Historical Portrait
Russian Molokan psalm leader, portrait, photograph
Archive record
Forms part of a group of field materials documenting unaccompanied singing and preaching in the Russian language performed during services of the Russian Molokan Church, Potrero Hill, San Francisco on September 14, 1938, collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell.
About this photograph
This photograph was made during fieldwork for the W.P.A. California Folk Music Project, which recorded and photographed traditional musicians across Northern California between 1938 and 1940. Sidney Robertson Cowell led the project and worked deliberately across the state's immigrant communities rather than concentrating on a single tradition.
The portrait shows a psalm leader from the Russian Molokan Church on Potrero Hill in San Francisco. The archive notes that it forms part of a group of materials documenting unaccompanied singing and preaching in Russian performed during services on September 14, 1938. The recordings and photographs Cowell collected are 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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