Miss Freddie sic Washington, No. 40 holding cigarette, full-length view : acetate film photonegative and 3 contact prints

Object Details

Photographer: Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994
Creator: Defender (film manufacturer)
Names: Washington, Fredi (Fredericka Carolyn)
Subseries Creator: Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.); Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994; Custom Craft; Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964; Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005

See more items in: Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives; Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives

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: This portrait session with the actress was one of Robert Scurlock's earliest major photographic projects.

Medium: Negatives: Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet, 7 x 5 in.; Contact prints: Silver gelatin on paper, 7 x 5".
Condition: Negative in good condition, with some pencil retouching in face area. Punctures or indentations from negative drying hanger, top edge. Prints, one on glossy paper, the other two on matte, are somewhat faded.

Type: Archival materials; Portraits; Contact prints; Studio portraits; Photographs; Retouching

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

Subseries 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: Portraits -- African American women; Contact prints -- 1950-2000; Studio portraits; Photographs -- 1940-1950 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film; Retouching -- Pencil

Scope and Contents: Job Number: 30807; Informal portrait in studio, with contact print proofs. Negative edge imprint: "Defender Safety Film." Negative marked on edge, "30807 Miss Freddie Washington 25...[?] 5 x 7". One print is marked on verso: "Freddie Washington, actress / starred in movie "Imitation of Life" w/Louise Beavers"; other prints unmarked. Signed in negative, "Scurlock / Wash. D.C.", lower left.

Subseries 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.