Collection of six original photographs of Baltimore church gatherings, circa 1940s-1950s

N.p. N.p., Circa 1940s-1950s. Collection of six vintage black and white photographs of church gatherings in Baltimore, including images of choirs, children's recital performances, luncheons, formal dinners, and Sunday school classes. One photograph with the blind stamp of photographer George W. Evans Jr. to the bottom right corner, one photograph with the blind stamp of photographer Paul Henderson, and one photograph with a manuscript ink annotation to the verso, noting the names "Hortense / Betty / Hester".

Photographs are undated, but appear to have been taken variously throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

The photographs primarily show groups of African Americans of varying age, posing in front of church entrances and seated at dining tables in formal attire. Three photographs also capture musical groups onstage, including one showing the boy's choir at Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church standing in the chancel, with an older man to the far right, likely the choirmaster.

Born in Springfield, Tennessee, photographer Paul Henderson moved to Maryland in 1929, where he became the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper's first photojournalist, capturing racial segregation and early civil rights protests, as well as documenting everyday African American life in the city. He also became known for his portraits of important Black political figures in Baltimore, including later Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, NAACP Baltimore Branch president Lillie Mae Carroll Jackson, Mayor Theodore McKeldin, and journalist Carl Murphy. Of particular note are Henderson's photographs of businesses and people along Pennsylvania Avenue, a hub for African American culture and life in Baltimore in the 20th century.

Five photographs 10 x 8 inches, one photograph 10 x 7 inches, trimmed irregularly. Generally Very Good plus, lightly creased and moderately edgeworn.

[Book #153580]