Weem's Photography Studio, Jacksonville, Florida, Photograph of "Floria", circa 1920s-1930s

Item — Box: WP014.01, Folder: 010

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: This collection contains thirteen mounted portraits of African Americans in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Of particular interest are the images taken at the Brazelton Studio in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Weiser Studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Weem's Photography Studio in Jacksonville, Florida.

Dates

circa 1920s-1930s

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Due to the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to certain materials may require additional advance notice.

Biographical / Historical

Ellie Lee Weems Jr. (1901-1983) was an African American photographer active from the mid-1920s until 1980. Weems was born in McDonough, Georgia, to Sallie (née Sutton) Weems and Ellie Lee Weems Sr. and had a sister named Beulah. He attended public school in McDonough, then went to Tuskegee Institute, where he studied photography under Cornelius M. Battey and P. H. Polk. According to an advertisement found on page two of the December 7, 1929, issue of the Pittsburgh Courier, he worked as a staff photographer on the Atlanta Constitution for two years and various Atlanta photography studios. The advertisement also mentions that he lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and worked at Englerth Photo Supply Company as a photo finisher, which according to city directories, took place from 1924-1926. Weems moved to Jacksonville, Florida, around 1927 or 1928, where he opened his own studio. For more than fifty years, Mr. Weems captured images of people and events of the Jacksonville African American community, retiring around 1975. He moved back to Atlanta shortly after his retirement and died on October 11, 1983.