A photo of Harlem's most beloved poet from 1924 shows a gathering of friends and the bespoke fashions of the day. The archival material has it that this rooftop party in honor of Mr. Langston Hughes was held at 580 St. Nicholas Avenue which was across the Street from the park and facing City College. Mr. Hughes is at the far left, then Mr. Charles S. Johnson; Mr. E. Franklin Frazier; Mr. Rudolph Fisher and Mr. Hubert T. Delaney. Langston Hughes' 110th birthday would have been this past Wednesday, February 1st.
Image courtesy the Schomburg Photograph and Print Division at the New York Public Library
Wonderful photo!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great photo, with these handsome men in all their various colors and persuasions.
DeleteWondrous !
For those wondering where all the women were, there's a version from the same spot, but withJessie Fauset, Regina Anderson, Ethel Nance, and others (it appears in David Levering Lewis's When Harlem Was in Vogue).
ReplyDeleteSorry for the long address, but here it is:
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=%22580+st.+nicholas+avenue%22+harlem+regina&hl=en&sa=X&biw=879&bih=886&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnsb&tbnid=LF24xjIw4vNFWM:&imgrefurl=http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm%3Ftrg%3D1%26strucID%3D1862074%26imageID%3D1692937%26word%3Ddiv_id%253Asp%26s%3D1%26notword%3D%26d%3D%26c%3D%26f%3D%26k%3D3%26lWord%3D%26lField%3D%26sScope%3Dimages%26sLevel%3D%26sLabel%3DPhotographs%2520and%2520Prints%2520Division%26total%3D2424%26num%3D0%26imgs%3D20%26pNum%3D%26pos%3D13%26print%3Dsmall&docid=zDUfq5j_ozbpVM&imgurl=http://images.nypl.org/index.php%253Fid%253D1692937%2526t%253Dw&w=456&h=760&ei=3zEtT-SUOMGCOtjjiKwB&zoom=1
And Ulysses did post a photo of both groups together last June.
By the way, the ladies seem to be having way more fun!