Mary Church Terrell as a young woman: black-and-white photoprints

Object Details

General: Prints in Box 1.1.A4.
Exhibitions Note: Reproduction print exhibited in "The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise," NMAAHC Gallery, NMAH, January 30 - November 15, 2009; image reproduced in exhibit's companion book.

Photographer: Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964
Names: Terrell, Mary Church, 1863-1954
Series Creator: Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994; Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964; Custom Craft; Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.); Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005

See more items in: Scurlock Studio Records, Series 1: Black and White Photographs; Scurlock Studio Records, Series 1: Black and White Photographs / 1.1: Clients Black and White Photographs

Sponsor: The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.

Biographical / Historical: Civic activist. Born in Memphis, Tenn. Graduate, Oberlin College, 1884. First black woman to be appointed to the District of Columbia School Board, 1895; charter member of the NAACP. Married to Judge Robert H. Terrell. Autobiography: "A Colored Woman in a White World" (1940).

Series Citation: Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution

Series Rights: When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Genre/Form: Later prints; Photographs -- 1920-1930 -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- Later prints; Studio portraits

Scope and Contents: Formal portrait in studio; subject wearing high-necked dress with fringe on sleeves. Print A is on fiber-base paper, prints B and C on resin-coated paper. All trimmed without borders.

Series Restrictions: Collection is open for research. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.