John Jacob Niles and Olive Dame Campbell looking at wood carvings

This photograph, taken by Doris Ulmann in 1933 or 1934, shows John Jacob Niles and Olive Dame Campbell examining hand carved animals produced at the John C. Campbell Folk School during the early 1930s. These carvings were most likely produced and sold through the school's woodcarving cooperative that later became known as the Brasstown Carvers. Campbell was founded and director of the Folk School. Niles (1892-1980) was a folksinger, instrument maker, and ballad collector who accompanied and assisted Doris Ulmann on her photography trips through Appalachia. Niles and Ulmann came to the Brasstown, N.C. area in 1933 and 1934. Niles also served as Music Director at the Folk School in 1935