Research Catalog

Title

Katherine Handy Lewis photograph collection [graphic].

Author

Lewis, Katherine Handy, 1902-1982

Publication

[190-?]-[197-?].

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Bakchy, Boris.
• Elké.
• Francis, Milton.
• Workman, David.
• Elcha (New York, N.Y.)
• M. Smith Studio (Harlem, New York, N.Y.)

Found In

p1tc Lewis.Katherine Handy, 1902-1982 Katherine Handy Lewis Papers, 1925-1983 (OCoLC)122517361

Description

• 218 items (.8 cu. ft., 2 boxes); 36 x 28 cm. or smaller.
• 11 photographic prints : gelatin silver, b&w ;
• 47 photographic prints : col. ;
• 101 photographic prints : gelatin silver, b&w. ;
• 50 photographic prints : gelatin silver, b&w ;
• 5 photographic postcards : b&w, col. ;
• 4 photoprints : halftone, b&w ;

Summary

• The Katherine Handy Lewis Photograph Collection reflects aspects of Katherine Handy Lewis's personal life from the 1920s to the 1960s. The collection consists of individual studio portraits as well as group portraits documenting gatherings, such as banquets, presentations, dedications and family events, mostly revolving around her father, composer and musician W.C. Handy, known as the "Father of the Blues." Images documenting Lewis's childhood and her singing career are limited. Most of the gatherings and individual depicted are unidentified.
• Collection includes individual studio portraits of Lewis; her sister, Mae; son, Homer Lewis Jr.; and father, W.C. Handy, including one of him at age 19 in a Hampton Concert Band uniform. Lewis appears with her father and other family members and friends in many of the group portraits. Other group portraits show W. C. Handy with Allan Carrelli; his second wife, Irma; grandson, Homer; cousin, Blanche; and daughter, Lucile Handy Springes; and as a child with his mother and siblings. Also included is a view of Handy in performance (1950) and at the piano with Charles L. Cooke. Portraits of entertainers inscribed either to Lewis or to her husband or son (both named Homer) include George Gershwin, Margaret Harris, Dick Hyman, Emme Kemp, Lena Horne, and William Grant Still.
• The collection contains two dedications to W.C. Handy after his death; one with New York City Mayor Ed Koch, Lewis and other family members at the dedication of W.C. Handy Place in New York City; and the other in Memphis at the unveiling of the Handy statue in Handy Park, where Handy's widow, Irma, and niece, Mae, are shown participating in the ceremony.

Subjects

• African American composers
• Portrait photographs > 1900-1979
• Inscriptions > 1900-1979
• Banquets
• Gelatin silver prints > 1900-1979
• African Americans > Social life
• Dye coupler prints > 1900-1979
• Handy, W. C (William Christopher), 1873-1958
• Postcards > 1900-1979
• African American musicians
• Blues musicians > United States
• African American singers
• Group portraits > 1900-1979
• African Americans > Commemoration
• Lewis, Katherine Handy, 1902-1982

Genre/Form

• Portrait photographs – 1900-1979.
• Group portraits – 1900-1979.
• Gelatin silver prints – 1900-1979.
• Dye coupler prints – 1900-1979.
• Postcards – 1900-1979.
• Inscriptions – 1900-1979.

Note

• Title devised by cataloger.
• Some photographs bear photographer's or photography studio's handstamp on verso; some items bear photographer's name on recto. Some items bear handwritten, typewritten or printed captions on recto and/or verso. Some items are mounted; some items are inscribed. Some items are duplicates.
• Collection contains work by Boris Bakchy, Elké, Milton Francis, David Workman, Elcha and M. Smith Studio, among others.

Terms of Use (note)

• Some items are restricted; permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication.

Biography (note)

• Katherine Handy Lewis, an early blues singer, was the first to sing the songs composed by her father, W.C. Handy. Born in Normal, Alabama, in 1902, she moved with her family moved to Harlem, New York City in 1919 where she sang on the radio. In 1933, she married Homer D. Lewis and retired from performing to raise their son, Homer D. Lewis, Jr.. Lewis stayed active in the company founded by her father, Handy Brothers Music Company, of which she was president for a time. She died in the Bronx, New York City, in 1982.

Linking Entry (note)

• Forms part of the Katherine Handy Lewis papers, 1925-1983.

Call Number

Sc Photo Katherine Handy Lewis Collection

OCLC

753705797

Author

Lewis, Katherine Handy, 1902-1982, collector.

Title

Katherine Handy Lewis photograph collection [graphic].

Imprint

[190-?]-[197-?].

Terms Of Use

Some items are restricted; permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication.

Biography

Katherine Handy Lewis, an early blues singer, was the first to sing the songs composed by her father, W.C. Handy. Born in Normal, Alabama, in 1902, she moved with her family moved to Harlem, New York City in 1919 where she sang on the radio. In 1933, she married Homer D. Lewis and retired from performing to raise their son, Homer D. Lewis, Jr.. Lewis stayed active in the company founded by her father, Handy Brothers Music Company, of which she was president for a time. She died in the Bronx, New York City, in 1982.

Linking Entry

Forms part of the Katherine Handy Lewis papers, 1925-1983.

Local Note

Sc MG 336

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Added Author

Bakchy, Boris. Photographer

Elké. Photographer

Francis, Milton. Photographer

Workman, David. Photographer

Elcha (New York, N.Y.)

M. Smith Studio (Harlem, New York, N.Y.)

Found In:

p1tc Lewis.Katherine Handy, 1902-1982 Katherine Handy Lewis Papers, 1925-1983 (OCoLC)122517361

Research Call Number

Sc Photo Katherine Handy Lewis Collection