William Edward Elcha (1885 – November 3, 1939) was an American photographer known for his Jazz Age Broadway photographs of Harlem performers and celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s. The

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

has his photographs in its collection. He also partnered with Percy Tappin, and The

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...

has a photo postcard from their studio of the

Jenkins Orphanage The Jenkins Orphanage, now officially known as the Jenkins Institute For Children, was established in 1891 by Rev. Daniel Joseph Jenkins in Charleston, South Carolina. Jenkins was a businessman and Baptist minister who encountered street children ...

Band from

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

Early life

Elcha was born and grew up in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. His father William was a waiter at the Haynes Hotel and his mother Cornelia A. Vandall was a painter.

Career

Elcha apprenticed with Springfield photographer George Van Norman. He established his own studio in 1913. In 1915 he joined Aime Dupont Studio, a performing arts portrait studio in Manhattan where he worked for two years before joining Bachrach Studio and then Strand Studio in 1918. He partnered with J. Montanya in 1920 before becoming New York staff photographer for the ''

Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African-American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States. It was acqu ...

''. Elcha had various other studios and partnerships during his career. Elcha documented performers and social gatherings in Jazz Age New York City. He married jazz singer Mary Elcha. He was friends with fellow photographer James VanDerZee. He also painted, including nudes, and was busted by

New York Society for the Suppression of Vice The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (NYSSV or SSV) was an institution dedicated to supervising the morality of the public, founded in 1873. Its specific mission was to monitor compliance with state laws and work with the courts and di ...

in 1930, but a judge Simpson referred to his paintings ''Sleeping Venus'', ''Springtime'', and ''Annunciation'' as masterful and he was back in business. He photographed

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and ...

and her funeral procession, Helene Denizon, Kay Hamilton, Don Dickerman,

Eva Tanguay Eva Tanguay (August 1, 1878 – January 11, 1947) was a Canadian singer and entertainer who billed herself as "the girl who made vaudeville famous". She was known as "The Queen of Vaudeville" during the height of her popularity from the early 1 ...

, and

Johnny Hudgins Johnny Hudgins (May 5, 1896 – 1990) was a vaudeville performer. He sometimes performed in blackface. Hudgins was nicknamed the Wah-Wah Man ( wah-wah) and was known for his mime performances accompanied by accomplished trumpeters. He was friends w ...

. In the summer of 1928 he became the Majestic Theatrical Circuit's photographer. He operated Progress Studio. Elcha died of a heart attack November 3, 1939, at his home at 225 West 112th Street. Photographer

Anthony Barboza Anthony Barboza (born 1944 in New Bedford, Massachusetts) is a photographer, historian, artist and writer. With roots originating from Cape Verde, and work that began in commercial art more than forty years ago, Barboza's artistic talents and ...

researched Elcha and wrote an article illustrated with a couple of dozen Elcha photos in ''

American Legacy ''American Legacy'' is a quarterly magazine that covers the subjects of African-American history and culture. The magazine is headquartered in Mount Vernon, New York and was founded in 1995 by Rodney J. Reynolds as a joint venture with Forbes Inc. ...

'' magazine in 2007."Eddie Elcha's Harlem Stage", Photo Essay, 1920s (2007), American Legacy.

References

External links

Listing of a few of his photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elcha, Edward 1885 births 1939 deaths Photographers from Massachusetts Artists from Springfield, Massachusetts 20th-century American photographers African-American photographers 20th-century African-American artists