The Lewis R. Arms Photograph Collection
Lewis Rudolph Arms (1927-2009) was an amateur photographer and a collector of family photographs that provide glimpses into a multiracial extended family in Wisconsin during the middle of the 20th century. They show a working-class African American from Madison serving in the military, relishing leisure time, having a family, and indulging his love of cars and motorcycles. The images capture his youth, his personal relationships, his jobs as a young adult, and his travels in the military, as well as offering vintage views of residential neighborhoods in Madison.
About the Collection
The Lewis Arms collection spans several decades, with a concentration on Arms' young adulthood in the 1940s and '50s. It captures Arms' upbringing in Madison, where he lived with his mother, and includes candid images of fun at Brittingham Park, relaxing at Devil's Lake, and life in the Greenbush neighborhood on Madison's south side.
Family photographs document inter-racial relationships, Arms' marriages, and portraits of his children. Military photographs show Arms as a teenager in uniform and include beautiful views of Hawaii and other locations to which he traveled. As an automobile enthusiast, Arms took photographs of his Harley-Davidson motorcycles and the many vehicles that he owned or admired, including busses at the Greyhound depot where he worked in the 1950s. The photographs also include views showing Arms' uncle's farm near Baraboo, rural landscapes, animals, harvesting maple syrup, and racially integrated social life in rural Sauk County.