Art Thieme was born on July 9, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. He becamea noted folk singer. He launched his career at a Hyde Park, Chicago club, the Limelight, in 1959 and went on to perform for many years at a coffeehouse called No Exit, also in Chicago. Touring all over the country, he photographed and recorded many folk singers and concerts, documented in this collection. At the end of his career, he performed on the steamboats Julia Belle Swain, Twilight on the Mississippi, and Illinois Rivers. He has recorded traditional folk songs rendered by himself for Folk Legacy Records. Thieme died on May 26, 2015.
459 35mm color slides documenting folk musicians and folk music, in both concert settings and informal portraiture, all taken by the donor, Art Thieme, a noted folksinger. Subjects include such well-known performers as Stephen Wade, the New Lost City Ramblers, Mike Seeger, Pete Seeger, Peggy Seeger, Jack Elliott, Ike Everly, B.B. King, Dave Edmonson, Ray Harris, Kenny Baker, Tom Paxton, John Hammond, Bill Monroe, Justin Bishop, Steve Goodman, Cathy Fink, Wes Asbury, Ron F. Kirkpatrick, Doc Watson, Jim Kweskin, and Lightnin' Hopkins, and other notables such as oral historian Studs Terkel. The collection also contains a CD with Thieme's recordings and a folder of newspaper clippings, a program, and a map of local folk singers across the country. The slides are unarranged, but most slides have names, places, and dates.
Slides received in plastic storage sheets, many of which were damaged, although the slides did not seem to be physically damaged. Those that were damaged were replaced. The plastic storage sheets were contained in a red vinyl three-ring binder that has since been replaced with an acid-free binder box. The slides did not appear to be in any order.
The collection is open for research. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
The collection was donated by Art Thieme in 2012.
Art Theime Folk Music Slides, circa 1960s-1990, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Gift of Michael Cuscuna.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The collection is arranged into one series.
The CD contains songs recorded by Thieme including: "Red Iron Ore," "Jerry, Go & Oil That Car," "A Lock & Dam Tale," "In & Around Nashville," "A Lumber Camp Tale," "The Pokegama Bear," "The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry," "The Master of the Sheepfold," "Why White Men Cannot See Clearly/The Cherokee Queen," Bye & Bye," "A Ghostly Tale," "A North Country Tragedy," "Robin Hood's Death," "Way Down the Road," "Tennessee Stud," "Walkie in the Parlor," "Fair Margaret & Sweet William," "Betty and Dupree Blues," "In 1795," "Is Your Lamps Gone Out?" "Cowboy's Barbara Allen," and "A Handful of Songs."
Folk music slides
Claudia Schmidt at Winnipeg. [Jul 78 processing date on slide mount.]
AC1239-0000069 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Ian Robb & Grif Laskin [82 stamp without month on mount].
AC1239-0000068 (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.