vintage pics of african americans

[Tikismall]

This is a fantastic thread and it makes me feel so good seeing these photos.

People sometimes give me strange looks for dressing vintage but I know that ladies and gents of the decade dressed fabulous and it's so refreshing to see others acknowledge it too.

Thank you LadyDay

 

[cecil]

couple from good ole squareamerica.com

my favourites:

 

[cherry lips]

Post-golden era, but irresistible <3:

Ronnie Spector

The Ronettes

They're mother was African-American and Native American; their father was Irish. *Swoon*

 

[cherry lips]

Another gorgeous girl group:

The Crystals! <3

 

[Inky]

i just stumbled across this wonderful blog focusing on "advertising campaigns and fashion editorials from Black/African-American publications, video clips, found photographs, etc from the 1950s-1960"

http://bvikkivintage.blogspot.com/

 

[cherry lips]

Cool link, Inky! I'm a especially a sucker for the debutante pics.

Baby Washington <3

Little Eva <3

 

[cherry lips]

Theresa Harris

Lena Horne

 

[kamikat]

Inky, that blog is fantastic!

 

[kamikat]

The Crystals! <3

OMG! I can not tell you how much I love the hair in this picture! They are all fabulous!

 

[Miss Tre]

Love this thread!
I did a lot of research for my retro photoshoot (my avatar) and came across many of these.

I'm actually in the midst of a hair experiment. My hair is not relaxed and I want to see if I can create 40's styles without direct heat. (flat irons or curling irons) . Just roller sets. I did one style, but didn't give myself time to dry....borderline hot mess.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Oddly enough, the current issue of Smithsonian Magazine has
a great article on the premiere portrait photographer of Washington D.C. and his collection of
just such portraits. Actually, quite fascinating!

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/The-Scurlock-Studio-Picture-of-Prosperity.html

-dixon cannon

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Mr. Robert Johnson - that guitar spoke for him.

-dixon cannon

 

[Dixon Cannon]

A possible third portrait of Robert Johnson...

There was once a post on eBay featuring this photograph. It is, allegedly, a lost photograph of the late King of the Delta Blues, Robert Johnson. There are only two known and authorized photographs of Johnson known to exist. There have been no bids placed , but the reserve was $795,000.

-dixon cannon

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Thomas Greene Bethune [Wiggins], 1849 -1908

http://www.preservationnation.org/travel-and-sites/sites/southern-region/decatur-house/thomas-greene-bethune.html

-dixon cannon

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Augustus Washington

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Washington

Few if any photographs of Augustus Washington himself exist. This one may (or may not be him) although his
portfolio of exquisite portraiture still exists, including the now famous portraits of Frederick Douglass and John Brown.

-dixon cannon

 

[cherry lips]

OMG! I can not tell you how much I love the hair in this picture! They are all fabulous!

Me too! Though I think that they're wearing wigs.

 

[kamikat]

Me too! Though I think that they're wearing wigs.

It could go either way. I have seen pics of my stepmother with hair exactly the same and it wasn't a wig. On the other hand, wigs and hairpieces seem to have less of a stigma for African American women than they do for caucasian women.

 

[Lady Day]

They are most definitely wigs. That is what you went to the hair dresser for, a wig that made you look like you were in a Doo-Wop group
Im still on my quest to find black hair styles *pre* 40s, with not much success. Im gathering info for a blog post, but there are slim pickings out there pre WWII.

LD

 

[LizzieMaine]

Pity this isn't a bigger image for detail purposes, but this is the office staff of the Madame C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company in Indianapolis in 1929. Walker herself died in 1919, but her company carried on for many years thereafter as a leading manufacturer of African-American hair care and beauty products.

 

[Lady Day]

Thanks Lizzie, that is a great shot.

I guess I should have been more specific, before CJ Walker's influence rooted as the ideal of black beauty. Same time period, but I want to see what women looked like before they bought their lye relaxers.

I have a few pics in my mind some of which Rosie posted that I Cant find any were and its driving me bonkers and I've even emailed her a bout it! Ah!

I think Ill ask my granny again. But it was something that wasn't documented. They just didn't talk about it. There is this gap of black American beauty (between hot comb hair straightening to chemical hair straightening) that just hasn't been documented. Its driving me crazy!

LD