Art & Music

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Millennium Park, U.S. Equities Realty Collection

Dates: 1999-2005. Size: 80 linear feet in 99 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection. U.S. Equities Realty was retained to act as owners’ representative for many of the enhancements to Millennium Park. These photographs document the development and construction of the major sites in Millennium Park. All of these photographs are digital and in color. Photographs from this collection are available in the Library’s Millennium Park Digital Collection. [Finding aid]

Art & Music

Allen, Barbara E. Papers

Dates: 1915-2010. Size: 9 linear feet. Accession #2005/04. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Barbara Allen produced, directed and co-wrote the Emmy-winning documentary Paper Trail: 100 Years of the Chicago Defender. The film was broadcast on WTTW, a Chicago PBS affiliate. The collection consists of research materials, original uncut videotaped interviews, audiotaped interviews and complete interview transcripts from the documentary. Interview subjects include then-Senator Barack Obama, Emil Jones, Col. Eugene Scott, Bobby Sengstacke, Timuel Black, Roland Martin, Theresa Fambro-Hooks, Earl Calloway and Lonnie Bunch. [Finding aid]

American Civil War Era Sheet Music Collection

Dates: 1845-1918, bulk 1862-1864. Size: 5.5 linear feet in 2 boxes and 2 bound volumes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. Music played an essential role during the American Civil War, both for the soldiers actively fighting and people on the home front. The majority of the sheet music in this collection was published during the American Civil War, by Chicago music publishing companies Root & Cady and H.M. Higgins, featuring composers and lyricists like Henry C. Work and George F. Root. [Finding aid]

American Federation of Musicians. Chicago Chapter Files

Dates: 1928-1979. Size: 69 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Contains deceased members files (1940-1979), photocopied minutes of the trial board (1928-1938), annual meetings (1938-1965) and board of directors (1930-1965) of Local 208. [Partially processed]

Balaban and Katz Collection

Dates: 1841-2002. Size: 1,382 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. More than 26,000 scores for dance band/theatre orchestra arrangements with individual parts. [Processed]

Barnett, Etta Moten Papers

Dates: 1901-2004. Size: 15 linear feet. Accession #2007/07. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Internationally acclaimed concert and musical theater singer, social activist and philanthropist Etta Moten Barnett’s career began in the 1930s and continued past her 100th birthday. She starred in Broadway musicals and in films. Her husband was Claude Barnett, founder and president of the Associated Negro Press. She was active in the Chicago chapter of The Links, Inc. Her papers include correspondence, speech texts, clippings, programs, photographs and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Barzel, Ann Dance Film Archive

Dates: 1932-1981. Size: 9 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Art Information Center. The Ann Barzel Dance Film Archive is a collection of more than 50 hours of original film that documents the entire breadth of mid-20th century dance in Chicago, including companies such as the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Ballet Theatre, Jooss Ballet, Martha Graham and scores more. All of the 16mm footage, which was filmed by the late dance critic Ann Barzel between 1936 and 1981, was transferred to DVD and fully cataloged. This electronic collection is a joint project between the Newberry Library and the Chicago Public Library. [Processed]

Björling, Jussi Archives

Dates: 1930-1996. Size: 34 linear feet; 300-plus photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Comprehensive audio holdings: more than 900 78 r.p.m., LP, cassette, reel-to-reel and CD recordings of the legendary Swedish tenor. Other materials include biographies, personal effects, photographs and videos. [Description]

Blanke, Esther Diaries

Dates: 1903-1904. Size: 0.5 linear feet in 1 box. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. This collection contains two handwritten travel diaries belonging to Chicago artist Esther Blanke. The diaries cover the years 1903-1904 and document her travels in Europe with her sister, Chicago artist Marie Blanke. [Finding Aid]

Brooks, Sydonia/National Association of Negro Musicians Papers

Dates: 1915-2002. Size: 9 linear feet. Accession #1995/06. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. A leader in the Chicago Music Association and the National Association of Negro Musicians, Sydonia Brooks donated a collection of CMA and NANM newsletters, proceedings and photographs. [Finding Aid, opens a new window]

Browne, Al Papers

Dates: 1928-1939. Size: 1.25 linear feet. Accession #2004/07. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Collection consists of two scrapbooks from 1934 to 1938 from Al Browne’s tours around the United States as a circus clown and circus owner/manager. [Finding aid]

Butler, Roy G. Collection

Dates: 1922-1997. Size: 6 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Clippings, personal effects, documents, recordings, musical scores and photographs of jazz sideman and band leader Roy G. Butler, who toured the world from 1922 to 1997. [Processed]

Chicago Artist Files

Dates: 1890-present. Size: 72 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Art Information Center. The Chicago Artist Files are a vertical file documenting more than 100 years of Chicago artists, art movements and arts organizations. Archived materials include, but are not limited to, news clippings, letters, photographs, slides, CDs, artists’ books, gallery invitations and original artwork. View listings of the artists represented in the Chicago Artists' File, arranged alphabetically by name: Background, #s, A-B, C-D, E-F, G-H, I-K, L-Mi, Ml-N, O-Q, R-Sc, Se-Sz, T-V, W-Z.

Chicago Blues Archives

Dates: 1923-2013. Size: 288 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Items relating to blues in Chicago and around the world, including 500 LPs and CDs, both commercially produced and unique; 50 original videos of the Chicago Public Library’s Speakin’ of the Blues program series; several hundred feet of clipping and photo files; and realia. Continues to receive documents of the annual Chicago Blues Festival. [Description]

Chicago Dance Collection

Dates: 1920s-present. Size: 66 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Art Information Center. Vertical files and video recordings documenting Chicago dancers and dance performances. Materials include, but are not limited to, news clippings, programs, photographs, slides, CDs, performance invitations, oral histories and video/DVD recordings. [Partially processed]

Chicago Outdoor Art League Collection

Dates: 1929-1996. Size: 4 linear feet, includes 48 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection. The Chicago Outdoor Art League (COAL), founded in 1900, sponsored gardening programs; donated trees to local organizations, hospitals and schools; and offered art and music scholarships. The League worked frequently with schools in Chicago. It was affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Women's Clubs. [Finding aid]

Chicago Printers Guild Records

Dates: 1995-2024. Size: 10.5 linear feet, includes 1022 photographs, 327 printed works, 12 artifacts, and 2.32 GB electronic files. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. Chicago Printers Guild Records document the interactions, events and artwork of a non-profit collection of Chicago-area printmakers. The collection contains board minutes, listserv correspondence, event materials, social media posts, photographs and artwork. [Finding aid]

Chicago Printmakers Collaborative: Resistance Materials

Dates: 2017. Size: .25 linear feet, 18 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. Organizational documents and a selection of hand-printed protest materials from the 2017 Print -- Organize -- Protest (P.O.P.) event hosted by the Lincoln Square print studio and gallery, Chicago Printmakers Collaborative (CPC) in 2017. [Finding aid]

Chicago Public Library Archives. Programs

Dates: 1986-2013. Size: 16 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Video and audio recordings of selected programs presented by the Visual and Performing Arts Department and performed at Harold Washington Library Center. [Unprocessed]

Chicago Reader Motion Picture Stills Collection

Dates: 1970s-2005. Size: 60 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Art Information Center. Publicity photographs, DVDs and motion picture stills of all genres of film from the silent era onward. These images were originally submitted to the Chicago Reader for review purposes. [Unprocessed]

Chicago Reader Touring Musicians Publicity Photos

Dates: 1970s-2005. Size: 180 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Publicity photographs of musicians or groups that toured Chicago. Images were originally submitted to the Reader for review purposes. [Unprocessed].

Choral Sheet Music Collection

Dates: 1840-2012. Size: 16 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Comprises a collection of sheet music for SATB and a large collection of German TTBB, totaling approximately 1,500 titles. [Partially processed]

Come for to Sing Archives

Dates: 1975-1988. Size: 6 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Ninety-eight DAT dubs of original audiocassettes of interviews from Come for to Sing magazine with such folk musicians as Steve Goodman, Fred Holstein, Bob Gibson and Tom Paxton. [Unprocessed]

Deems, Barrett Collection

Dates: 1956-1998. Size: 10 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Barrett Deems (1914-1998) was a Chicago-based jazz drummer and band leader who worked with many luminaries, including Louis Armstrong, Paul Ash, Jimmy Dorsey and Red Norvo. The collection includes clippings, photographs and realia such as awards and instruments. [Processed]

Dick Buckley’s Archives of Jazz

Dates: 1989-1993. Size: 32 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. More than 400 hours from Dick Buckley’s show on WBEZ, recorded on reel-to-reel audiotape, often with a program log included. [Partially processed]

Drawing and Print Collection

Dates: 1756-2016, undated. Size: 15.25 linear feet in 11 boxes, 14 folios, 55 Oversize Folders, includes 34 drawings and 715 prints. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. The Drawing and Print Collection brings together a selection of 2-dimensional artworks that are part of the Library’s permanent art collection. The collection contains works on paper that use drawing media such as charcoal, ink, pastel, pencil or watercolor or one of the printmaking processes such as collography, drypoint, etching, lithography, screen printing or woodcut. [Finding aid]

Dungill Family Papers

Dates: 1894-1999. Size: 5 linear feet. Accession #2000/07. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. The Dungill Family Orchestra, a touring band based in Chicago from the 1930s through the 1960s, achieved success as a family band in which each member played a different instrument. The papers include scrapbooks, correspondence, photographs, press clippings and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Durham, Richard Papers

Dates: 1939-1999. Size: 25 linear feet. Accession #1998/02. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Richard Durham, journalist, radio and television playwright, was the author of the groundbreaking radio drama series Destination Freedom. From 1948 to 1950, the weekly program dramatized black history events and individuals. Durham later wrote the television series Bird of the Iron Feather and edited Muhammad Ali’s biography, The Greatest. The papers include correspondence, research notes, play scripts, clippings, serials, photographs, page proofs and galleys. [Finding aid]

Dyett, Capt. Walter Papers

Dates: 1906-1998. Size: 14 linear feet. Accession #2007/11. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. One of the most influential bandmasters and music educators in Chicago’s history, Walter Dyett taught generations of Chicago jazz, classical and blues musicians at Wendell Phillips and DuSable high schools. The papers document his career with official records, correspondence, programs, news clippings, yearbooks, photographs and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Evans, Rev. Clay Archive

Dates: 1946-2017. Size: 90 linear feet, includes 66 art/artifacts, 5 oversize folders, 786 photographs, 267 digital photographs, 32 oral histories and 885 audiovisual recordings. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. The Rev. Clay Evans Archives span his 50 years of pastoral leadership at Chicago’s Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church that he founded in 1950, and beyond his retirement in 2000. His ministry reached into the larger community with the What a Fellowship Hour broadcasts, Gospel choir performances and an engagement with the Civil Rights Movement along with numerous religious and community organizations such as the African American Religious Connection (AARC), the Broadcast Ministers’ Alliance and Operation PUSH. The collections include church documents, photographs, artifacts and audio-visual broadcasts and interviews. [Finding aid]

Evans, Rev. Clay, Collections on

Dates: 1950-2016. Size: 4.5 linear feet, 147 photographs, includes 44 audio recordings, 7 artifacts. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. The Collections on Rev. Clay Evans brings together materials related to Rev. Clay Evans and Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church during the 50-year span of his leadership from 1950-2000. These materials reflect member involvement in choirs, clubs, committees and community service opportunities fostered by Rev. Evans and their participation in annual banquets, revivals and travel. The collection includes church documents, photographs, artifacts and musical recordings. [Finding aid]

Hall, Juanita Papers

Dates: 1899-1965. Size: 5 linear feet. Accession #1974/01. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Juanita Hall was a singer and choir leader best known for her roles on Broadway. Her papers consist of her personal collection of sheet music and orchestrations, including many original items and hand annotations of printed sheet music. Among the items are songs from Broadway musicals, the Hall Johnson Choir, Eubie Blake and other composers. [Finding Aid, opens a new window]

Hatchell, Mildred Papers

Dates: 1941-2002. Size: .5 linear f00t. Accession #1993/04. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Former Chicagoan Mildred Hatchell conducted extensive research on the hymns of the Rev. Charles Albert Tindley. Her papers consist of research materials, clippings and correspondence in support of her effort to have the Rev. Tindley recognized as the author of the song, “We Shall Overcome.” [Finding aid]

Hintze, Clarence Jazz Drummer’s Collection

Dates: 1935-1997. Size: 15 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Chicago-based jazz drummer Clarence Hintze donated this collection of mainly LP jazz big band recordings, many of which center on drummers such as Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich and Louis Bellson. [Processed]

House Party International Collection

Dates: 1985-1999. Size: 98 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. More than 8,000 individual popular music videos currently are being transferred from unusable U-matic videotape to DVDR. [Partially processed]

Illinois Entertainer Files

Dates: 1978-1985. Size: 48 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Includes manuscripts, articles, press releases and press kits that were used to publish this local popular monthly entertainment journal. [Unprocessed]

Jacobsen, Arnold Recorded Sound Collection

Dates: 1900-1960. Size: 103 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. A large collection of LPs, 45s and 78s donated by collector and record salesman Arnold Jacobsen. [Partially processed]

Jazz/Blues/Gospel Hall of Fame

Dates: 1937-1979. Size: 12 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Two thousand commercially produced LPs. [Processed]

Jewish Music Archives

Dates: 1991-2006. Size: 23 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Contains more than 200 unique interviews and performances on CDR, cassette and minidisk featuring klezmer musicians from North America and Europe. Established by the YIVO Institute For Jewish Research, Chicago Chapter. [Processed]

Johnson, May Business Papers

Dates: 1911-1941. Size: 1.25 linear feet in 2 boxes, including 41 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection. May Johnson was a performing arts agent. Collection primarily concerns the careers of violinist Zlatko Balokovic and soprano Eleonora DeCisneros, and includes information on the Chicago Grand Opera Company. [Finding aid]

Johnson, Virgil C. Papers

Dates: 1967-2015. Size: 72.5 linear feet in 44 boxes, includes 1,141 drawings, 127 photographs, 569 slides, and 2 oversize folders, and 4.02 GB electronic files. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Chicago Theater Collection. Virgil Johnson is an award-winning costume designer whose work has been seen at numerous theaters in Chicago, including Goodman, Court, Victory Gardens, Body Politic, Steppenwolf, Northlight, St. Nicholas and Apollo. Collection includes costume sketches and renderings as well as programs and notes. [Finding aid]

Johnson, William Papers

Dates: 1988-1996. Size: 4 linear feet. Accession #1996/10. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. William Johnson’s papers include his slides and photographs, activities of the Washington Park Camera Club and materials from the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. [Partially processed]

Jones, Calvin B. Papers

Dates: 1972-2010. Size: 1.25 linear feet. Accession #2010/05. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Chicago muralist, Black Arts Movement activist and co-director of AFAM gallery, Calvin B. Jones was a leader in community murals projects in Chicago. This small collection includes photographs and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Jubilee Showcase Gospel Music Video Collection

Dates: 1963-1984. Size: 20 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. Fifty hours of the 100 extant programs of this Emmy Award-winning Chicago gospel music television program. Performers include the Staple Singers, Dixie Hummingbirds and hundreds of others. [Description]

Lai, Grace Collection

Dates: 1989-1995. Size: .25 linear feet in 1 box. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. Grace Lai (1927-2010) was an artist known for her watercolor sketches of Chicago's construction sites and changing skyline. The collection consists of reproductions and photographs of her work and an article about her. [Finding Aid]

Lems-Dworkin, Carol Papers

Dates: circa 1973, undated. Size: 1 linear foot. Accession #1992/05. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Musician, teacher and author Carol Lems-Dworkin donated photographic reproductions of African American jazz musicians. [Finding aid]

MacDonald, J. Fred Papers

Dates: 1955-1974. Size: 1 linear foot. Accession #2010/01. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. J. Fred MacDonald is professor emeritus at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago and president of MacDonald & Associates, a historical film archives based in Chicago. The collection includes DVD transfers documenting black arts, television and radio during the early 20th century. [Unprocessed]

Made in Chicago Collection

Dates: 1942-1999. Size: 25 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. The Made in Chicago Collection consists of various smaller collections of musical material, both scores that were published in Chicago and recordings made here (including recordings made at the Harold Washington Library Center). The following collections have been consolidated into the Made in Chicago Collection:  Herbert James Wrightson Collection, Saugatuck/Douglas Music Festivals Collection and National Music Company Collection. [Partially processed]

Martin & Morris Collection

Dates: 1940-1975. Size: 14 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. This collection of 1,500 scores is almost exclusively gospel vocal music and represents nearly the complete catalog of the publisher, The Martin & Morris Music Studio. [Description]

Mason, Grace Papers/Franklyn Atkinson Henderson Photograph Collection

Dates: 1880-1920. Size: 4 linear feet. Accession #1992/06. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Grace Mason, a descendant of pioneering Chicago African American photographer Franklyn Atkinson Henderson, donated his collection of nearly 100 photo portraits of “prominent Negro Chicagoans.” Photos were created from 1885 to 1915. Many of these photos were exhibited at the 1940 American Negro Exposition. The papers include photos of the “Old Settlers” and an official register of the Chicago Old Settlers Club, founded by Ida McIntosh Dempsey in 1904. Later Scott family records and photographs are also included. [Finding Aid, opens a new window]

McBride, William Papers

Dates: 1907-1995. Size: 45 linear feet. Accession #1995/03. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. From the 1930s through the 1980s, William McBride was an artist, political activist and collector of Bronzeville cultural memorabilia. During the early 1940s, he played a prominent role with the South Side Community Art Center, serving as its publicity director. His papers include early SSCAC organizational and publicity files. Also included are extensive files of cultural and political activities, correspondence, fliers, programs, posters, playbills, art studies and photographs. Selected items from this collection are available in the Library's Chicago Renaissance Digital Collection. [Finding aid]

Millennium Park, Inc. Records

Dates: 1992-2006. Size: 60 linear feet in 28 boxes, includes 13 VHS videos, 746 photographs, 6 CDs, 105 oversize folders/items, 18 artifacts, 1.11 GB electronic files. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection. Millennium Park, Inc. Archives contain information from the early planning stage of Chicago’s “Lakefront Millennium Project” in 1998 through the completion and opening of Millennium Park in 2004. The majority of the collection consists of presentation boards showing elevations, site plans, renderings and architectural sections of the various sites in the park. The sites represented in the collection include the Jay Pritzker Music Pavilion and the B.P. Pedestrian Bridge, designed by Frank Gehry; Cloud Gate, designed by Anish Kapoor; Crown Fountain, designed by Jaume Plensa; the Lurie Garden, designed by Gustafson, Guthrie, Nichol, Ltd.; Millennium Monument and Wrigley Square; the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance, designed by Thomas Beeby; the Exelon Pavilions, designed by Thomas Beeby and Renzo Piano; and the Boeing Galleries. There are a number of artifacts in the collection including a scale model of Cloud Gate, architectural models of the Lurie Garden by the three finalists in the international garden competition, models of the Crown Fountain and a model of the Millennium Monument, or Peristyle, in Wrigley Square. See also photographs from the Millennium Park, U.S. Equities Realty Collection in the Library’s Millennium Park Digital Collection. [Finding aid]

Millennium Park, U.S. Equities Realty Collection

Dates: 1999-2005. Size: 80 linear feet in 99 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection. U.S. Equities Realty was retained to act as owners’ representative for many of the enhancements to Millennium Park. These photographs document the development and construction of the major sites in Millennium Park. All of these photographs are digital and in color. Photographs from this collection are available in the Library’s Millennium Park Digital Collection. [Finding aid]

Moye, Don/Art Ensemble of Chicago Papers

Dates: 1970-1990. Size: 8 linear feet. Accession #1993/01. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Don Moye is best known as one of the members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the avant-garde jazz group that emerged in the 1970s. The papers include posters, programs, audiovisual materials and memorabilia. [Partially processed]

Old Pops & Piano Music Single Sheets

Dates: 1809-2004. Size: 72 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Old Pops comprises single song sheet music in alphabetical sequence in 286 boxes; 8 additional boxes contain Chicago songs, war songs and Christmas songs. Music Single Sheets are instrumental piano pieces filed alphabetically with Old Pops. [Processed]

One Book, Many Interpretations Collection

Date: 2006-2011. Size: 5.5 linear feet in 4 boxes and 17 bound volumes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection. This collection consists of 21 artist books and fine bindings that were displayed at two juried bookbinding exhibits—One Book, Many Interpretations in 2006 and One Book, Many Interpretations: Second Edition in 2011—coinciding with the fifth and tenth anniversaries of Chicago Public Library’s One Book, One Chicago program. The books, each drawing inspiration from a previous One Book, One Chicago selection, represent a wide range of styles, from traditional fine bindings to conceptual artist books. [Finding aid]

Orstrom, A.Z. Song Plugger Cards Collection

Dates: 1906-1928. Size: .5 linear feet in 1 box. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. The A.Z. Orstrom Song Plugger Cards Collection contains approximately 86 song plugger cards. Song plugger cards contained an advertisement for a dance or picnic on the front and lyrics from popular songs on the back. The cards are generally 2-3 inches tall and 4-5 inches wide, come in a variety of colors, and sometimes contain small illustrations. [Finding aid]

Paul, Stanley Papers

Dates: circa 1929-2017 [bulk dates circa 1960-2017]. Size: 42.25 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, General Chicago History Collection. Stanley Paul was the band leader of Chicago’s Pump Room in the Ambassador East Hotel from 1964 through 1974, leading the orchestra with style, class and verve. At the time the Pump Room was the watering hole of the best-known celebrities in the world and the grandeur of those years is evident in the collection, with photographs and personal notes from people such as Bette Davis, Judy Garland, Irv and Essee Kupcinet, Ethel Merman, Gloria Swanson and Oprah Winfrey. The collection documents his career and life as a musician, before, during and after Mr. Paul’s years in the Pump Room. [Finding aid]

Perkins, Marion Papers

Dates: 1938-2003. Size: 6 linear feet. Accession #2006/08. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Arkansas-born and Chicago-based Marion Perkins was an acclaimed sculptor; his works are held at the Art Institute of Chicago and DuSable Museum. From the late 1930s until his death in 1961, Perkins was a radical activist whose art reflected his perspectives.  The papers include Marion Perkins’ writings, photographs and articles about his work. [Finding Aid]

Philippi, Michael Models

Dates: 1990-1991. Size: 1.5 linear feet in 1 box, includes 2 models. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Chicago Theater Collection. Set and lighting designer Michael Philippi worked on stages nationwide and in Chicago. Collection includes two partial set models for productions staged at the Goodman Theatre. [Finding aid]

Pockmire, Robert Papers

Dates: 1977-1980. Size: 1.5 linear feet in 1 box. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Chicago Theater Collection. Robert Pockmire is a painter, illustrator and designer. During the late 1970s he worked at the Victory Gardens Theatre in various roles, most notably as graphic designer. The collection includes posters, programs, clippings and subscription mailings designed by Pockmire. [Finding aid]

Rogovin, Mark Collection

Dates: 1960-1995. Size 18.5 linear feet. Accession #2021/01. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Mark Rogovin was an artist in the modern mural movement and founder of Chicago’s Peace Museum. His collection consists of artwork (prints) by Margaret Burroughs and Tecla Selnick, political and activist posters (including prints related to the Black Panther Party and Mayor Harold Washington’s elections), correspondence and memorabilia. [Unprocessed]

Rosofsky, Seymour Collection

Dates: 1953-1954, 1977. Size: 6 linear feet in 2 boxes and 1 oversize folder, includes 59 drawings. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Chicago Theater Collection. Seymour Rosofsky (1924-1981) was part of a generation of post-war independent-minded Chicago artists and a founding member of the Chicago Imagist tradition. Collection includes drawings, paintings and lithographs of scenes from the Salt Creek Summer Theater and also of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir George Solti. [Finding aid]

Russell, J. Howell Costume Drawings

Dates: 1893. Size: .5 linear feet in 1 box. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. J. Howell Russell was a British costume designer whose work was also seen on Chicago's stages. The collection includes drawings for productions at the Chicago Opera House and the Alhambra in London. [Finding aid]

Scott, William Edouard Papers

Dates: 1846-2007. Size: 5 linear feet. Accession #2005/07. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. William Edouard Scott was a prominent painter, illustrator and muralist who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. Scott was one of the first nationally known African American artists in Chicago, and his work is held in many museums and private collections. His papers include biographical materials, correspondence, programs, clippings, photographs and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Sengstock, Charles Collection

Dates: 1926-1996. Size: 45 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Music historian Charles A. Sengstock, Jr. has, since the early 1960s, researched and written extensively about the development of jazz in Chicago. Sengstock has donated some 1,200 items, including reel-to-reel and cassette tapes, LPs, 78s, 45s, books, a few transcriptions and a small selection of sheet music. Emphasizing Chicago dance bands from their beginnings, the collection includes rare, non-commercial tapes of performances from such famed local venues as the Aragon and Willowbrook ballrooms, as well as commercial recordings of bandleaders associated with Chicago and manuscript notes. [Partially processed]

Shepherd, Barbara Photograph Collection

Dates: 1940-1942. Size: 1 linear foot. Accession #1999/03. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Barbara Shepherd worked on the 1940 American Negro Exposition held at the Chicago Coliseum. She also served in staff positions in several social service organizations. This small photograph collection is one of the few sources that documents the construction and activities of the 1940 exposition. [Finding aid]

Smith, Jessie Willcox Collection

Dates: 1890-1990, bulk dates: 1900-1935. Size: 18 linear feet; includes155 volumes, 2 artworks. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935) was a prolific illustrator whose work appeared in children’s books, periodicals, and advertisements. The collection includes books, periodicals, calendars, prints, exhibition catalogs and promotional items that feature illustrations by Smith. [Finding Aid]

Spanier, Muggsy Archives

Dates: 1920-2001. Size: 12 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Muggsy Spanier was one of Chicago’s best-loved Dixieland jazz musicians. The collection includes rare promotional material, 300 photographs and negatives, 800 newspaper and magazine clippings and various correspondence – 1,300 items in all. [Processed]

St. James, Michael Photograph Collection

Dates: 1890-1997. Size: 2.5 linear feet. Accession #2000/09. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Photographer Michael St. James collected early images produced by Chicago’s pioneering African American photographers. The collection includes photographs taken in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. [Finding aid]

St. Mark’s Camera Club Photograph Collection

Dates: 1990-1993. Size: 4.25 linear feet. Accession #1992/04. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. St. Mark’s Camera Club was founded by Willie Griffin in 1972. Griffin was also associated with the Washington Park and South Side camera clubs. This collection contains photographs from the camera club of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church. [Finding aid]

Stone, Theodore Charles Papers

Dates: 1899-1998. Size: 32 linear feet. Accession #1998/04. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Theodore Charles Stone served as president of the Chicago Music Association for more than 50 years and as president of the National Association of Negro Musicians. His papers include correspondence, programs, photographs, clippings and memorabilia documenting his career as a concert baritone, his work in the CMA and NANM, and his work as a music writer for several black newspapers in Chicago. [Finding aid]

Sturges, Katharine Collection

Dates: 1916-2092. Size: 2 linear feet in 2 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. Katharine Sturges (1890-1979) was an American artist, illustrator, author, and designer. Her drawings appeared in fashion magazines, children’s books and advertisements. The collection contains a selection of her Japan sketchbooks along with P.F. Volland card design proofs and books. [Finding Aid]

Swift, Linda Erf Photographs

Dates: 2015. Size: 6 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. From 2007 to 2015, Linda Erf Swift photographed students from three Chicago high schools in the Hyde Park and Kenwood neighborhoods. The goal of her Chalkboard Project was to generate dialog between students and awareness about their communities, schools and lives. This collection contains six color portraits, exhibit captions and a text panel from the 2015 exhibition at Harold Washington Library Center. [Finding aid]

Teske, Edmund Photograph Collection

Dates: 1937. Size: 2 linear feet in 2 boxes, includes 24 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Chicago Theater Collection. Edmund Teske studied art at the Huttle Art Studio in Chicago, and later worked for Paramount Pictures in the photographic still department. The Edmund Teske Photograph Collection includes 24 images of Triple-A Plowed Under, a Works Progress Administration play performed at the Great Northern Theater in 1937. [Finding aid]

Trace, Al Collection

Dates: 1933-1985. Size: 1.5 linear feet, Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. Published and unpublished musical scores of Al Trace, the Chicago-born popular band leader and composer of Mairzy Doats. Newspaper clippings relating to his career. [Processed]

Travel and Railway Poster Collection

Dates: 1910-1941. Size: 9 linear feet, includes 111 posters in 18 oversize folders. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. The collection contains 20th century posters from Chicago, North America and international destinations. The chromolithographic posters employ graphic design and illustration to advertise tours, travel agents, and transportation to destinations by railroad as well as ship and bus lines. [Finding aid]

Tsuda, Akito Photographs

Dates: 1991-2022. Size: 3.5 linear foot in 3 boxes, includes 130 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection. Japanese photographer Akito Tsuda enrolled in Columbia College in 1990. Between 1991 and 1994, his photographic explorations in the city led him to the Pilsen neighborhood and the city’s Lower West Side community where he forged intercultural bonds with the predominantly Latinx residents. [Finding Aid]

University of Chicago Folk Festival Collection

Dates: 1961-1995. Size: 12 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Music Information Center. One hundred twenty-five of the 305 hours of tape recordings made during 35 years of the University of Chicago Folk Festival have been converted into WAV files on CD. The original tapes were recorded with excellent quality by fine arts radio station WFMT and feature performances such as Professor Longhair, Sippie Wallace, Bill Monroe, Odetta and the Beers Family. [Processed]

Volland, P.F. Collection

Dates: 1917-1958. Size: 78 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Chicago Authors and Publishing Collection. Collection consists of the financial records and greeting cards of this Chicago publisher of cards and children’s books. Materials include business ledgers, receipts and the salesmen’s props (sample sets) for the greeting cards. The printed finding aid to the collection, available in the Special Collections Reading Room, includes an index of artists and writers who worked for Volland. The best known of these individuals include Johnny Gruelle, creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy, and illustrators Maginel Wright Enright and Frederick Richardson. [Finding aid]

Wallace, Joan Papers

Dates: 1901-1994. Size: 42.5 linear feet. Accession #2005/06. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Joan Wallace, daughter of painter William Edouard Scott and widow of anti-poverty federal official Maurice Dawkins, was an assistant secretary of agriculture during the Carter administration. Her papers contain correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, photographs and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Walton, Charles Papers

Dates: 1928-2005. Size: 28 linear feet. Accession #1996/05. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Born in Alabama, Charles Walton came to Chicago as a child. He became a jazz drummer immediately after World War II. He went on to direct the music education program at Malcolm X College and served as an officer in American Federation of Musicians Local 10-208. In his “retirement,” he worked relentlessly to document Chicago’s black music history, conducting at least 343 interviews with 179 interviewees. The interviews were part of his research for his unfinished book, Bronzeville Conversations. His papers include drafts of his book, the oral history interviews, essays, rare documents and photographs. Subjects include performers, venues, business relationships and the history of American Federation of Musicians locals in Chicago. Selected items from this collection are available in the Library's Chicago Renaissance Digital Collection.  [Finding aid]

Walz, Louis D. Collection

Dates: 1928-1982. Size: 2 linear feet in 3 boxes and 194 photos. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. Louis D. Walz directed the Lake View High School Band from 1928 until his retirement in 1961. The collection includes photographs of student musical activities at Lake View High; letters from former students serving in World War II; and programs, clippings, and correspondence related to Walz’s work at Lake View High. Photographs from the collection are available online in the Northside High Schools Digital Collection. [Finding Aid]

Weber, John Pitman Papers

Dates: 1961-2022. Size: 11 linear feet in 11 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. John Pitman Weber is a Chicago-based artist and arts educator. Best known as a public artist, Weber co-founded the Chicago Mural Group (now Chicago Public Art Group) with the late William Walker in 1970-1971. He has also led and co-led mosaic, concrete relief and painted murals for over 40 years in Chicago as well as nationally and internationally. The collection includes correspondence, meeting minutes, exhibit catalogs, news clippings, photographs, research files and writings for Weber’s art projects and public art. [Partially processed]

Whack, Rita Coburn Collection

Dates: 1996-2003. Size: 2 linear feet. Accession #2002/06. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Rita Coburn Whack, a novelist, television and radio producer, and on-air radio contributor, won an Emmy for writing in her documentary film, Curators of Culture: Chicago’s South Side Community Art Center, in 2005. Her papers include 41 oral history interviews and other audiovisual materials from her public radio work and from documentaries she created for public television. [Finding Aid]

Wilson, Edith Papers

Dates: 1879-1973. Size: 4 linear feet. Accession #1996/02. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Edith Wilson was the last person to perform the official portrayal of “Aunt Jemima” for the Quaker Oats Company. Her papers include programs, clipping files, photographs and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Winslow, Eugene Papers

Dates: 1851-1994. Size: 18.75 linear feet. Accession #1993/07. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Architect, artist and historian Eugene Winslow made his mark in a wide variety of fields. He was a Tuskegee Airman during World War II, an architect influenced by the Bauhaus movement and a Black history researcher in the 1970s. He wrote most of the articles and created all the illustrations for Great Negroes Past and Present. His papers include extensive subject research files created for his work on the book, rare serials, biographical information, photographs and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Woodson, Susan Cayton Papers

Dates: 1910-2004. Size: 24 linear feet. Accession #1999/09. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Art gallery owner Susan Cayton Woodson has been hailed for her work publicizing and preserving the art of the Chicago Renaissance period. Active with the South Side Community Art Center, she is a member of the famed Cayton family and a descendent of Senator Hiram Revels. Her papers include family documents, correspondence, subject research files and photographs. Papers from her late husband, food chemist Harold Woodson, are also included. [Finding Aid, opens a new window]

Works Progress Administration. Federal Art Project. Illinois Art Project

Dates: circa 1938-1943. Size: .65 linear feet, includes 166 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. The collection consists of 166 photographs of artworks, furniture and design items that were produced for the Illinois Art Project which was part of the Federal Art Project (FAP) under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1936 and 1943. [Finding aid]

World's Columbian Exposition, Bureau of Music, Official Report

Dates: 1882-1895. Size: 2 linear feet (oversize album, 2 copies). Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. Under the leadership of conductor Theodore Thomas, the Bureau of Music was charged with the creation of orchestral, choral and band performance plans and an exhibit of musical instruments at the World's Columbian Exposition. The Official Report created by Secretary George H. Wilson consists of an oversize album with typed narratives, copies of letters, photographs and clippings. [Finding aid]

A-Z Collections Index