Herbert R. Davis photograph albums

Content Description

This collection contains two photo albums of Herbert R. Davis of Richmond, Virginia. Between the two albums there are seventy-one leaves with 324 black and white photographs and fourteen color photographs. 134 are hinged mounted, while the rest are corner mounted or tipped in. Some of the photographs contain captions. The albums document the early 1930s to the late 1940s, with the images chronicling Black pre-World War II life in Richmond, Davis's service in the South Pacific as a Black Marine, and Davis's family life upon his return from combat. Many of Davis's fellow soldiers in the 11th Marine Depot Company, 16th Field Depot are posed in photographs. The 11th Company, who fought at the Battle of Peleliu, had the heaviest casualty rate of any Black marine unit in the war. However, the majority of the photographs document African American communities in pre and post-war Richmond. Included are shots of Davis with friends and family, as well as studio and arcade portraits. They include street scenes, Black parades, including the African American Women's Army Corps (WAC), and sporting events. About twenty images depict segregation, with two images that include businesses with signs for "Coloreds" or "Whites" and others that include a segregated beach.

Acquisition Type

Purchase

Provenance

Purchased from Langdon Manor, 7 February 2024.

Language of Description

English

Restrictions Apply

No