Historical note:

            Stephan Brigidi, a Rhode Island photographer, published Remarkable People: A Rhode Island Family Album, 1993-1995 through Sunningdale Publishing in 1996. The book consists of 100 portraits of notable Rhode Islanders , along with brief essays on their accomplishments. There are also four longer essays by some of the more renowned subjects. The project was undertaken in 1993, in response to a series of national news stories that depicted Rhode Island as a den of crime and corruption. Brigidi sought to show another side of his native state: people who volunteered or otherwise gave back to the community. The book met with an enthusiastic response in the state, and was featured in exhibitions at the Newport Art Museum and the Rhode Island Historical Society.

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Scope and content:

            This collection consists largely of Brigidi's files on individual "remarkable people", mostly newspaper clippings, resumes and correspondence. There are also files relating to the publication and reception of the book, and a folder of darkroom notes showing the technical process used in the production of the photos.

            This collection is interesting, among other reasons, for the way it documents how "remarkable people" are chosen in the 1990s. A similar volume from a century ago was titled Representative Men and Families of Rhode Island, and focused almost exclusively on wealthy business and political leaders from "old Yankee" families. In contrast, Brigidi made a careful effort to include every segment of the community that he saw as important, cutting across racial, ethnic and gender lines. He included several figures who would have earned a spot in Representative Men a hundred years ago (senators, bank executives, successful entrepreneurs), but also a wide variety of high school students, community activists and artists. Labor leaders are still excluded from the pantheon. One document in this collection actually shows lists of candidates under various racial and occupational categories. Brigidi seems to have chosen many of his potential subjects because of their prior recognition through awards or newspaper articles.

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Provenance:

            The papers were donated by Brigidi in 1996, as a supplement to the gift of photographic prints, in conjunction with the gallery exhibit done for Remarkable People at the R.I.H.S.

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Inventory:

Folder 1. Publicity and distribution

Folder 2. Miscellaneous correspondence

Folder 3. Exhibitions

Folder 4. Selection of subjects

Folder 5. Darkroom printing notes

Folders on individual subjects, arranged alphabetically:

(only 70 of the 100 portraits are represented by files; contents vary widely)

Andreoli, Noreen

Bakst, M. Charles

Bedrosian, Haiganush

Ben Tre, Howard

Benson, Frederick J.

Berren, A. Larry

Block, Stanley H.

Brown, Lucy

Brunini, Linda

Callahan, Harry

Chaffee, John H.

Chapman, H. Terrence & Ruth

Clifford, Joe

Colon, Enrique / Payne, Kim / McGowan, Stefanie

Cooper, Leon

Corley, Daniel / Community Preparatory School

Cotton, Peter

Coutu, Jackie

Craig, Horace & Naomi

Daniels, Sister Angela

Evans, Barnaby

Feinstein, Allen S.

Fish, Lawrence K.

Forman, Edwin N.

Gao, Xiauhai

Geisser, Peter J.

Gelles, Richard

Glass, Denny

Goetz, Eric

Graboys, George & Lois

Grant, Anne

Grear, J. Malcolm

Guise, Bill

Huestis, Kara E.

Jordan, John

Keith, Floyd

Lang, Keith

Macaulay, David A.

Madyun, Yolanda

Mauro, Louise / Kilmartin, Joyce

Mays, Maxwell

McCarthy, Marlene / Travellers Aid

McGeever, Sister Catherine

McGovern, Carol

McKenna, Dave

Moniz, Cyndra

Moretti, Daniel

Murphy, Carolyn Mancini

Naumann, Jess & Peter

Olson, Stephen / Coastal Resource Center

Pell, Julie

Pell, Nuala

Perez, Vidal

Pfetzer, Mark

Prince, Lisette

Reed, Ashlee

Reed, Jack

Rhode Island Indian Council

Salvatore, Karen

Sorrentino, Mary Ann

Sturges, Benjamin R.

Tavarez, Glenny

Trueheart, William E.

Vadeboncoeur, Matthew

Votolato, Arthur N.

Weisberger, Joseph R.

Weiss, Sara W.

White, John Hazen

Young, Priscilla

Feinstein Scholars (as a group)

People not chosen

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Subjects:

Photograph collections - Rhode Island

Publishers and publishing - Rhode Island

Remarkable People: A Rhode Island Family Album, 1993-1995

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RIHS1822