AIMEE SEMPLE McPHERSON (ca. 1922-27) Set of 3 photos

Two vintage original 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm) black-and-white double weight photos (one is glossy and the other is matte) and one vintage original 7 x 9″ (18 x 23 cm) double weight glossy silver gelatin photo. Overall fine.

Aimee Elizabeth Semple McPherson (1890-1944), also known as Sister Aimee or Sister, was a Canadian-born American Pentecostal evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 30s, famous for founding the Foursquare Church. McPherson pioneered the use of broadcast mass media for wider dissemination of both religious services and appeals for donations, using radio to draw both audience and revenue with the growing appeal of popular entertainment and incorporating stage techniques into her weekly sermons at Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, CA. McPherson made her mark in a very religious America: back in the 1920s, she was among the first megachurch profiteers. She was accused of fraud many times but continued preaching and raking in money. She was a known bootlegger, con artist, and known to run through men.

Both 8 x 10″ portraits are likely ca. 1922-23, as they appear to have been used in newspapers concerning her 1926 disappearance. One portrait, by famous photographer Albert Witzel and signed on front, shows McPherson in a preaching position. A 1926 date is handwritten on verso and newspaper clippings of the publication are attached. The other portrait is by Mauray of LA (as signed on front) and shows her with a tambourine , likely from the same period. The third smaller photo has a newspaper blurb describing an accident she was in while on her way to a presentation in Iowa and is likely for her 1927 tour, as it includes the fact she caused nationwide publicity with her 1926 disappearance.