Customer Reviews

The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing The Promise

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As a nearly lifelong resident of the Washington area and a collector of photography books, I've always wondered why there has never been any comprehensive survey of the Addison Scurlock Studio. For those who may not be acquainted with the name, Scurlock was roughly to Washington what James Van Der Zee was to New York: The man that African Americans went to for that special portrait.

After having been to the Smithsonian exhibit in the temporary location of the new African American History Museum, I bought the book and was more than pleased to see that it easily surpassed my hopes and expectations. All aspects of the Scurlock Studio are well represented: the portraits of well known and unknown Washingtonians; the city of Washington, including events and storefronts; the visiting celebrities ranging from DuBois to Fredi Washington; and many photographs of the leaders, students and faculty of Howard University, where Addison Scurlock and his sons Robert and George were the "unofficial official photographers" for the better part of the 20th century.

To put my opinion of this book in a bit of personal perspective, I own nearly a thousand photography books, many of them scarce and collectible. This magnificent monograph more than holds its own among the best of them, and it belongs in the collection of any person or family who wants to understand where we've been and how we got to where we are. With its almost absurdly low list price, it's an absolute steal for anyone with an interest in either photography or African American history.

The book was not at all what we expected. There was very little representation of the majority of the African American families residing in Washington, DC. Of course many of those families could not afford to use the services of a professional photographer. We had mistakenly thought some of the children in the segregated DC school system would be in the book. Most (if not all) of the school pictures were taken by Scurlock for a long time and at least some of them should have been featured.

I'm glad you requested this review. Is it possible to return the book and if so, how?

I thoroughly enjoyed my other purchases. Though I was disappointed with the way African Americans were repeatedly referred to in the Ace Adkins book. Starr Jones' book had the feel of having been penned by a ghost writer.

PLEASE DO NOT LIST MY EMAIL ADDRESS.

This is a great book with photos and details about the people in them. It is a necessity for a collection on 20th century America.