BURNIS MCCLOUD PAPERS

Collection

Identifier: WH1128

Staff Only

SCOPE AND CONTENT

If it happened in Denver's African American community from the 1940s to the 1970s, Burnis McCloud photographed the event. He took more than 100,000 photographs. The collection includes photographs and negatives of everything from organizations and sporting events to weddings; beauticians and barbers to formal dances and debutante balls; NAACP conventions; golf and other sporting events. McCloud’s images include notable African Americans who passed through Denver, including Martin Luther King, Duke Ellington and Mahalia Jackson, a personal friend. The bulk of the collection consists of black-and-white negatives with selected images printed as 8x10 black-and-white photoprints.

SERIES 1 PROFESSIONAL PAPERS 1935-1991 BOX 1-3

Financial and equipment documents related to McCloud Photography comprise a portion of the series. Newspaper clippings contain some of the photographs that McCloud submitted to newspapers. The bulk of the series consists of programs, correspondence and invitations from the multitude of organizations for which McCloud provided photographs.

SERIES 2 PERSONAL PAPERS 1888-1982 BOX 3

Correspondence, cards, newspaper clippings and financial documents comprise this series.

SERIES 3 ALBUMS 1930-1977 PHOTOBOX 1-22

8x10 black-and-white photographs comprise this series. The albums are organized loosely by topic (clubs, sports, events, individuals, weddings and organizations). Some individuals portrayed are identified and dates are provided for some of the photographs.

SERIES 4 NEGATIVES 1930-1980 PHOTOBOX 23-90

The bulk of this series consists of black-and-white negatives. Though not processed, most are contained in acid-free sleeves or envelopes and listed according to the envelope notes. Spelling of names reflects notes penciled on photograph envelopes or on the backs of the photographs. Images portray organizations, weddings, funerals, events and important individuals.

Many of the negatives are in poor condition, crinkled and unidentified. For the most part, negatives were placed in acid-free envelopes and sleeves for preservation.

SERIES 5 OVERSIZE PHOTOGRAPHS 1888-1982 PHOTOOVBOX 1, PHOTOOVFF 1

Oversize black-and-white photographs comprise this series.

SERIES 6 AUDIO-VISUAL 1947, 1983, N.D. AVBOX 1-2

The series contains audio cassette tapes covering topics including interviews, speeches, sports, music, theatre, politics, television, and a 16mm film on college football.

Dates

1888-1983
Majority of material found within 1940-1976

ACCESS:

The collection is open for research.

OWNERSHIP:

The Burnis McCloud Papers are the physical property of the Denver Public Library.

PUBLICATION RIGHTS:

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Burnis (Mac) McCloud was born May 5, 1908 in Birmingham, Alabama to Mamie McCloud (later Saunders) and the Reverend F.W. McCloud, pastor of Evnon Baptist Church in Altoona, Alabama. McCloud's interest in photography began at age ten when he found camera parts while rummaging in a junkyard. McCloud took the parts to a photography store where the owner told him if the boy could put the camera together, he would teach him to use it. McCloud graduated from Birmingham's Industrial High School (now Parker High School) in 1928. He moved to Denver in 1930 and worked as a custodian in the State Capitol building.

In 1939, McCloud entered a photograph of his son, four-year-old Burnis, Jr., wearing his father's huge ten gallon hat, into a contest sponsored by Eastman Kodak for the New York World's Fair. He won and the photo was exhibited at the Fair. World War II intervened. In 1945, he returned to Colorado from serving in the U.S. Army in the Pacific to custodial work in the State Capitol. McCloud used the GI Bill to earn a B.A. from the University of Denver in 1950. In 1952, when the Capitol’s maintenance contract was given to private companies, he was unemployed. He decided to work as a photographer.

McCloud worked out of his home darkroom at 2401 Race Street, Denver, Colorado, and was meticulous in developing his prints. He never learned to drive, walking everywhere with his heavy Speed Graphic Camera. It was not unusual for him to shoot three weddings and an evening cocktail party on a Saturday. If he was shooting a convention, he would be in the darkroom all night and bring the fresh prints back to the convention in the morning.

McCloud married Claudine Smith in Denver in 1933. The couple later divorced. Their son, Burnis, was born in 1934. In 1952, he married Ellen Moose and they had a daughter, Adonnica Louise. Ellen was the first social worker at Denver's first YWCA for blacks and earning a Masters in Social Work from the University of Denver. The couple latr divorced. McCloud married Marsaline Estes in 1958. Their marriage lasted until his death.

McCloud was a member of Zion Baptist Church and active in several organizations including Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and the Owl Club of Denver. He was also a Mason and a Shriner.

In the 1980s, complications from diabetes, including failing eyesight, forced McCloud's retirement. He died December 4, 1990 and is buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver.

Extent

3 Boxes (2.75 linear feet)

90 PhotoBoxes

2 Audio-Visual Boxes

1 Photo OVBoxes

1 PhotoOVFF

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Other Finding Aids

For location information, refer to the Denver Public Library Catalog.

PROVENANCE:

The bulk of the collection was purchased from Marsaline McCloud in 1991.

SIZE:

Number of Boxes: 3 (2.75 linear feet)

Number of PhotoBoxes: 90

Number of Audio-Visual Boxes: 2

Oversize: 1 PhotoOVBox, 1 PhotoOVFF

LOCATION:

WH1128

PROCESSED BY:

Zipporah Hammond deserves special thanks for beginning the process. Many staff members and volunteers of the Western History/Genealogy Department and the African American Research Library worked to complete the processing of the Burnis McCloud collection from 1991-2012. Ann Brown completed the finding aid in 2012.