- Collection:
- The Blues, Black Vaudeville, and the Silver Screen, 1912-1930s: Selections from the Records of Macon's Douglass Theatre
- Title:
- Letter: Charleston, South Carolina to Charles Henry Douglass, Jr., Macon, Georgia, 1925 Aug. 21
- Creator:
- Thomas, D. Ireland
- Date of Original:
- 1925-08-21
- Subject:
- African American newspapers--South
Carolina--Charleston
Motion picture projectionists--Arkansas--Fort Smith
Motion picture projectionists--Georgia--Macon
Motion picture theaters--Georgia--Macon
Theaters--Employees
Douglass Theatre (Macon, Ga.)
Price, Harry, projectionist
Douglass, Charles Henry, 1870-1940
Lincoln Theatre (Charleston, S.C.)
Chicago defender (Chicago, Ill. : 1909) - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Bibb County, Macon, 32.84069, -83.6324
United States, South Carolina, Charleston County, Charleston, 32.77657, -79.93092 - Medium:
- letters (correspondence)
- Type:
- Text
- Format:
- image/jpeg
text/html - Description:
- Letter from D. Ireland Thomas, probably the owner of the Lincoln Theatre in Charleston, South Carolina and owner of the Lincoln Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee, to Charles Henry Douglass, Jr., African American entrepreneur and owner of the Douglass Theatre, dated August 21, 1925, regarding the possibility of hiring projectionist Harry Price for the Douglass Theatre. Thomas advises Douglass to mention his name when he writes to Price, and to mention to Price the salary and the hours he would have to work. Thomas describes Price as a reliable and competent projectionist. He also offers to send someone if Douglass will tell him the salary and hours for the position. Thomas mentions that he recently placed two people and that he has fewer people to place since more theaters are opening up. He thanks Douglass for complimenting his column in The Defender, possibly The Chicago Defender, an influential African American newspaper founded in 1905 by African American journalist Robert S. Abbott. Thomas laments that he had to stop writing the column while he was sick and busy with work. He reports that business was good over the summer and that he has the best projection in the South. Thomas brags that the owners of the "big white theatres up town" stop by to see his projection and lobby display and are ashamed to admit that a "colored theatre" has the best projection in Charleston. He ends by heartily complimenting Douglass for being a self-made man.
Digital image and encoded transcription of an original manuscript, scanned, transcribed and encoded by the Digital Library of Georgia in 2005, as part of Georgia HomePLACE. This project is supported with federal LSTA funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. - Local Identifier:
- dbr054
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/dtrm/id:dbr054
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/do:dlg_dtrm_dbr054
- IIIF manifest:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/dlg_dtrm_dbr054/presentation/manifest.json
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: [title of item], Theater Records Series, Charles Henry Douglass, Jr. Business Records, 1906-1967, Middle Georgia Archives, presented in the Digital Library of Georgia.
- Extent:
- [1] p.
Manuscript held by the Middle Georgia Archives, Washington Memorial Library, Charles Henry Douglass, Jr. business records, 1906-1967, box 21, folder 203, document 20. - Holding Institution:
- Washington Memorial Library, Middle Georgia Regional Library
- Rights:
-
Page: [1]
[Note: This document contains typewritten, handwritten, and printed text.]
[printed text:
THE LINCOLN THEATRE
601 KING STREET
CHARLESTON, S. C. [SOUTH CAROLINA]]
[typewritten text: August, Twenty-First, 1925.
Mr. C. H. Douglass,
DOUGLASS THEATRE,
Macon, Ga. [Georgia]
Dear Mr. Douglass --
Replying to yours of the 16th., will say that you can write to Harry Price, Lincoln Theatre, Fort Smith, Ark. [Arkansas] , and mention my name, and tell him the salary that you pay and the hours that he will have to work each day.
He is a reliable man and desires to leave Fort Smith as the theatre there is not much of a success. He is a good projectionist and can pass the examination in your city.
You can also write me and let me know the salary that you pay and the hours on duty and I will send you some one [someone].
Just placed a couple of fellows. Usually have the names of a great many of them but as the theatres are opening up they are being placed.
Glad that you like my column in The Defender. Had to give it up for a while [awhile], being sick and so much work to do. You would not imagine how many letters that I answer each week.
Hope that your business is holding up. This Summer here the business was over 100% better than last Summer. Have a real live house here. The best projection in the south. Gardiner screen, radiant lenses and dessolving [dissolving] disc shutters. Some bright pictures. The big White theatres up town here are always stopping by to see my projection and look at my lobby display. They say that they are ashamed to admit that a Colored Theatre have the best projection in the city of Charleston.
You are a great man Mr. Douglass. Great because you have made a success in life that was clean. No one can point their finger at you and say that you owe them. You know your stuff, learned it and no one knows more about your own business than you do. This is what I call a man.]
[Signed] [written text: D Ireland Thomas]