From the New York Times, October 17, 2004 ..... An Atlantic City DigRalph Hunter likes to go to yard sales. And Mr. Hunter, president of the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey in Newtonville, is always on the lookout for African-American collectibles. Last August he hit an unexpected jackpot in Atlantic City. Stopping at a house on Michigan Avenue, he learned that artwork had been stored in a crawlspace Un er the house some 60 years ago. But retrieving it would not be easy. The framed pieces, protected by glass, had sunk into the moist coastal soil.But, undaunted, Mr. Hunter returned the next day in his coveralls with a flashlight and canvas gloves. Digging by hand, he unearthed nine charcoal sketches of African Americans that appeared to be from the 1890’s to the 1900’s. Three portraits looked like the daughter, mother and granddaughter of the same family. There was also a portrait of a man in a morning suit and straw hat seated in a wingback chair and another of a smiling woman standing in front of a house, “whose eyes looked right through me,” said Mr. Hunter, who calls the day he dug up the pictures “the second most exciting day of my life.” A collector of African-American memorabilia for 30 years, he founded the African-American museum two years ago; the core of the collection is the more than 3,000 objects he has collected. The newly discovered portraits provide rare depictions of Atlantic City’s black bourgeoisie of that era, Mr. Hunter said. He plans to exhibit his new treasures after they are cleaned and restored. Museum information: (609) 704-7262.
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