There is so much beautiful history here. I’m very sentimental and I pray that this treasure does not get buried away. We have lost so much of our history. Johnson & Johnson published, wrote and told so much of our history. Such is priceless and I’m sorry to see such list for a price. This is sentimental, history and should always be kept and shared. It’s priceless. May GOD protect it and allow no one to destroy or bury it...
62
Thank you for sharing NYT...I wish they were all (or more was) available online.
57
This treasure trove deserves a dignified resting place, a spot where it can be digitized and shared with all...
I agree with the thought of a purchase and donation to the National Museum of African American History and Culture....
98
It seems like this archive of African American history belongs in the African African Museum in DC. Perhaps it could be purchased rather than broken up or hidden. Our [and I mean that in the broadest sense] history should not end up stored in a garage or warehouse somewhere, and forgotten.
82
I do hope that these pictures are digitized and disseminated by way of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. As a college professor who teaches courses in African American Studies, I have distributed copies of JET to my students as we studied the history of the black press. Members of my church took it upon themselves to donate copies of JET to make sure that these students had an opportunity to study the magazines that are a deep source of pride to all classes of African Americans. It would be an answer to a prayer if a group of people were able to bid, win, and donate these to the NMAAHC!
82
My family always had Ebony magazine, along with Life, Look, and the Saturday Evening Post (as well as others). Loved looking at all the photos of the stars as well as the not-so-well-known folks when I was a kid. Would love to see the collection made available to the world!
38
I'd be upset about the possibility of Ebony's photos being bought and hidden away except that Ebony management was never interested in circulating them to a larger public. I've written four books about African-American musicians and my requests to pay for and reprint Ebony photos in my books with credit given to Ebony and the photographers involved have always been refused point blank. Ebony management wanted to keep the photos for themselves and whoever would eventually buy them from them, not share them with the public.
36
That's Max Roach on the drums. Equally important...
29
@pDK OMG! Thank you! From the time Cliff Brown was also popular, if I recall correctly.
9
I too have an archive of thousands of photos I've taken over the decades, most from when I published a news magazine from 1979 to 2002. I also have hundreds of photos going back to the 1920s, given to me by Forrest Ackerman before his death.
I've sold rights on some—including one of the Octavia Butler photos I took, to a British publisher. Another is in the Ursula Le Guin film, which will air on PBS next month. But where to sell/give the rest, I just don't know. And I've given a lot of thought to this, over the decades.
Perhaps my archive, the majority of which haven't been digitized, could go on the auction block, as the Ebony photos are to be sold. Then there's Columbia University. Or Getty Images. Or...
18
This at a time of complete peril for anything not white and conservative. The article does not say who owns Johnson Publishing. Do they have any say over who ends up with the collection or must it be sold to the highest bidder? I would not fear a private collector that intends to share but I would fear a private collector that intends to bury it. Hopefully there will not be an anonymous bidders. If Mitch McConnell got his hands on this collection he would set a match to it. He would attempt to literally erase this history just as he has Obama's history.
44
"Another possibility that is feared by scholars: A private collector buys the archive and stashes it away."
This is huge. Apparently the original video tapes of the landing on the moon which were accidentally acquired by a private individual decades ago are going up for auction. That's the kind of thing that should be owned by NASA or some other government entity which will protect it, instead of sitting in some collector's vault in Syracuse or Nashville or Reno.
My only hope is that some caring person with deep pockets purchases this collection of photographs and donates it back to some proper entity where it can be digitized and posted for all to see.
59
What many are missing who are just reading this story is that the likelihood of who will earn the ability to preserve and share these photographic treasures with the world is the popular billionaire couple of Hobson and Lucas who prior to the bankruptcy had access to the archives as collateral against a loan to the publishing company. They have indicated they would strive to share the archives in coordination with a museum. Most speculate that it would be the NMAAHC that will receive the photographs. They already have the opportunity to start the bid at $12.5 million and should they win, many believe the archives will be in good hands, hands that are willing to share this rich history with the world.
65
@Former Licensor of Archives
Thank you! I feel so much better.
16
Wow, in NYC there are photography museums. There are folk with money who could pool their funding and secure a spot for allowing the public access.
The African American Museum is the best location if their is space to give it the recognition it deserves.
This for sure makes me want would want to come more often. Wow, it's amazing how we live and no one sees our legacy. Seeing that alot now with elder black moral professionals pass away, it's deep. I hope we get some of it in Brooklyn!
19
I would have loved to delve into those boxes before the sale. Reading this article makes my heart ache. I hope the public gets to see all of them one day.
26
I feel that the collection should be put in the,"The National Museum Of African American History And Culture in Washington." These photos show without a doubt the talent and supreme Intelligence of the African Americand in Thousands of Ways. They are an integral part of African American History in the history of American History. The Federal Government which represents our history is in Washington,DC so should these Photographes!!!
23
This article made me cry. Today, white people (like me) who grew up in a bigoted white world are forced (by the shock of hearing our misinformed President) to understand civil rights and race. Higher education (even if I am still learning where to put a comma...!) in communications has helped and without these lessons, I would never understand how the American black man does not trust the American white one. I relish the opportunity to learn more fully and to have a clear idea of this cruelty from learning more about this injustice. I have just tapped the tip of this huge iceberg, and all races should not be robbed of this history because of financial laws.
I would love to see every single photo. Please don't let people like me, who are starving to learn more not see this collection. I am begging this world to please digitize this collection and buy it for a public museum.
54
I feel the collection should be placed in,"The National Museum Of African American History And Culture In Washington."
19
Beautiful moments in American history.
20
It is not the responsibility of individual black folks (Beyonce, entertainers and business owners as suggested by @Zippbee57 and @penner) to spend the bulk of their personal money to purchase this archive. If they happen to want to do that and donate to a museum or public institution that would be really generous. But I think it is in the best interest for everyone for the archive to be purchased by an institution (museum, foundation whatever) and assure that it is kept in the U.S. Other archives (including archives in America) have famously bought out treasured archives and kept them hidden from the public, sometimes forever. In my PERSONAL opinion wealthy white folks like Buffet, Gates, Kotch, etc. should pool together money along with institutions (or an institution) to keep the archive safe and public. Not only would that be just and good use of dollars, but also a generous nod to reparations for African Americans. Reparations that are much needed. That would certainly send a message of unity and cooperation in this racially divided country that really desperately need those messages right now. Holding black people solely accountable to ensure that this archive stays in the right hands is unjust. This is an AMERICAN archive. It should be acquired, protected and made public by an American institution.
27
@SST if Sean Carter can buy the Basquiat over 30 million dollars he can buy this collection
11
@Rae
It's not a contest of who CAN and CANNOT afford to buy the archive. We should not be singling out black folks as solely responsible for protecting what should be considered part of the lexicon of American history. People of color are taxed the same as white people to uphold largely white focused institutions ( the bulk of work in every museum in the country). Gay people without children pay taxes to support schools. I'm curious why you and a couple of other people in these threads are so adamant that only black people should have to pay for what everyone seems to agree should end up in an accessible public institution.
21
This bring back memories! Moneta Sleet photos and commentaries/essays by Loren Bennett... Wow.
8
I feel the collection should be placed in the,"The National Museum Of African American History And Culture In Washington."
12
What a treasure this collection is. It is an important part of the history of the United States that of course, should be available to researchers, to the public. I hope whoever purchases it is a good steward who ensures this kind of access. That said, the times in which we live in are a painful reminder that there are some - who if they had the money to do so - would purchase the collection and destroy it.
9
Wow what gorgeous and inspiring photos! A glimpse into the lives of some of the greats. Thanks to The Times for publishing this. I really hope these are spread across the internet and that the originals go to a museum so we can all recognize and celebrate the achievements of these trailblazing black men and women in a more personal way.
15
i am in my early 70's and my memories of the decades of the 50's and 60's when i was a child, and it seemed like all the country's institutions were working. i seem to pass right over the civil rights fight when i memorialize, thinking that sammy davis jr. could not stay at the same upscale hotel that the other rat pack members stayed. i kept thinking why didn't frank sinatra pack his bags and move to the motel where sammy had to stay. but that's another story. today we have no sense of right and wrong, where we are returning to the days of segregation with a president who is so vile, it makes my blood boil. sammy was the most talented of the rat pack, and what did peter lawford ever do but be the president's brother in law? i still yearn for those days and bless the people of color who fought so hard for their rights.
18
Beyonce is one of the wealthiest women in the country. This is a beautiful opportunity for her to make this collection a gift to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The images will be preserved and available for all to see, forever.
16
@Penner
It's not the responsibility of a sole black woman to spend the dollars she earned in an industry that was stacked against black women. American institutions that rely on tax dollars, grant monies and private funding should be invested in both keeping this archive safe as well as making it available to the public. So that the experiences documented can be written into our rich cultural history as well as available to scholars, other institutions and any interested parties. We need this. Especially in such polarized times.
22
@Penner, Oprah has much more money - I could see her doing this.
13
If I could afford it I would purchase it and give it to a museum.
32
We have a long way to go -particularly in these days of racist DJT when we are going backwards - but we cannot forgot how far we have come since the 1950s!
These images need to be in the public domain!
How about Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates or Warren Buffett come forward, purchase the entire archive and give it to the Smithsonian! Then this could all be in the public domain - what an educational tool!
34
....have not been digitized?
"manila folders"..."old warehouse"...." meticulous care"...
Negligence.
These photos should be at a museum or gallery getting the professional archival care they deserve.
42
@aej
All of that takes money. And, with a bankruptcy filing, it's obvious the archive's owners don't have that.
11
Wow! Beautiful !
8
Max Roach on drums behind Pearl Bailey.
34
@Michael Weiss Good catch!
14
Someone needs to buy it and donate it to the African American History Museum in DC so everyone can see it. Maybe Ms. Bezos would make it one of her first donations!
115
Oh, I hope this collection is bought by a reputable nonprofit and given just as much exposure as a Rembrandt or a Van Gogh. It is absolutely an American national treasure and everyone—regular people, scholars—should be able to access and appreciate all or part of it at any given time.
31
Hopefully whoever is in charge of these archives is busy scanning and preserving a copy of each of these photographs. Although digital it will not be the original which are most certainly worth a higher value, it will insure these amazing photographs are historically archived in the event a private collector wins the auction with ulterior motives.
17
America still doesn't accept those of a different color or background as our president has so recently expressed. Sad but true.
8
Thank you for these photos. Unfortunately back in the day, racism pretty much either kept these photos in the closet or not at all.
Speaking as a senior, people both male and female, black and white dressed sharply as a man or feminine as a woman.
Today both genders dress like they just walked out of a circus clown routine or bums off the street with tats, piercings all over, bizarre clothes etc. etc.
11
Hmmm, that’s what old folks said about young folks in the 60’s.
12
wow ... goosebumps!
6
I'm hoping that some of our current Black entertainers, business leaders would buy the collection and donate them to either the Smithsonian African American Museum or disperse the collection to HBCU.
10
@Zippybee57
It's not the responsibility of only black folks to spend the dollars earned from their respective industries to purchase this archive. American institutions that rely on tax dollars, grant monies and private funding should be invested in both keeping this archive safe as well as making it available to the public. So that the experiences documented can be written into our rich cultural history as well as available to scholars, other institutions and any interested parties. We need this. Especially in such polarized times.
7
@SST I strongly disagree. Once an African American entertainer reaches “billionaire” status through selling concert tickets, etc — why shouldn’t they hold the responsibility of helping to preserve the legacy of those upon whose shoulders they stand? It’s upon those with the monetary means to make sure this cherished archive is purchased and then shared with the NMAAHC Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Their gift will then become part of their legacy. Jay-Z and Beyonce, I hope you’re reading this!
5
@Alish
You can strongly disagree for as long as you like. It Disagreeing will not make a strong case. Taxpayer dollars (including Jay-Z and Beyonce's) in part fund all kinds of institutions from elementary schools to pubic museums. Your argument is on par with "why shouldn't people with children pay more taxes to support schools?" If you want to focus on disproportionate incomes you'd be a better public servant asking the question "Why don't wealthy white men pay for the therapy women need after the abuse those men heaped on the women when they were girls?" For your consideration, two links to some places where Beyonce and Jay-Z contribute their time and money.
https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/beyonce
https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/jay-z
5
Could the drummer in the Pearl Bailey photo be the jazz great Max Roach? Anyone know??
13
@Richard Marting
Yes it is Max Roach
10
@Richard Marting Yes that's Max Roach. I don't know who the male dancer or the other musicians are, but that is Max Roach. Have a great day
7
It would be great if this collection could be donated to the Smithsonian African American History Museum. However, because money trumps everything it won't. Sad.
24
When the photos are declared a National Treasure then no one will be able to keep them hidden away.
Other countries do this.
We can, too.
There are simply too many such National Treasures which are too vital and important to our collective history to be subject to the exclusive whims of one person.
If they are then held by a museum, that institution must guaranteed access to anyone who wishes to see them. In addition, the place must have a standing, rotating exhibition.
With all the money we are wasting on frivolous things like our president's desecration of Washington on July 4th, we can surely do this.
70
@simon sez...
Other countries do a lot of things we don't do...
9
In the overtly racist state of affairs we find ourselves in, there are unfortunately even worse fates for this collection than it simply being hidden away. Are the auctioneers considering this or is it just about the money?
23
These photos brought a tear to my year - both of sadness for days gone by and joy.
36
It sounds as though the heiress, who was quoted in the article, was unable to sustain the family business and equally unable to wind the company down, without resorting to bankruptcy protection. Whether the sale is driven by the bankruptcy court, or the avarice of the heirs is unknown. Hopefully, the archive will be digitized and made available to the public.
46
@Chicago native Or maybe she was just "using the law" like others who have family businesses do.
10
Digitize and disseminate: The originals will hold their value if correctly preserved, and whomever purchases them and chooses to share will benefit from good will across the social spectrum; so will everyone who views the images.
65
Perhaps I am naive but why submit to the vagaries of an auction? why not sell the collection directly to insure that this cultural icon becomes available for study, exhibitions and republication? Why not treat them like the Life Magazine collection?
Does everything have to be about maximum profits?
117
@Reb
The bankruptcy trustee is obligated under the law to obtain the highest price possible.
36
@Reb
My thoughts were the same. Does bankruptcy ALWAYS require an auction? On the other hand, would an appraisal followed by a sale suffice for the bankruptcy court?
7