The Hogan Archive acquires a new archival collection documenting New Orleans jazz elders in 1972

The Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz, a unit of Tulane University Special Collections (TUSC), has recently acquired an archival collection containing materials intended for an unfinished 1972 documentary about New Orleans jazz elders who were still active. The George G. and Jacqueline V. Mallinson collection is one linear foot, and includes reel-to-reel audio tapes and photographs of interviews with musicians Josiah "Cie" Frazier, Percy Humphrey, Willie Humphrey, Nathan "Jim" Robinson, and Ernest Roubleau.

The collection also includes research notes and a written proposal for Before They’re Gone, the proposed title of the film project that was denied funding in 1974 by the U.S. Department of Health, Education & Welfare. The project was led by Dr. George G. Mallinson, founder of the Department of Blindness and Low Vision at Western Michigan University; and assisted by Jacqueline V. Mallinson, a professor of science education at WMU; and Richard Allen, the then-curator of the Hogan Archive at Tulane University.

“Thanks to people, like the Mallinsons, who have saved their personal materials and donated them to archival repositories, there will hopefully never be a dearth of materials that contribute to our knowledge of New Orleans history,” says Melissa A. Weber, curator of the Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz. “This new collection will be a welcome addition to researchers and enthusiasts of New Orleans music and culture.”

Currently, the collection is closed to the public until all materials have been processed. For more information, contact Melissa A. Weber at mweber3@tulane.edu or 504-247-1807. To learn more about Tulane University Special Collections, visit the TUSC website at library.tulane.edu/tusc, email specialcollections@tulane.edu, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Published June 15, 2022

Photo caption: George Mallinson interviews musician Willie Humphrey (pictured seated at left) at Humphrey’s New Orleans home, on March 1, 1972, photographer: Jacqueline Mallinson, George G. and Jacqueline V. Mallinson collection, Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz, Tulane University Special Collections.