About

9 cubic feet; photographic, printed.
1,500 gelatin silver prints approx.
5,050 film negatives approx.

Collection Description

Alonzo W. Jordan, a photographer and barber, was born February 26, 1903, to Estella and Neeland Jordan in Sabine Pass, Texas. He moved to Jasper at the age of 2 and was raised by his grandparents and attended Jasper Negro School. In 1939 he entered the barbering profession and established a shop in Jasper.

Jordan studied photography under L. A. Simmons in Wiergate, Texas and purchased his first professional camera in 1943. He simultaneously operated a photo studio and barber shop for 41 years. Alonzo Jordan died in January 1984.

During the studio’s operation, Alonzo Jordan photographed almost every graduating class and school event at local Jasper schools, especially for many elementary and high schools in about a 75-mile radius. As an active member of the Prince Hall Masons, Jordan also documented black Freemasonry in East Texas for many years.

Jordan was married to Helen Armstrong Limbrick (b. 1912). Mrs. Jordan accompanied him on most shooting assignments outside Jasper and was responsible for the studio’s recordkeeping and client information.

The collection, dating from 1947 to 1978, primarily contains formal portraiture and photographs of groups at events, most notably schools, social groups, weddings, and civic organizations. Religion is well-represented by church interiors and exteriors, as well as action shots of services. The bulk of Jordan’s negatives are in the 4x5 black and white format, though he slowly switched in the early 1970s to 120 color negatives. Prints are primarily 8x10 black and white but also in 5x7 and 2.5 x 3.5 “billfold” size. Color prints are mostly in the 8x10 size, with some 5x7 and in billfold size.

A transcribed oral history with Helen Jordan was conducted in 1996 and is part of the TAAP Archive Oral History Collection.

Copyright and permissions: Copyright retained by photographer. Prints for research and study only. Written permission to reproduce required from photographer.

Source: Helen Jordan