James Edward Jordan photographs
Scope and Content
The collection contains portrait prints all presumably taken by James Edward Jordan. The images include portraits of unidentified children, men, and women, predominently posed in a studio setting with painted decorative backgrounds. Of note is one strip of custom postage stamps of an unidentified man.
Dates
- approximately 1947-1970
Creator
- Jordan, James Edward (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
This material is protected by copyright law. (Title 17, U.S. Code) Permission for use must be cleared through the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Licensing agreement may be required.
Administrative/Biographical History
James Edward Jordan (1888-1977) was born in Wrightsville, Georgia, and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1919. His career as an African American businessman in Atlanta included beauty and barber-supply sales, tailoring, clothing sales, real estate, photography, and motion picture production. He owned and ran the Jordan Shop of Quality, maintained a tailor shop in the Odds Fellow Building and purchased the Pioneer Mercantile Company. In 1947, Jordan opened a photography studio at 268 Auburn Avenue, which he operated until the late 1960s. During much of this period, Auburn Avenue, known as "Sweet Auburn", was the central business and cultural street for Atlanta's African American community. His real estate holdings included several homes in Atlanta; he also owned properties in New York City. Jordan's businesses were family operated enterprises.
Administrative/Biographical History
Jordan married Anna Hobbs in Wrightsville, Georgia, and the couple had seven children: James, Narvie, Harvey, Edward, Anna Pearl, Robert, and Juanita. Each worked for some point in the Jordan businesses. Jordan also placed a great deal of emphasis on education, funding several scholarships for students to attend Booker T. Washington High School in the early 1930s.
Extent
32 photographic print(s) (31 color and black and white photographs, 1 postage stamp)
Language
English
System of Arrangement
This collection is arranged alphabetically according to titles supplied by staff.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift, 1985
Description Control
This collection was re-processed in 2016.
- Advertising -- Georgia
- Advertising -- Georgia -- Atlanta
- African American artists
- African American artists -- Georgia
- African American businesspeople -- Georgia -- Atlanta
- African American children -- Georgia -- Atlanta
- African American photographers
- African American photographers -- Georgia -- Atlanta
- African American women -- Georgia -- Atlanta
- Auburn Avenue (Atlanta, Ga.)
- Booker T. Washington High School (Atlanta, Ga.)
- Georgia -- Commerce
- Hobbs, Anna
- Title
- James Edward Jordan photographs
- Author
- Felicia Render
- Date
- March 2016
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center Repository