Series 1 of the Rev. James P.J. Murphy Photograph and Correspondence Collection comprises images of well-known actors, composers, musicians, singers, poets, public figures, visual artists, and writers. Most date from the 1930’s and 1940’s, and were signed by the artists.

Series 2 contains correspondence between Rev. Murphy and a variety of actors, composers, poets, public figures, visual artists, and writers.

Gift of T. Joseph and Frances Greenwell Burch, 2013, via Rev. Thaddeus Burch, S.J. Processed in 2014 by McKayla Sutton, Pat Zimmer, and Amy Cary.

A similar collection of Murphy's papers is located at Georgetown University.

Biographical Note

Rev. James P. J. Murphy lived in Philadelphia.

Scope and Content

All folders are arranged alphabetically by the artists' last names and chronologically thereunder.

 

Series 1 - Photographs

Folder 1, Actors, circa 1883-1946, contains autographed head shots of actors who worked on films produced in the 1930s and 1940s.

Folder 2, Composers, circa 1936-1962, includes photographs of internationally recognized composers.

Folder 3, Musicians and Singers, circa 1934-1955, is comprised of professional portraits of musicians and singers, with their primary specialties noted in parenthesis next to their names.

Folder 4, Poets, circa 1938-1945, is composed of pictures of renowned American and international poets.

Folder 5, Public Figures, circa 1941-1946, includes images of politicians, innovators, and organizational leaders in the 1940s.

Folder 6, Visual Artists, circa 1938-1946, contains self-portraits and images of various artists and their works.

Folder 7, Writers, circa 1936-1946, is comprised of signed photographs of famous authors and short-story writers.

Folder 8, Unidentified, circa 1945-1946, consists of eight photographs and two drawings that are in the process of being identified.

 

Series 2 - Correspondence

Box 1 - Composed of correspondence between Father Murphy and various actors, composers, poets, public figures, visual artists, and writers. The box is arranged first by category and thereunder alphabetically.