African American Family and Military Service Photo Album Multi Generational Life 1920s to 1940s

African American Military Family

Archive

Unidentified compiler, African American family photo album, circa 1920s to 1940s, documents multi-generational family life alongside military service and educational experiences, providing visual evidence of Black domestic life and participation in the United States armed forces during the interwar and World War II periods. The album captures a family network that appears to include Creole heritage, with younger male members shown in U.S. Army uniform, supporting research into African American military participation and family structures during a period of segregation and global conflict. The inclusion of school imagery further contributes to the study of early integrated education outside the Jim Crow South.
Album containing 44 black and white silver gelatin photographs, ranging in size from approximately 1.25 x 1.25 inches to 3.5 x 4.5 inches. The images are largely uncaptioned, with occasional identifications of names and dates. The photographs depict multiple generations of a single family in domestic, outdoor, and institutional settings. Several images show young men in U.S. Army summer uniforms, while others include scenes at what appears to be a military camp, with barracks visible in the background. A group of photographs labeled “Lincoln Elementary School, 1927” depicts children in a classroom setting, notably presenting an integrated student body, suggesting a geographic context outside the segregated South. The album structure indicates some missing photographs, though the majority remain intact.

Produced across a period spanning the Great Migration era and World War II, the album provides insight into African American family continuity, military involvement, and regional variation in educational integration prior to federally mandated desegregation. The presence of uniformed servicemen reflects broader patterns of Black enlistment and service, while the school imagery offers rare visual documentation of integrated education in the early 20th century. Together, the photographs contribute to the study of race, mobility, and institutional experience in American history. Light wear to album edges, pages clean and stable; photographs sharp with minor handling wear; some images absent from mounts; overall very good. A cohesive family archive documenting African American life across two transformative decades.

Item #19658

Price: $550.00