Historical Portrait
Mr. Prater in darkroom, portrait, photograph
Archive record
Sidney Robertson Cowell notes on verso of photograph, 1938: "Mr. Prater, our wonderful Welsh photographer on the California Folk Music Project, who built the darkroom, did all our developing, printing, and enlarging for performers and the microfilm prints of California songsters from various libraries." Sidney Robertson Cowell notes on verso of photograph, 1973: "As a photographer since 1956, I appreciate the darkroom and Mr. Prater's work much more than I did at the time. He was a real pro, did everything I asked, sometimes before I asked, efficiently and quietly--everyone liked him, and his consistent calm and cheerfulness belied the Welsh reputation for excitability." Forms part of a group of field materials documenting the WPA California Folk Music Project in Northern California, collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell from 1938 to 1940.
About this photograph
The archive record identifies Mr. Prater as the photographer who worked on the California Folk Music Project in 1938. According to the project director's notes written that year, he built the darkroom and handled all developing, printing, and enlarging for performers, as well as microfilm prints of California songsters from library collections.
Sidney Robertson Cowell added further notes in 1973, decades after the project ended. By then a photographer herself, she described Prater as a real professional who worked efficiently and quietly, often anticipating requests. She noted that everyone on the project liked him and that his calm, cheerful demeanor contradicted the Welsh reputation for excitability.
The photograph forms part of field materials from the California Folk Music Project, which recorded and photographed traditional musicians across Northern California from 1938 to 1940. The collection is held by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.
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