the schomburg center for research in black culture In 1980, I attended the grand opening of the new building of The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. It's come a long way since the Arthur Schomburg collection was purchased by the NY Public Library and housed upstairs of the original 135th Street Library, then called the Countee Cullen Brand in Harlem. Dorothy T. Lassiter (my mom) worked as a librarian at the 135th Street branch of the NY Public Library back in the late 1940's, after the War, when the collection was still upstairs.
My mom's photos of the staff members, ephemera from her time at the library and library events from several NY Public Library branches are a part of my Black Ephemera Collection The Boris Rose Archive in the Bronx, New York. Documents many years of important jazz recordings that should be preserved by a major university. second hand book seller in singapore The largest used bookstore in Singapore. Who needs corporate bookstores all over the world. i prefer the quirky, one-of-a kind used bookstore with personality, no matter where they are around the globe. Buy-Sell-Rent-Recycle books. Keeping good books from the landfill...
Some call it the world's largest record collection. This is what it's all about; preserving popular music and culture so future generations will be able to hear the incredible music, made during a period of exploding creativity (1920 - 1990)
Arguably, the most important bookstore in the United States; a true landmark in the city of Detroit for book collectors. When all of the corporate bookstore giants have disappeared, stores like John K. King Books will keep on going, bringing books to the people.
This is what collecting is all about; specializing in an area that's undocumented and doing it well over many years. The Roger Steffans Reggae Archives is arguably the largest reggae collection in the world. Newspaper clippings, magazines, buttons, posters, cassettes, books, vinyl and photographs, documenting one of the great new music forms created in the last 100 years.
The Black Press was instrumental in keeping readers informed on what was happening in the 'Negro world'. Always enjoyed reading copies of The Amsterdam News, The Baltimore Afro-American, The Atlanta Voice, and The Atlanta Daily World. The ephemera is important.
Back in the early 1990's I got my hands on a copy of the 1991 reprint of Black Genealogy written by Charles Blockson. After reading the book, I called the number listed in the book and Mr. Blockson picked up the phone. We had a brief conversation and he gave me another spark to keep digging, keep collecting plus some interesting leads on where to locate black history off the beaten path.
A true bibliophile. One of the living legends of collecting black culture. As an undergraduate, I spent hours in the Mooreland-Spingarn Research Center at Founders Library. This was one of the sparks that inspired me to start my own collection. Back then, everything was done "by hand"; you had to go to the card catalog, fill out a book request form, then wait for a librarian to bring you the requested books. Then you had to return the books to the desk before you left. The collection is made up of:
Vinyl (33rpm - 45rpm - 78rpm) Reel to reel tapes (4 track & 2 track) Cassette tapes Super 8mm films (1968-1980) VHS tapes SP-Beta tapes DAT tapes Computer Discs (MIDI & SP-1200 files) Compact Discs DVD's 35mm negatives 35mm slides Contact Sheets Photos (8 x 10 - Black & White) Posters Newspapers Magazines Books Postcards Flyers & brochures Pamphlets Family Letters / memorabilia Church programs HBCU ephemera Original sketches & artwork Coins & Stamps Business Cards (1983 - 2013) Concert Ticket Stubs Film Scripts & Book Manuscripts Dorothy T. Lassiter - was a librarian, a Sunday School teacher, an activist, a Golden Soror of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, married 62 years, had 3 sons, a cum laude graduate of Virginia Union University and earned a masters degree from Columbia University. In her career, she met John Henrick Clarke, June Jordan, Langston Hughes, Elton Fax, Gordon Parks and many more.
Cleveland F. Lassiter - was a preachers son, a WWII vet, social worker, Alpha man, jazz record collector who built his own amplifier & speakers, a second generation Howard grad (his father graduated Howard University in 1915) and former head of the New York City chapter of the Howard University Alumni Assn. As the youngest of 3 sons, I grew up going to libraries & bookstores with my mom, stereo stores & concerts with my dad and playing stickball (we called it K-Box), playing guitar with "The Fellas", and getting "hand-me-down" stereo equipment from my older brothers. Our family moved from The Bronx, to Queens, eventually ending up in suburbia of White Plains, NY in Westchester County. The collection is made up of a diverse combination of elements. Rare cultural artifacts passed down from both parents, items discovered in my travels over the past 40 years in New York, Washington, DC & Atlanta, as well as promotional items from 25+ years of promoting hip-hop, R & B, Reggae & other independent music. At it's core, my collection reflects my worldview. Books & recordings of Paul Robeson, photography books, to over 2,000 underground music magazines. After taking several of my books to a rare book dealer, I've been called "the man with the beautiful books". My search is to collect every photo book, exhibit catalog, and/or art book relating to the creations of the African diaspora, with a special emphasis on popular culture. |
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