1955 · N.p.
by [AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY & LITERATURE] DIVINE, Rev. Major Jealous (aka "Father Divine")
N.p.: S.i., 1955. Original color photograph, measuring 11.5cm x 16cm, housed in an off-white unprinted card presentation folder with typed letter tipped onto facing page. Mild signs of handling to folder, else Fine. Letter on Divine's letterhead, dated January 12, 1955. shows two old folds smoothed out, with a clear example of Rev. Divine's signature above his typed name. Handsome, informal color portrait of Rev. Major Jealous Divine (better known as Father Divine to his followers), dressed in a suit and seated in an armchair holding a letter. The photograph is accompanied by a typed letter from Divine to one "Miss Gentle Dove," thanking her for her letter "of the 30th ultimo" (the letter in the photograph presumably displayed so the recipient would think it was her own). The Reverend goes on to say that he is "always glad to receive words of thanksgiving and praise for the blessings received through MY name," concluding that he is "ever Well, Healthy, Joyful, Peaceful, Lively, Loving, Successful, Prosperous and Happy in Spirit, Body and Mind and in every organ, muscle, sinew, joint, limb, vein and bone and even in every ATOM, fibre and cell of MY BODILY FORM.
(Inventory #: 28117)