Bradford E. Williams scrapbook : manuscript.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1937-1976.

1 volume (21 leaves)

English

Purchased from McBride Rare Books on the George B. Alvord Fund, 2019.

This material is open for research.

Bradford E. Williams was an African-American tenor from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, to P. H. Williams, a prominent Methodist minister, he attended Lincoln University, where he performed with the Lincoln Glee Club. He then moved to Pittsburgh to study voice, first with Professor Joseph Rodgers Walker, conductor of the Clef Choir, and then with Mary Cardwell Dawson, founder of the National Negro Opera Company. He served in the United States Army from 1942-1945, and was stationed in the Philippines for part of his service.

Scrapbook compiled by Bradford E. Williams from 1937-1976, documenting his career as a singer, and his time as a soldier during World War II. Includes 17 concert and theater programs, three letters pertaining to his career as a singer, two award certificates, numerous newspaper clippings about his performances, 17 photographs of Bradford Williams and others in Pittsburgh and during his military service, including while he was stationed in the Philippines, and other ephemera. The concert programs are from civilian and military venues. The photographs from Bradford Williams's time in service include images of him performing, a baseball game on base, Filipino women, and a local Filipino wedding where he performed. Thirteen of the leaves appear to have been removed from an older scrapbook and assembled, along with additional material, by an unknown compiler at a later date.

October 08, 2020

Bradford E. Williams Scrapbook. James Weldon Johnson Collection in the Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Bradford E. Williams Scrapbook. James Weldon Johnson Collection in the Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.