Graphics

Thousands of photographs highlight the archive’s collection, with prints of musicians, bands, orchestras, funerals with brass bands, parades, and landmark buildings of jazz history. Many of the images, dating retrospectively to even the late-nineteenth century, derive from the private collections of jazz historians William Russell and Al Rose. The Al Rose Collection includes hundreds of old jazz photographs, many that were used in conjunction with Rose’s publication, New Orleans Jazz: A Family Album. The works of several distinguished contemporary photographers such as celebrated art photographer Lee Friedlander, and reputed amateur jazz photographer Dr. Bernard Steinau are featured. Renowned artist and lithographer Ralston Crawford has his own collection depicting New Orleans folk culture.

Additional collections include the Robert Palmer Collection and Danny and Blue Lu Barker Collection. The Robert Palmer Collection documents the remarkable life of Palmer, who was a musician and author publishing the celebrated monographs Deep Blues and Rock and Roll: An Unruly History, as well as writing for Rolling Stone and the New York Times. Danny Barker, banjoist and guitarist, and vocalist Louise “Blue Lu” Barker remained at the forefront of New Orleans Jazz throughout their lifetime. The Danny and Blue Lu Barker Collection remember this beloved couple in New Orleans Jazz history.

Art and advertising posters, some dating to the early 1900s, as well as rare films and recent video creations (including some produced in conjunction with the archive) also highlight the graphics holdings. Scholars, museum exhibitors, and media programmers frequently utilize this important segment of the collection