Selected images of Harlem and its inhabitants

This remarkable group of photographs provides a fascinating glimpse of Harlem and its inhabitants from the 1920s to the 1960s. The collection represents Van Der Zee's gifts to his housekeeper, over a number of years, of discarded material that caught her eye. The images consist of formally posed portraits, street scenes, parades and images of local landmarks. Although many of the faces in these images are now anonymous, the collection also includes portraits of important local personalities - an autographed photograph of the civil rights pioneer, Marcus Garvey, the founders of the Peace Mission Movement, 'Mother' and 'Father' Divine, and the vaudeville star, Florence Mills. Significant buildings include the 'Waldorf of Harlem', the Hotel Theresa (at 125th Street and Seventh Avenue). Opened in 1913 (when - astonishingly - it operated a color bar, lifted in 1937), the hotel hosted a number of notable events and organisations until its closure in 1966 - Castro, for example, chose it as the venue for his high-profile meeting with Khrushchev and Nassar in 1960. It also became the headquarters of Malcolm X's Organization for Afro-American Unity. The Theresa - now Theresa Towers - is still in use an office complex.