The Leon K. Hughes Photography Collection is a chronicle of African American family and community life in Wichita, KS from the late 1940s through the 1970s. Hughes (1913-1978) was the leading photographer of this community's family, church and civic events. A self-taught photographer, he established a home-based photography business in 1946 with the assistance of his wife, Mrs. Rosie Knight Hughes. After capturing the community's fond memories for three decades, Mr. and Mrs. Hughes retired their enterprise in 1976.
Leon K. Hughes: African American Life in Wichita, Kansas
L.K. and Rosie Hughes, n.d.
A hand-tinted portrait of Leon K. and Rosie Hughes.
Finding aid for the L.K. Hughes Photography Collection
Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library
Terry Hudggin's birthday, n.d.
A black-and-white photograph of a small boy wearing a birthday hat and holding a knife to cut a birthday cake topped with cowboys on bucking horses.…
Finding aid for the L.K. Hughes Photography Collection
Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library
John Bailey and Vera Hill wedding at Tabernacular Church, n.d.
A black-and-white photograph of groom John Bailey feeding a piece of wedding cake to his bride, Vera Hill. The couple stands behind a table that holds…
Finding aid for the L.K. Hughes Photography Collection
Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library
Lewis wedding, July 12, 1975.
A color photograph of a bride and groom standing outside between a birdbath and a statue of a lion. The shadow of the photographer is visible in the…
Finding aid for the L.K. Hughes Photography Collection
Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library
Chris Holloway and Alma Grant wedding, December 14, 1974.
A color photograph of groom Chris Holloway and bride Alma Grant with members of their wedding party. Two women and three men stand in a row together;…
Finding aid for the L.K. Hughes Photography Collection
Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library
The Kenneth Spencer Research Library is home to some of the rarest and most precious volumes and materials in the world. The collections here encompass recorded human knowledge ranging from cuneiform tablets written four millennia ago, to the imagined far-future landscapes of science fiction authors being published today. Spencer Research Library is open to everyone. We welcome the public as well as researchers and scholars from all academic disciplines.