Research Catalog

Mabel Mercer photograph collection

Title
Mabel Mercer photograph collection [graphic].
Author
Mercer, Mabel, 1900-1984.
Publication
[191-?]-1986.

Available Online

NYPL Digital Collections

Details

Additional Authors
  • Van Vechten, Carl, 1880-1964.
  • Blechman, Marcus.
  • Willard, Avery, 1921-1999.
  • Conley, Stanley.
  • De Lano, Walt.
  • Smith, Morgan, 1910-1993.
  • McDowall, Roddy.
  • Kriegsmann, James J.
  • Durfey-Chalon (New York, N.Y.)
Found In
p1bc Mercer, Mabel, 1900-1984. Mabel Mercer papers,1932-1984 (CstRLIN)NYPW94-A174
Description
  • 880 items (1.5 lin. ft., 5 boxes); 26 x 21 cm. and smaller.
  • 194 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
  • 116 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
  • 81 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
  • 71 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
  • 14 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
  • 3 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
  • 30 photographic prints : col. ;
  • 89 photographic prints : col. ;
  • 143 photographic prints : col. ;
  • 3 photographic prints : col. ;
  • 5 polaroid prints : b&w ;
  • 19 polaroid prints : col. ;
  • 36 photographic postcards : b&w ;
  • 23 promotional cards : halftone photomechanical, b&w ;
  • 8 photostats : b&w and col. ;
  • 1 photomechanical print : col. ;
  • 41 negatives : col. ;
  • 2 newspaper clippings : b&w ;
  • 1 photocopy : b&w ;
Summary
The Mabel Mercer Photograph Collection depicts aspects of her personal life and her professional career as a singer and entertainer, mostly from the late 1930s to the 1980s.
Subjects
Genre/Form
  • Portrait photographs – 1920-1989.
  • Group portraits – 1910-1989.
  • Snapshots – 1930-1989.
  • Publicity photographs – 1920-1989.
  • Television stills – 1950-1979.
  • Photographic postcards – 1920-1959.
  • Gelatin silver prints – 1910-1989.
  • Dye coupler prints – 1950-1989.
  • Halftone photomechanical prints – 1940-1949.
  • Dye diffusion transfer prints – 1970-1989.
  • Stats.
  • Clippings.
  • Film negatives – Color.
Note
  • Title devised by cataloger.
  • Some items have photographer's or photography studio's handstamp on verso; some items have photographer's blind stamp on recto; some images have either photographer's signature or name printed on recto; some photostat reproductions of paintings and drawings have name of artist on recto.
  • Some items have printed captions on either verso or recto; many photographs have handwritten notations on either verso or recto; some photographs bear inscriptions. Some candid shots and snapshots are either matted or mounted on paper; some snapshots are mounted in a photo album; a group of studio portraits are on mounts with damaged edges. Some items are duplicates.
  • Collection contains work by Carl Van Vechten, Marcus Blechman, Avery Willard, Morgan Smith, Roddy McDowall and James J. Kriegsmann, among others.
Terms of Use (note)
  • Some items are restricted; permission of photographer or copyright holder is required for duplication.
Biography (note)
  • Mabel Alice Wadham Mercer, singer and entertainer, was born in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, in 1900, into a musical and performing family.
Linking Entry (note)
  • Forms parts of the Mabel Mercer Papers, 1932-1984.
Call Number
Sc Photo Mabel Mercer Collection
OCLC
NYPG98-F675
Author
Mercer, Mabel, 1900-1984.
Title
Mabel Mercer photograph collection [graphic].
Imprint
[191-?]-1986.
Terms Of Use
Some items are restricted; permission of photographer or copyright holder is required for duplication.
Biography
Mabel Alice Wadham Mercer, singer and entertainer, was born in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, in 1900, into a musical and performing family. She began her musical career at age fourteen touring with family members, singing and dancing in stage musicals and comedies in England. After World War I, she toured the European continent and eventually moved to Paris where she became a popular cabaret act at Bricktop's, an African-American-owned nightclub in Paris, from 1931 to 1938. Coming to the United States in 1938, Mercer appeared at the Le Ruban Bleu in New York City for several weeks, followed by appearances in the Bahamas where, because of the outbreak of World War II, she was unable to re-enter the United States until 1941. Back in New York, she performed at various clubs including Tony's, on West 52nd Street, (1942-1949), the Byline Room (1949-1957), Downstairs at the Upstairs, the St. Regis Room and the Hotel Carlisle.
A resurgence of interest in Mercer's music in the 1970s led to a PBS television special, "An Evening with Mabel Mercer and Bobby Short and Friends," in 1972; appearances at Carnegie Hall and in London (1977); a five-part BBC television series "Miss Mercer in Mayfair" (ca. 1977); a performance at the 1982 Kool Jazz Festival in New York; and her receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House (1983). Among some of the songs she performed or recorded include "The End of a Love Affair," "While We're Young," "Fly Me to the Moon," "Remind Me," "By Myself" and "Little Boy Blue." She died in 1984 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Linking Entry
Forms parts of the Mabel Mercer Papers, 1932-1984.
Local Note
Sc MG 341
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Added Author
Van Vechten, Carl, 1880-1964. Photographer
Blechman, Marcus. Photographer
Willard, Avery, 1921-1999. Photographer
Conley, Stanley. Photographer
De Lano, Walt. Photographer
Smith, Morgan, 1910-1993. Photographer
McDowall, Roddy. Photographer
Kriegsmann, James J. Photographer
Durfey-Chalon (New York, N.Y.)
Found In:
p1bc Mercer, Mabel, 1900-1984. Mabel Mercer papers,1932-1984 (CstRLIN)NYPW94-A174
Research Call Number
Sc Photo Mabel Mercer Collection
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