James P. Newton

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James P. Newton was a photographer in Memphis, Tennessee. He is noted as the city's first African American professional photographer and as an influential documenter of the city's history. [1] Several of his cabinet card photographs remain including in the University of Memphis' collection. [2]

Newton owned property in Chicago and partnered with his brother Charles to form Newton & Newton. He also worked for a larger studio during his career. [3]

He featured in Sprakling Gems of Race Knowledge Worth Knowing (1897), along with a portrait of him. G. P. Hamilton wrote about him in The Bright Side of Memphis (1908). [1]

He had a studio on 134 South Main and then Beale Street. [4] The Memphis Heritage Trail includes a site related to him. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 Jenkins, Earnestine Lovelle (2016-02-28). Race, Representation & Photography in 19th-Century Memphis - From Slavery to Jim Crow. Routledge. p. 280. ISBN   9781409468196.
  2. Jenkins, Earnestine (2017-01-11). "The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis". University of Memphis . Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  3. Jenkins, Earnestine (2018-02-27). "Portrait of Annie Sybil Thomas Jarret by James P. Newton – First Black Professional Photographer in Memphis". protect.chickhistory.org. Archived from the original on 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  4. "Cabinet Card Photos and the Historic Memphis Photographers". historic-memphis.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-17. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  5. "Maps | Memphis Heritage Trail".