William P. Gottlieb: Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz

William P. Gottlieb: Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz contains over 1600 photographs of celebrated jazz artists. The collection documents the jazz scene in New York City and Washington, D.C. from 1938 to 1948. Gottlieb was a jazz writer for the Washington Post and later a jazz writer-photographer at Down Beat magazine. During his career, Gottlieb took portraits of jazz legends including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. This online collection presents Gottlieb's photographs, annotated contact prints, selected published prints, and related articles from Down Beat magazine.

You may go directly to the collection, William P. Gottlieb: Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz, in American Memory.

These online exhibits provide context and additional information about this collection.

In His Own Words: Photos and Commentary by William Gottlieb
Gottlieb on Assignment

These historical era(s) are best represented in the collection, although they may not be all-encompassing.

The Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945
Postwar United States, 1945-early 1970s

These collections and exhibits contain thematically-related primary and secondary sources. Browse the Collection Finder for more related material on the American Memory Web site.

African American Odyssey
American Life Histories, 1936-1940
California Gold: Folk Music from the Thirties, 1938-1940
Creative Americans: Portraits by Van Vechten, 1932-1964
Hispano Music & Culture from the Northern Rio Grande
The Leonard Bernstein Collection, ca. 1920-1989
The New Deal Stage: Federal Theater Project, 1935-1939
Washington As It Was, 1923-1959
Voices from the Dust Bowl: Migrant Worker Collection, 1940-1941

Recommended additional sources of information.

Gottlieb's Life and Work
Recent Articles: Jazz Giants and The Faces of Jazz
Down Beat Magazine Articles (1946-47)
Read More About It! - A bibliography

Specific guidance for searching this collection.

Search for photographs using the keyword search. Or, browse the Name Index that identifies people in the photographs; the Subject Index that lists topics covered by the photographs; and the Venue Index that identifies places where the photographs were taken. For help with search words, go to the Synonym List. For help with search strategies, see Finding Items in American Memory.

No special viewers are needed to see the photographs in this collection..