Theobald Wilson photographs
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Abstract
The collection consists of photographs taken by Theobald Wilson, a commercial photographer who was based in Brooklyn, dating from 1918 to 2011. The bulk of the collection is comprised of his commercial photography. The photographs primarily document churches (especially West Indian congregations) and fraternal organizations in the Crown Heights and surrounding neighborhoods of Brooklyn. In addition to the commercial photography, the collection also contains personal photographs, business records, photography equipment, and personal papers relating Wilson and his family.
Biographical note
Theobald G. Wilson was born on January 10, 1923 in the San Juan Hill neighborhood of Manhattan. His mother was a Jamaican immigrant. He had two older sisters, Dorothy and Mavis. Wilson graduated from Dewitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. Before and after World War II he was a resident of the Harlem neighborhood of Brooklyn, where he befriended many political and cultural luminaries, such as Sammy Davis Jr., Percy Sutton, Al Sharpton, Alex Haley, Thelonius Monk, and Gordon Parks. Wilson enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1941 and was invited to join the 99th Pursuit Squadron, which is popularly known as the Tuskegee Airmen. He served in North Africa and Italy as a parachute rigger and took up photography during his service to document his experiences. In the late 1940s he married Marie Dowell and they had two children, Sidney and Susannah. They lived at a number of locations in Manhattan, including 63rd and Amsterdam Avenue and the Amsterdam Houses (1948-1956). They then moved to Brooklyn, residing at 909 Belmont Avenue (1956-1963), 646 Eastern Parkway (1963), Underhill Avenue, Church Avenue and Ocean Avenue, Crown Street, 199 Lincoln Road, and finally 84 Ross Street (Bedford Gardens). Wilson ran a successful commercial photography business out of his home for several decades. His clients included corporations such as AT&T and CBS, as well as numerous churches, fraternal organizations, and other organizations in Brooklyn, especially among West Indian communities. His wife, Marie Wilson, was a well-known quilter, president of the New York Quilter's Society, and was selected to coordinate the "Weaver of Dreams" quilt displayed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta. Theobald was a member of the Church of St. Mark, which is located in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Marie Wilson passed away in 1997 and Theobald Wilson passed away in 2012.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into five series:
Series 1: Commercial photographs
Series 2: Business records
Series 3: Personal photographs
Series 4: Personal papers
Series 5: Photography equipment
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of photographs taken by Theobald Wilson, a commercial photographer who was based in Brooklyn, dating from 1918 to 2011. The bulk of the collection is comprised of his commercial photography. They primarily consist of photographic negatives (black-and-white and color), although there are some prints and digital images as well. The photographs primarily document churches (especially West Indian congregations) and fraternal organizations in the Crown Heights and surrounding neighborhoods of Brooklyn. In addition to the commercial photography, the collection also contains personal photographs, business records, photography equipment and personal papers relating Wilson and his family.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to users without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright for photographs created by Theoblad Wilson is held by the Brooklyn Historical Society. All uses beyond fair use requires a licensing agreement as per Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Please consult library staff for more information.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Theobald Wilson photographs, 2013.005, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Sid Wilson and Susan Van Norton, 2013.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection has been processed to the file-level. Digital files stored on disks have been transferred to BHS's Archived Digital Assets server for preservation purposes. The bulk of the collection's photographs were rehoused by volunteers.