Evie Quarles Collection Finding Aid (PDF)
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University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION TABLE OF CONTENTS Biographical Sketch …………………………………………………………………… 2 Scope & Content …………………………………………………………………… 3 Series Notes …………………………………………………………………………… 4 Container List …………………………………………………………………………… 5 Series I: Miscellaneous …………………………………………………… 5 Series II: Recordings …………………………………………………………… 5 Series III: Photographs …………………………………………………… 6 Addendum I …………………………………………………………………… 7 A. Negatives …………………………………………………………… 7 B. Posters and Flyers …………………………………………………… 36 MS249 – Evie Quarles Collection 1 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Evalyn “Evie” Smith Quarles was born to Birdie and Pete Smith of West Tennessee. The first five years of her life were spent in a one-room grocery store owned by her father. The family lived in four rooms in the back of the store until 1946 when her father sold the store and moved to Halls, Tennessee, so that Evie could attend first grade. Although the school did not have an art program Evie knew by the fourth grade that she wanted to be an artist, so when she graduated from high school she attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and graduated in 1962 with a BS in Education and a major in Art. Knowing that she did not want to become a teacher, she enrolled at the Memphis Academy of Arts in the Fall of 1962. In the Spring of 1964 a recruiter from Hallmark Cards came to the school to interview anyone who was interested. Knowing she was on the road to becoming a professional student, Evie decided to sign up. Two months later she was in Kansas City, Missouri, designing greeting cards for Hallmark. Her parents breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she would not be a starving artist. Her life as an artist was much better than she ever expected. In 1965 Evie married her husband Bob and their son Josh was born in 1972. She then left Hallmark to freelance at home and be with her son. For the next 28 years she designed greeting cards and other projects that often connected her with Hallmark. She often enjoyed photography and used her camera for some of her freelance projects. At 57 years old she decided to finish the projects she was working on and enrolled in a photography class at Penn Valley Community College in the Fall of 1997. After a couple of weeks learning the basics of developing and printing, Evie got caught up in the magic of the darkroom and would spend every free moment working there. She finally understood the meaning of black, white and gray, or in a word contrast. She couldn’t wait to get to the lab to print the shots she had taken the day before, she was hooked. While working on a project for her final exam, she discovered the Grand Emporium, a popular local juke joint. That is where Evie began her career as a blues photographer, working with local musicians; various blues publications and blues and jazz venues in Kansas City, Missouri, as well as various Kansas locations. She is a lifetime recipient of a Kansas City Blues Society membership as well as official photographer of that organization. Excerpts taken from the Evie Quarles manuscript: Journey to the Blues MS249 – Evie Quarles Collection 2 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION SCOPE AND CONTENT The Evie Quarles Collection was gifted to the LaBudde Special Collections in May 2013. Inclusive dates are 1990-2008, with the bulk of the material ranging in date from 1997-2002. The collection includes programs, promotional material, miscellaneous ephemera, various blues publications, news clippings, and musical CDs, most of which are housed in the Marr Sound Archives. One jewel of this collection is Quarles’ book manuscript, Journey to the Blues. To illuminate that experience follows an assemblage of 800 plus black and white photographs which take you along on that journey, the likes of where you’ve never been before. Her photography of black & white images create a compelling depiction of her love and passion for the epic American art form known as the Blues. For any researcher or archivist, it doesn’t get any better than this. Each photograph has been meticulously labeled with dates, names; locations and events. The atmosphere is up close and personal with individuality and character caught on camera. To have such pristine historical documentation captured for future generations is a privilege to be well treasured. An addendum to the Evie Quarles Collection was donated by Quarles in March 2016. It consists primarily of photograph negatives taken by Quarles of a variety of artists at a number of venues, mostly in the greater Kansas City area. There are also Quarles’s own meticulous notes on many of the photo sheets providing specific dates and other information about the photographs. Contained here also are posters and flyers from Quarles’s personal collection, many of them autographed and from events where Quarles took photographs. MS249 – Evie Quarles Collection 3 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION SERIES NOTES Series I: Miscellaneous This series includes programs, promotional material, miscellaneous ephemera, various blues publications, news clippings, and two book manuscripts. Material is located in box 1; and box 2, folders 1 and 2. Series II: Recordings This series includes various blues and jazz recordings on compact disc format. Commercially- produced music releases have been transferred to the Marr Sound Archives for archiving and storage; all others are located in box 2. Series III: Photographs This series includes over 800 black and white photographs taken by Quarles that document local and national blues and jazz acts, events, and festivals in the Kansas City area, as well as the scene and venues that support the music. The bulk of the dates are 1990s-2000s. Material is located in boxes 3-16. ADDENDUM I: SERIES NOTES Addendum I – A. Negatives This series is located in boxes 17-26 and consists almost entirely of photo negatives taken by Quarles. The photos are of blues and jazz musicians from the Kansas City area, as well as artists from around the country who performed in and toured through the area. Many of the photos were taken at once-prominent KC clubs and venues that have since shut their doors, such as the Grand Emporium and Blayney’s of Westport. Some notable musicians featured in the photographs are: Angela Hagenbach, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, Chubby Carrier, Myra Taylor, Millage Gilbert, and Brody Buster. There are negatives of a B.B. King performance in Kansas City as well. In addition to negatives, there are occasional sheets of contact prints, proofs, slides, and a few developed photographs. Where possible, these prints, proofs, slides, and photos are grouped with their respective negatives. Most of the collection is in black and white, though there are some sheets in color. Addendum I – B. Posters and Flyers This series is located in Map Drawer 49 and contains posters and flyers, many from events and performers that were her photographic subjects. This includes posters from multiple years of the Kansas City Blues & Jazz Festival as well as some individual artists’ promotional posters. A number of these posters and flyers have been autographed, some by a large number of performers. MS249 – Evie Quarles Collection 4 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION Box Folder Description CONTAINER LIST SERIES I: MISCELLANEOUS Box Folder Description 1 1 Programs: Festivals; Concerts; Dedications & Inauguration. [1998 King Biscuit Blues Festival] box 2 2 Promotional Material: Flyers: Leaflets; Instructional mailings 3 Memorial Events: John Bingham Shaw; Edward Harrison Toler; Provine “Little” Hatch 4 Miscellaneous Ephemera: Press Passes; Ticket Stub 5 Newsletters and Publications: Elder Statesmen of Kansas City Jazz Newsletter, 6/24/01 Eureka Blues Festival Bluesletter, 2002 Harmony Vision, Fall, 2001 Little Mary Newsletter, Summer to Fall, 2002 Jazz Ambassador Magazine, June/July, 1998 Living Blues Magazine, January/February, 2000 [Memphis Flyer, Guide to Beale Street Blues Fest] Box 2 6 News Clippings, 1998 7 News Clippings, 1999 8 News Clippings, 2000 9 News Clippings, 2001 10 News Clippings, 2002 11 News Clippings, 2003 – 2010 12 News Clippings, 1990; 1997; undated 2 1 Journey To the Blues, Evie Quarles’ Book Manuscript (Includes 2 CDs) 2 Two Miles to the Blues, Book Manuscript SERIES II: RECORDINGS Box Folder Description CDs (located in box 2) 2 Blues Quest: B.B. King Blues Quest: Rory Block Blues Quest: The Holmes Brothers Blues Quest: John Mooney Blues Quest: L’il Ed Williams Levee Town: Snapshot Bettye Miller & Milt Abel: Untitled [2 CDs] Troost Avenue Blues MS249 – Evie Quarles Collection 5 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION Box Folder Description CDs (Housed in the Marr Sound Archives) Karrin Allyson; Ballads, Remembering John Coltrane DC Bellamy: Live at the Juke Joint, Club Paradox DC Bellamy: Water to Wine Blue 88: Classified Information Brody Buster: Blue Devil Brody Buster: Clearing the Smoke Brody Buster: Live at the Grand Emporium Bill Carter’s Blues Review: Livin’ the Blues Blue River Ordinance: Hand Crafted Cobalt Project: