This collection is available online through NYPL's Digital Collections.
- Arthur Alfonso Schomburg collectionA selection of photographs of Arturo Schomburg and associates. Note that not all Schomburg photographs have been digitized; for the complete collection visit the Photographs and Prints Division.
The collections below can be viewed on microfilm in the Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division of the Schomburg Center. No appointment is needed. For more information about visiting the division, see this guide.
- Arthur Alfonso Schomburg papersThis is the main archival collection documenting Arthur Schomburg. The papers reflect Schomburg's endeavors as a writer and researcher, as well as a collector and curator of books and manuscripts documenting black history and culture. The collection contains personal and professional papers, including correspondence, writings, material relating to Schomburg's position as curator of the Schomburg Collection at the 135th St. branch of the New York Public Library, and research material relating to black literature, art, and history.
- Dos Antillas Political Club minutesMinutes, constitution, and bylaws of the Dos Antillas Political Club, a revolutionary organization founded by Arthur A. Schomburg and others in 1892 to work for the independence of Cuba and Puerto Rico. The minutes document the donation of weapons, money, and medical supplies.
- John Edward Bruce papersJohn Edward Bruce was a journalist, historian, activist, and close friend of Schomburg. This collection contains letters written to Bruce from Schomburg.
The collections below are available in the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division of the Schomburg Center. Appointments are recommended. For more information about visiting the division, see this guide.
- Arthur Alfonso Schomburg collectionA small collection consisting of nine typescripts authored by Schomburg as well as biographical material about Schomburg collected by the New York Public Library.
- Arthur Alfonso Schomburg papers (additions)A small collection consisting primarily of correspondence to Arthur Schomburg; press clippings, mostly in scrapbooks, of articles by and about Schomburg; ephemera; and memorials of Schomburg written after his death.
- Schomburg Committee of the Trustees of New York Public Library collectionThese files consists of correspondence and minutes of meetings of the Schomburg Committee of the Trustees of The New York Public Library, and some news clippings relating to the 1926 purchase of Schomburg's book collection. The post-1926 papers include correspondence pertaining to efforts to keep Arthur Schomburg on the library payroll, acquisition of additional material, and Arthur Schomburg's research plans.
This collection is available in the Photographs and Prints Division of the Schomburg Center. For more information about the division, see here.
- Arthur Alfonso Schomburg [graphic]A collection of photographs depicting aspects of Schomburg's personal life and his activities as a Freemason, bibliophile and curator from the 1870s to 1938. The collection includes individual and group portraits, candid shots and snapshots of Schomburg; his wives and family members; and friends and professional associates. Also depicted are social activities and gatherings; exterior views of buildings and residences; reproductions of letters, citations, clippings and a passport; and snapshot views of a trip to Spain and France.
The items below are available in the Art and Artifacts Division of the Schomburg Center. Appointments are required. For more information about visiting the division, see here.
- PA.35.001.2 Pastor Argudin y Pedroso, Portrait of the Curator, Arthur A. Schomburg, 1935.
- PA.X.038.1 Albert Alexander Smith, A.A. Schomburg, date unknown.
- DR.25.001.8 William Earnest Braxton, Portrait of a Man (Arthur A. Schomburg), 1911.
- DR.66.392 Richard Brent, Portrait of a Man with Polka Dot Baute (Arthur Schomburg), date unknown.
- SC.04.002 Al Write, Arthur Schomburg, date unknown.
View this item at the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the Library for the Performing Arts.
- List showing the theatres and plays in various European cities where Ira Aldridge, the African Roscius acted during the years 1824-1867A typescript by Arthur Schomburg listing the roles of Ira Frederick Aldridge (1807-1867), one of the most important Black actors of the nineteenth century. Aldridge toured for over forty years throughout England as well as in France, Russia, Sweden, Czechoslavakia, Turkey, Germany and Austria.
- Arturo Alfonso Schomburg Artist FileView this file at the Museum of Modern Art Library.
- Alexander Gumby Collection of NegroianaAlexander Gumby was an African American bibliophile and proprietor of a Harlem Renaissance salon known as the Gumby Book Studio. His collection contains over one hundred scrapbooks, including one on "Libraries" which features clippings and ephemera relating to Schomburg. View this collection at the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library or in an online exhibition here: https://exhibitions.library.columbia.edu/exhibits/show/gumby
Listen to a letter Arturo Schomburg wrote to Langston Hughes, read by former Schomburg curator Steven Fullwood.
Watch footage of Arturo Schomburg in the 135th St. reading room with NYPL's first black librarian, Catherine Latimer, circa 1937.