicians and entertainers who appeared at the famous Apollo Theatre, in Harlem, from 1948 to 1975.

Publications (note)

Some photographs have been published in "Showtime at the Apollo," by Ted Fox (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1983)

Call Number

Sc Photo Gordon Anderson Collection

OCLC

81433962
NYPG93-F318

Author

Anderson, Gordon, 1920-

Title

Gordon Anderson collection [graphic].

Imprint

1947-[198-]

Type of Content

still image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Terms Of Use

Restricted; permission of photographer is required for duplication.

Biography

Gordon Anderson, a self-taught photographer, is best known for documenting the musicians and entertainers who appeared at the famous Apollo Theatre, in Harlem, from 1948 to 1975. Anderson, who had originally intended to become a pianist/composer, began his career taking photographs backstage at the Royal Theater in Baltimore, Maryland, as a means of getting close to the African American entertainers that he admired. In 1948, with the encouragement of Billie Holiday and Frank Schiffman, then owner of the Apollo, Anderson moved to Harlem. For nearly thirty years, Anderson photographed many entertainers who performed at the Apollo: he would arrive at the theater and shoot the early show, print his photographs during intermission, and then later head backstage to sell them as souvenirs to the performers. He became known as "Doc Anderson," the "unofficial" Apollo photographer.

Anderson's photographic career also included work at the Renaissance Ballroom, and the Palace, Capitol, and Paramount Theaters. In 1975, when the Apollo closed, Anderson remained active photographing celebrities and New York City events. In the mid-1980s, during the reopening of the Apollo Theatre, Anderson returned to document the event. Anderson's career also included a brief period, in the early 1950s, in which he filmed performers with an 8 mm. movie camera at their favorite Harlem haunts.

Anderson is noted for his candid photographs, and would sometimes include himself in some of his images. His style is often recognized by the distinctive photomontages he created of Apollo Theatre performers. Anderson's work has been exhibited on numerous occasions, and has been used to illustrate a number of publications on Harlem history, entertainment, and related subjects.

Publications

Some photographs have been published in "Showtime at the Apollo," by Ted Fox (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1983)

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Local Subject

Music-halls (Variety theatres, cabarets, etc.) -- Harlem (New York N.Y.)

Research Call Number

Sc Photo Gordon Anderson Collection

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