About this Item
12¼" x 9¼". Stapled pictorial self-wrappers. Pp. 36. Good plus: one 4" x 2" section near the rear excised, with slicing through subsequent leaves and rear cover, though all latter content extant; wrappers split at both ends, lightly worn and creased; light toning, scattered light spotting and a few small stains. This is a rare issue of an uncommon African American magazine, Newspic. Filled to the brim with incredible photographic images by important Black photographers, the issue documents African American soldiers, firefighters, artists, models and "interesting personalities" from the celebrity to the everyday. Newspic ran from approximately 1940 to 1947 and was known to feature the accomplishments of notable African Americans, Black contributions to the war effort and issues facing the average African American throughout the United States. This issue focused on the eastern seaboard, as editor Otto McClarrin visited several cities to report on them. McClarrin, a Howard graduate, helped organize Howard's first formal publicity program before serving in the Army Air Forces during World War II. He was editor of Newspic from 1945 to 1947 then returned to Howard as publicity and public relations director until 1956. McClarrin later served the United States government as public affairs officer for the Information Agency, information officer with the Civil Rights Commission, an official of the Office of Economic Opportunity and an administrator with the Department of Health and Human Services. He died in 1983. This issue is jam-packed with images of both notable and ordinary-but-accomplished African Americans. Importantly, it contains numerous photographs by Gordon Parks, as well as a fantastic cover and pin-up shots by the "well-known twins, Morgan and Marvin Smith who have been photographing glamour girls in Harlem for many years." The Smith brothers worked for the Works Progress Administration building gardens and painting murals, and in 1937 Morgan became the first staff photographer for the New York Amsterdam News. Two years later, they opened their own studio, M & M Smith Studios, next to the Apollo Theater and became the theater's official photographers. Marvin was the first African American student to enroll at the Naval Air Station School of Photography and Motion Pictures during World War II, and Morgan provided the pictures to a number of large Black newspapers throughout the country. They closed their studio, which had become a Harlem landmark, in 1968 and worked in television until 1975 when they retired at the age of 65. This issue documents "Philly's Fine USO" with great shots of African American servicemen with the likes of Paul Robeson, Marian Anderson, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, USO "Queens," "hostesses," family and friends. It also includes what is "said to be the last photograph taken of the inimitable Fats Waller" before the "tour of the midwest which ended in his death." A "Weekend in New York" section highlights events and personalities "in the big city of bright lights and glamour" with reviews of Broadway plays, images of Harlem's Savoy Ballroom and a performance led by Katherine Dunham, who has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of Black dance." There is also a segment on "New York School Children," filled with great shots and data comparing New York's public school system with that of southern cities, and one on African Americans "Fighting Fires in the Nation's Capitol" with fantastic images by Parks. Holdings of Newspic are rare. OCLC shows two entries for a total of five institutions, four of which have only one issue, with two having this one.
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