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Collection Alan Lomax Collection

Lomax Family Collections at the American Folklife Center

The entire body of Lomax material at the American Folklife Center encompasses more than 100 collections and includes 700 linear feet of manuscripts, 10,000 sound recordings, 6000 graphic images, and 6000 moving images. Created by Alan Lomax, John A. Lomax, Sr., and many others, the body of material documents the creative expression of nearly 1000 culture groups from around the world.

Ruby Terrill Lomax. Bess Lomax Hawes collection (AFC 2014/008)

Following is a list of 120 collections created by or about the Lomax family (John A. Lomax, Sr.; Ruby Terrill Lomax; John A. Lomax, Jr.; Alan Lomax; and Bess Lomax Hawes). All of these materials are housed in the American Folklife Center's archive. Contact the Folklife Reading Room for inquiries about any of our collections.

Please note: This list does not include the 400 snapshot photographs in the portion of the Lomax Collection that is housed in the Prints & Photographs Division. These photos were made in the course of sound recording expeditions carried out by John A. Lomax, Alan Lomax, and Ruby Terrill Lomax, between 1934 and ca. 1950 for the Archive of American Folk-Song.

  • John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax papers, 1932-1968
    call number: AFC 1933/001 | catalog record
  • Archive of American Folk Song collection of song texts
    call number: AFC 1933/002 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax, Zora Neale Hurston, and Mary Elizabeth Barnicle expedition collection
    call number: AFC 1935/001 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax southern states collection, 1933-1937
    call number: AFC 1935/002 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of Aunt Molly Jackson, September 1935
    call number: AFC 1936/001 | catalog record
  • Alan and Elizabeth Lomax Kentucky collection
    call number: AFC 1937/001 | catalog record
  • Captain Pearl R. Nye collection
    call number: AFC 1937/002 | catalog record | online presentation
  • John A. Lomax and Alton C. Morris Florida collection, 1937
    call number: AFC 1937/004 | catalog record
  • Charles J. Finger recordings
    call number: AFC 1937/005 | catalog record
  • Janie Ellis Mason and Alan Lomax recordings
    call number: AFC 1937/006 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax Southern States collection, 1937
    call number: AFC 1937/007 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of Myra E. Hull
    call number: AFC 1937/008 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of Los Tres Rancheros
    call number: AFC 1937/009 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax Haiti collection
    call number: AFC 1937/010 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax Recordings of Leadbelly, 1937
    call number: AFC 1937/011 | catalog record
  • Jelly Roll Morton collection, 1938
    call number: AFC 1938/001 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax, Ruby T. Lomax, and Bess Lomax Old Fiddlers' Convention collection
    call number: AFC 1938/003 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax Ohio and Indiana collection
    call number: AFC 1938/004 | catalog record
  • Kay Dealy and Alan Lomax recordings of Jennie Devlin
    call number: AFC 1938/005 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of Francis P. Sullivan
    call number: AFC 1938/007 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax and Mary Elizabeth Barnicle collection
    call number: AFC 1938/008 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax 1938 Library of Congress Sessions collection
    call number: AFC 1938/011 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of Will Geer and Burl Ives
    call number: AFC 1938/012 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of labor songs from the Bryn Mawr summer labor college
    call number: AFC 1938/013 | catalog record
  • John and Ruby Lomax 1939 southern states recording trip
    call number: AFC 1939/001 | catalog record | online presentation
  • Alan Lomax CBS radio series collection, 1939-1945
    call number: AFC 1939/002 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax collection of Michigan and Wisconsin recordings
    call number: AFC 1939/007 | catalog record | online presentation
  • John Hammond and Alan Lomax recordings of blues and jazz musicians
    call number: AFC 1939/008 | catalog record
  • Frank A. Melton and Blaine Stubblefield recordings
    call number: AFC 1939/009 | catalog record
  • Captain Richard Maitland recordings of sea shanties
    call number: AFC 1939/011 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of Aunt Molly Jackson
    call number: AFC 1939/012 | catalog record
  • Interview with George Harris
    call number: AFC 1939/015 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax and Helen Hartness Flanders recordings from New Hampshire and Vermont
    call number: AFC 1939/020 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax miscellaneous photographs, 1935-1950
    call number: AFC 1939/021 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter, 1938
    call number: AFC 1939/023 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax and Pete Seeger recordings of the Bog Trotters
    call number: AFC 1939/024 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax RCA Studio recordings, 1939
    call number: AFC 1939/027 | catalog record
  • John and Ruby Lomax 1940 southern states recordings collection
    call number: AFC 1940/003 | catalog record
  • Woody Guthrie manuscript collection
    call number: AFC 1940/004 | catalog record | online presentation
  • John A. Lomax recordings of Oda Smith
    call number: AFC 1940/006 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax collection of Woody Guthrie recordings
    call number: AFC 1940/007 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax and Jerome Wiesner recordings of Hobart Ricker
    call number: AFC 1940/012 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax collection of Emory Stroop recordings
    call number: AFC 1940/015 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax recordings of cowboy songs
    call number: AFC 1940/016 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax Oklahoma and Texas cylinder recordings
    call number: AFC 1940/017 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax African American folksong cylinder recordings
    call number: AFC 1940/018 | catalog record
  • Jackie Foy recording
    call number: AFC 1940/020 | catalog record
  • Library of Congress/Fisk University Mississippi Delta collection, 1941-1943
    call number: AFC 1941/002 | catalog record
  • "Man-on-the-street" interviews collection
    call number: AFC 1941/004 | catalog record | online presentation
  • Radio Research Project manuscript collection
    call number: AFC 1941/005 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of rehearsals for White House program, 1941 February
    call number: AFC 1941/006 | catalog record
  • Radio Research Project recordings
    call number: AFC 1941/011 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax Texas recordings, October 1941
    call number: AFC 1941/017 | catalog record
  • Joan and Betty Raynor recordings
    call number: AFC 1941/019 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax recording of an Arkansas song
    call number: AFC 1941/020 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of French Canadian folksongs
    call number: AFC 1941/021 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of Carrie Grover
    call number: AFC 1941/023 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, 1940
    call number: AFC 1941/024 | catalog record
  • Robert MacGimsey recordings
    call number: AFC 1941/026 | catalog record
  • Alan and Elizabeth Lomax collection of Virginia recordings
    call number: AFC 1941/028 | catalog record
  • Wade Mainer recordings
    call number: AFC 1941/030 | catalog record
  • Songs by Woody Guthrie
    call number: AFC 1941/031 | catalog record
  • John M. (Sailor Dad) Hunt recording
    call number: AFC 1941/036 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax and Elizabeth Lomax photographs of Texas and Mexico, 1941
    call number: AFC 1941/037 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax singing cowboy yodels
    call number: AFC 1941/040 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax Texas recordings, winter 1941
    call number: AFC 1942/005 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax Texas recordings, 1942
    call number: AFC 1942/006 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax Recordings of Mariana Schaupp
    call number: AFC 1942/009 | catalog record
  • Barbara Bell recordings
    call number: AFC 1942/010 | catalog record
  • Program of Negro folk song with commentary : emancipation celebration, 1940
    call number: AFC 1942/011 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax rehearsals for a White House folk concert
    call number: AFC 1942/012
  • Almanac Singers and cowboy yodels recordings
    call number: AFC 1942/013 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax recording of Jess Morris
    call number: AFC 1942/014 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recording of Blaine Stubblefield singing "The Golden Vanity"
    call number: AFC 1942/015 | catalog record
  • Songs and dialog from Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico
    call number: AFC 1942/016 | catalog record
  • Michael Cruise recordings of fiddle runes and miners' stories
    call number: AFC 1942/018 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter, Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGhee
    call number: AFC 1942/021 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings from Smithville, Tennessee
    call number: AFC 1943/002 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax and George Pullen Jackson collection of Sacred Harp music
    call number: AFC 1943/004 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax Recordings from Saltville, Virginia
    call number: AFC 1943/005 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recordings of Pete Seeger square dance calls
    call number: AFC 1943/006 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax southwest recordings
    call number: AFC 1943/011 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax Kentucky recordings
    call number: AFC 1943/023 | catalog record
  • John Becker and Alan Lomax recordings of Negro longshoremen from the Ball Steamship Company
    call number: AFC 1944/013 | catalog record
  • Arkansas folk songs performed by Frank Rastell
    call number: AFC 1948/020 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax collection of Dick Devall cowboy songs
    call number: AFC 1948/021 | catalog record
  • Your Ballad Man: The People's Songbag, hosted by Alan Lomax
    call number: AFC 1948/109 | catalog record
  • Bess Lomax collection of recordings of [Radiofunken] of Bund songs
    call number: AFC 1950/039
  • John A. Lomax Jr., Pete Seeger, and Toshi Seeger recordings, 1951
    call number: AFC 1953/004 | catalog record
  • Dave Ricker recordings of Earl Collins
    call number: AFC 1971/009 | catalog record
  • The Archive of Folk Song : a 50th anniversary celebration, 1978 November 16
    call number: AFC 1978/030 | catalog record
  • Berkeley Folk Festival, 1960
    call number: AFC 1979/071 | catalog record
  • John A. Lomax, Jr. Song repertoire collection
    call number: AFC 1983/010
  • John Q. Anderson collection
    call number: AFC 1983/027 | catalog record
  • American Dialect Society collection, 1931-1937
    call number: AFC 1984/011 | catalog record
  • Cantometrics training tapes
    call number: AFC 1984/061 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax recording of Louisa Butler
    call number: AFC 1984/087 | catalog record
  • National Endowment for the Arts, Folk Arts Program collection, 1970-
    call number: AFC 1985/011 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax interview and news broadcast, 1986 July 15
    call number: AFC 1987/022 | catalog record
  • Karen Cardullo collection on Ruth Crawford Seeger, 1940-1979
    call number: AFC 1988/008 | catalog record
  • Roots of American popular music : John Wesley Work III's field recordings of Black folk music in the south, 1935-1942
    call number: AFC 1989/010 | catalog record
  • Texan music and folk art : a round up of Texan identities, 1987 March 16
    call number: AFC 1990/007 | catalog record
  • Archive of American Folk Song films, 1936-1942, a collection of amateur films made by Alan Lomax and others
    call number: AFC 1990/017 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax collection
    call number: AFC 2004/004 | catalog record
  • Bess Lomax Hawes oral history, 2004-04-25
    call number: AFC 2004/049 | catalog record
  • A celebration of the acquisition of the Alan Lomax Collection, Library of Congress, American Folklife Center, 2004-03-25
    call number: AFC 2004/050 | catalog record
  • Lomax the Songhunter by Rogier Kappers
    call number: AFC 2006/045
  • Mr. Jelly Roll, Mr. Lomax, and the invention of jazz: concert and lecture featuring Dave Burrell and John Szwed
    call number: AFC 2006/048 | catalog record | online presentation
  • The National Chorus of the Church of God and Saints of Christ and Judith Cohen Concert
    call number: AFC 2006/049
  • Lomax legacy: folklore in a globalizing century symposium
    call number: AFC 2006/050
  • Alan Lomax FBI file
    call number: AFC 2006/054 | catalog record
  • Reengaging Blues Narratives: Alan Lomax, Jelly Roll Morton and W.C. Handy by Vic Hobson
    call number: AFC 2008/041 | catalog record
  • "Alan Lomax, The Man Who Recorded the World: A Bio-Ethnography" lecture by John Szwed
    call number: AFC 2010/008 | catalog record
  • Joan Halifax collection, 1964-1969
    call number: AFC 2011/020 | catalog record
  • Joan Halifax interview conducted by Todd Harvey
    call number: AFC 2011/021 | catalog record
  • Writing archives / crafting order : a critique on the longstanding archival practices of arrangement and description by Bertram Lyons
    call number: AFC 2011/046 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax Photographs and the music of Williamsburg (1959-1960) / by Peggy Finley Aarlien
    call number: AFC 2011/051 | catalog record
  • Bentley Historical Library collection
    call number: AFC 2011/055 | catalog record
  • Folksongs of Another America: Field Recordings from the Upper Midwest, 1937-1946, lecture by Jim Leary
    call number: AFC 2013/026 | catalog record
  • Traditional Music of Coastal Louisiana: The 1934 Lomax Recordings, lecture by Joshua Caffery
    call number: AFC 2013/039 | catalog record | online presentation
  • The southern journey of Alan Lomax: words, photographs, and music, 2013 February 20, lecture by Tom Piazza
    call number: AFC 2013/043 | catalog record | online presentation
  • Bess Lomax Hawes collection
    call number: AFC 2014/008 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax BBC radio programs
    call number: AFC 2015/007 | catalog record
  • Dancing Ireni: reimaging and reimagining Alan Lomax's choreometrics project, lecture by Forrestine Paulay and Meriam Lobel
    call number: AFC 2015/013 | catalog record
  • "Listen to our story": Alan Lomax, folk producer -- folk promoter, lecture by Nathan Salsburg
    call number: AFC 2015/019 | catalog record
  • Alan Lomax Centennial Showcase at the Folk Alliance International Conference, 2015 February 21
    call number: AFC 2015/020