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CC0
Photographic postcard of unidentified woman holding a travel bag
- Photograph by
- Unidentified
- Published by
- Eastman Kodak Company, founded 1889
- Subject of
- Unidentified Woman or Women
- Date
- 1904-1918
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper, with ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (Image): 4 5/8 × 3 3/16 in. (11.7 × 8.1 cm)
- H x W (Sheet): 5 3/8 × 3 7/16 in. (13.7 × 8.7 cm)
- Description
- A photographic postcard of an unidentified woman standing on a walkway outside a house. She is wearing a button down jacket and long skirt and hat. She is carrying a travel bag in her proper right hand and a small purse on her proper left wrist. . The back of the photographic postcard is unused and has [POST CARD] printed in black at the top and blank spaces for [CORRESPONDENCE HERE] and [NAME AND ADDRESS]. In the upper right corner there is a [AZO] stamp.
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Archival Collections
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Type
- photographic postcards
- Topic
- Photography
- Travel
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Waheed Photo Archive
- Object number
- TA2016.130.18
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
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CC0
Postcard of a praline seller
- Distributed by
- Unidentified
- Subject of
- Unidentified Woman or Women
- Date
- ca. 1910
- On ViewCulture/Fourth Floor, 4 050
- Exhibition
- Cultural Expressions
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 5 9/16 × 3 1/2 in. (14.1 × 8.9 cm)
- Description
- Vertically oriented postcard with a tinted image of a black and white photograph of a woman seated on curving stairs. The woman is seated with a fan in her proper right hand that rests in her lap. On her left side, on the step below her, is a basket with food. She is shown in a green and yellow dress and wears a head wrap. Below the image in the lower left corner is black text "PRALINE SELLER, NEW ORLEANS, LA." The back of the postcard is divided into two portions and has green text throughout "PRALINE SELLER-Pralines are a candy made of light brown sugar sprinkled thickly with meat of the pecan nut / POST CARD. PLACE STAMP HERE UNITED STATES AND CANADA ONCE CENT FOREIGN TWO CENTS / THIS SPACE MAY BE USED FOR MESSAGE / THIS SPACE FOR ADDRESS / 154". In the top left is handwritten text "WB99-7/ 1.50"
- Place depicted
- New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Type
- postcards
- Topic
- American South
- Cooking and dining
- Foodways
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2015.36.2
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
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CC0
Photographic postcard of Oscar Calmeise
- Manufactured by
- Unidentified
- Subject of
- Calmeise, Oscar, American, born 1889
- Unidentified Man or Men
- 372nd Infantry Regiment, American, 1918 - 1946
- Date
- ca. 1918
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper, with ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 3 9/16 × 4 3/4 in. (9 × 12.1 cm)
- Description
- A black and white photographic postcard of a group of soldiers, including, Oscar Calmeise (center right) who served during WWI. The photograph, taken somewhere in France, features fifteen soldiers standing in a group wearing a variety of different uniforms. The back of the postcard has pre-printed text in black ink at the top that reads: [Carte Postale / Correspondance / Adresse]. There is an illegible mark between the pre-printed text. The postcard has faded text in the correspondence section that reads [Taken / somewhere in France / near a ruined town / notice my French / comrades. They / are very sociable]. Below the message, the name [Dabney] is written upside down in black ink.
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Type
- photographic postcards
- Topic
- Correspondence
- Military
- Photography
- World War I
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Greer-Calmeise Family of Cincinnati, Ohio
- Object number
- 2019.18.5
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
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CC0
Photographic postcard of soldiers of L Company, 25th Infantry
- Printed by
- Unidentified
- Photograph by
- Unidentified
- Subject of
- 25th Infantry Regiment, American, 1866 - 1946
- Date
- 1914-1915
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper, with ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 3 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (8.9 × 14 cm)
- Description
- A photographic postcard of a troop of 25th Infantry regiment soldiers. The nine men are wearing full military dress and standing with their proper left legs forward holding their riffles with attached bayonets pointed at the camera. The men are standing in front of brick building with seven windows. As stated in the written portion of the postcard, [Compittive squard [sic] of Co. L." / 25th infty. who won first place in the manuel / of arms and bayonet / exercise. Standing from left to right. Corp / Reynolds. Commanding the / Squard. Private Pettit. / Van Buren. mcCoy, mitchell / Austin Smith w. Sebra . / Dorsey.]. The back has the title [POST CARD] in large outlined letters. Underneath, the postcard is separated by a line into two sections, [CORRESPONDENCE] and [NAME AND ADDRESS]. On the top right, text for a stamp reads, [PLACE / POSTAGE / CYKA [in stylized outline script] / STAMP / HERE]
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Type
- photographs
- postcards
- Topic
- Correspondence
- Military
- Photography
- World War I
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Alan Laird
- Object number
- 2017.111.20.3
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
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CC0
GUADELOUPE. - Type n° 7
- Photograph by
- Littée, Edgar, French, 1866 - 1931
- Published by
- Unidentified
- Subject of
- Unidentified Woman or Women
- Date
- 1900-1920
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper, with ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 5 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (14 × 8.9 cm)
- Title
- French Colonial postcard from Guadeloupe
- Caption
- The title of this French colonial postcard (GUADELOUPE. - Type n° 7) exemplifies the standard naming structure that categorized “exotic” native subjects in the form of ethnic and occupational “types.” Presenting the image subjects in this way conveyed the perception of them as “tame” colonial subjects capable of assimilation into European ways of life. The colonial postcard, popular in the first two decades of the 20th century, came to represent both the technological triumphs of western photography – in printing and mass production – and the political triumphs of European conquest and expansion. These postcards also promoted tourism to the French Caribbean, painting the region as a safe, favorable, and exotic travel destination.
- The woman in this image wears a traditional, five-piece French Caribbean formal ensemble called a douillette, which is derived from the grand robe worn by early French settlers. Prior to Emancipation, dress codes required enslaved women to wear a chemise jupe, an informal bodice and skirt ensemble. Douillettes would have been worn by mulattas and free black women. Following Emancipation, black women resisted these old dress codes by donning elaborate douillettes that were previously forbidden. The douillette dress is made of colored or shiny fabric and is worn over a petticoat and accessorized with a satin foulard shawl over the shoulders. As depicted in the image, women protected their douillettes by placing the skirt of their dress over their arm. This practice is believed to be fashioned after the West African custom of lifting the skirt and flinging it over one arm. This method allowed for a partial view of the petticoat.
- The ensemble is finished with an ornately tied madras head scarf. Originally produced in the Chennai region of southeast India, madras cloth became popular amongst Creole women in the 18th century and replaced the white cotton head kerchief which was associated with the dress codes of enslavement. In the early twentieth century, Guadeloupian and Martiniquan women reclaimed this head adornment as their own and many wore madras head scarves with their douillette and chemise jupes. The square or rectangular piece of madras cloth was worn over the forehead and folded to display varying numbers of peaks. The head scarf can be tied in a ceremonial fashion or can be worn to show the availability of the woman in courtship, depending on the number of peaks tied into it. One peak represents that the woman is single, two that she is married, three that she is widowed or divorced, and four that she is available to any who tries.
- It was fashionable to accessorize these outfits with gold jewelry. The woman in this image wears a traditional collier-choux around her neck and chenille earrings. The collier-choux is a multi-layered necklace made up of a succession of two striated gold grains welded together. Her chenille earrings are made of three gold threads twisted into a single body.
- Description
- A photographic postcard of an unidentified Guadeloupean woman in a traditional douillette dress ensemble including a madras head scarf. She is featured standing, facing slightly towards the right of the image, looking towards the camera and smiling faintly. She is wearing a long, light colored, floral print grand robe that ties around her waist. A dark colored foulard kerchief is placed over her shoulders. She stands with the skirt of her robe gathered over her right wrist, obscuring her hand. She also wears traditional gold jewelry with her ensemble including the multi-layered collier-choux necklace and chenille earrings. She wears a knotted, striped madras head scarf. [GUADELOUPE. - Type n° 7] is printed in black on the top of the postcard above the woman. On the left side of the postcard, printed sideways, [Edit. Phos. Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe)]. The back of the postcard is unused and has [CARTE POSTALE] printed in black at the top and in smaller letters printed underneath [La Correspondance au recto n'est pas acceptée par tous les Pays Etrangers. (Se renseigner à la Poste.)]. Below, are blank spaces for [CORRESPONDANCE] and [ADRESSE]. Four dark blank lines are below the Adresse. The first line begins with [M____]. Handwritten in graphite on the bottom left corner is [QAN].
- Place captured
- Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
- Cultural Place
- France, Europe
- West Africa, Africa
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Type
- postcards
- Topic
- African diaspora
- Clothing and dress
- Colonialism
- Fashion
- Freedom
- French colonialism
- Gender
- Identity
- Photography
- Travel
- Women
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2016.150.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
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CC0
Postcard of a fish dealer
- Distributed by
- Hearan, Frank H., American, born 1867
- Photograph by
- Blakely, E.S., American, born 1864
- Date
- 1909
- On ViewCulture/Fourth Floor, 4 050
- Exhibition
- Cultural Expressions
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 5 3/8 × 3 3/8 in. (13.7 × 8.6 cm)
- Description
- Postcard of a tinted black and white photograph of a man selling fish out of a wheeled cart on a street. The man stands on the right side of the image with his right hand on the card. In his left hand he holds a large fish. The cart is in the lower half of the image, centrally located. In the background on the left side in the upper left quadrant is a building under construction. In the upper right corner is printed text in black "The Fish Dealer." In the lower right corner is additional text in black listing the copyright date and holders "Copyright 1909 by / E.S. Blakely & / F. H. Hearan." The back of postcard is divided into two sections by black text in the top center reading "POST CARD / THIS SPACE FOR CORRESPONDENCE / THIS SPACE FOR ADDRESS ONLY." In the top right corner is text in black "PLACE STAMP HERE."
- Place made
- Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Type
- postcards
- Topic
- Cooking and dining
- Foodways
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2015.37.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
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CC0
Photographic postcard of soliders in World War One at Verdun
- Photograph by
- Unidentified
- Subject of
- Calmeise, Oscar, American, born 1889
- Unidentified Man or Men
- 372nd Infantry Regiment, American, 1918 - 1946
- Date
- July 1918
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper with ink and paper (fiber product)
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 3 9/16 × 5 1/2 in. (9 × 14 cm)
- Description
- A photographic postcard of Oscar Calmeise (far right) and five other unidentified soldiers during World War One. The group is posed sitting atop a pile of stones in Verdun, France. The men are all looking at the camera. Five men sit in a row, while a sixth man sits below the others. They are all wearing helmets and uniforms. To the right of the image a caption, written by hand in ink reads: [While passing shells going over head, Verdun Hill, July 1918]. The back of the photographic postcard is unused. There is preprinted text that reads: [Carte Postale / Correspondance / Adresse]. At center there is a maker’s mark that is almost illegible.
- Cultural Place
- Verdun-sur-Meuse, France, Europe
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Type
- gelatin silver prints
- photographic postcards
- Topic
- Military
- Photography
- World War I
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Greer-Calmeise Family of Cincinnati, Ohio
- Object number
- 2019.18.11
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
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Photographic postcard of Ella Jonhston
- Photograph by
- Silver Roller Studio
- Subject of
- Johnston, Ella, American
- Date
- ca. 1910
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper with ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 5 7/16 × 3 7/16 in. (13.8 × 8.7 cm)
- Description
- Photographic postcard of Ella Johnston. Johnston is featured in profile and faces the left of the image. She is wearing a light colored dress and has her hair up in a bun at her neck. Below the photograph is an imprint of the photography studio. The back of the photographic postcard is unused. There is preprinted text that reads: [Post Card / Correspondence / Address]. An inscription identifies the subject of the portrait.
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Type
- portraits
- photographic postcards
- Topic
- Photography
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Greer-Calmeise Family of Cincinnati, Ohio
- Object number
- 2019.18.9
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
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MARTINIQUE Costumes Traditionnels
- Published by
- Lauma Editions, Martiniquan, founded 2000
- Distributed by
- La Case A Rhum, Martiniquan, founded 1980
- Subject of
- Unidentified Woman or Women
- Date
- 2009
- Medium
- ink on paper and paste (adhesive)
- Dimensions
- H x W: 5 13/16 × 4 1/8 in. (14.8 × 10.5 cm)
- Title
- Postcard of French Antillean dress
- Caption
- The women in this image wear outfits that depict a combination of traditional French Caribbean fashions. Prior to Emancipation, dress codes required enslaved women to wear a chemise jupe, an informal bodice and skirt ensemble, evocative of the white blouses tucked into the plaid madras skirts featured in this postcard image. The other traditional outfit seen in this image is the five-piece French Caribbean formal ensemble called a douillette, which is derived from the grand robe worn by early French settlers and prior to Emancipation, mulattas and free black women. Following Emancipation, black women resisted the chemise jupe fashions forced upon them through the old dress codes and they dawned elaborate douillettes that were previously forbidden. The traditional douillette dress is made of colored or shiny fabric and is worn over a petticoat and accessorized with a satin foulard shawl over the shoulders. This image depicts more modern interpretations of these traditional garments. The women in the front row hold up the skirts of their garments, revealing their petticoats. This deliberate pose may be related to a West African custom of lifting the skirt and flinging it over one arm, which also allowed for a partial view of the underskirt while protecting the jupe.
- All the women in the image wear ornately tied madras head scarves. Originally produced in the Chennai region of southeast India, madras cloth became popular amongst Creole women in the 18th century and replaced the white cotton head kerchief which was associated with the dress codes of enslavement. In the early twentieth century, Guadeloupian and Martiniquan women reclaimed this head adornment as their own and many wore madras head scarves with their douillette and chemise jupes. The square or rectangular piece of madras cloth was worn over the forehead and folded to display varying numbers of peaks. The head scarf can be tied in a ceremonial fashion or can be worn to show the availability of the woman in courtship, depending on the number of peaks tied into it.
- The outfits are finished gold jewelry, typical accessories for the douillette and chemise jupe fashions. In particular, the women in this image wear contemporary or costume versions of the gros sirop chain-link and twisted-chain necklaces.
- Description
- A picture postcard of six unidentified women standing next to a large tree in the middle of a wooded area. All six women are wearing traditional Creole clothing ensembles, chemise jupes, douillettes and madras head scarves, and gold jewelry. Except for the woman on the left, all the women carry folding hand fans. The women in the front row have one arm crooked on their hips and hold up their skirts, revealing their petticoats. The woman on the far right has a black handbag on her forearm. Two women stand behind the front row and a low tree branch separates the two rows. The photograph has a white border and blue ink along the lower edge reads [MARTINIQUE] / [Costume Traditionnels].
- The back of the postcard has a short inscription on the left side and an address on the right, both in black ink. There is a pink heart-shaped stamp on the top right. Printed original to the postcard typed in the top left corner, [MARTINIQUE / Costumes Traditionnels]. Printed on the bottom left, [Crédit photo: Case à Rhum]. On the bottom right, a makers mark identifies the printer as [LAUMA Editions / MARTINIQUE - Tél. 0 596 50 69 21] with a picture of a hut and palm tree. There is a handwritten message on the left of the card and an address written on the right. A faded stamp above in a circle gives the location and date the postcard was sent, [972 SAINTE-ANNE/ 28-1.09-12 / MARTINIQUE]. A pink heart shaped stamp on the below has an image of a parrot.
- Place captured
- Martinique, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
- Place used
- Saint Anne, Martinique, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
- Cultural Place
- West Africa, Africa
- France, Europe
- Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Type
- color photographs
- postcards
- Topic
- African diaspora
- Clothing and dress
- Correspondence
- Fashion
- Freedom
- Gender
- Identity
- Photography
- Travel
- Women
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2016.151.2
- Restrictions & Rights
- © LAUMA Editions. Permission required for use.
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Postcard of the bodies of Nease Gillespie, John Gillespie and Jack Dillingham
- Published by
- Unidentified
- Subject of
- Gillespie, Nease, American, 1855 - 1906
- Gillespie, John, American, 1891 - 1906
- Dillingham, Jack, American, died 1906
- Unidentified Man or Men
- Unidentified Child or Children
- Date
- August, 1906
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 4 5/8 × 2 15/16 in. (11.8 × 7.4 cm)
- H x W: 5 7/16 × 3 7/16 in. (13.8 × 8.8 cm)
- Description
- Postcard with a black and white image of the bodies of Nease Gillespie, John Gillespie and Jack Dillingham. They are at the center of the image and are hanging from ropes by their necks. Their clothes are torn and several wounds are visible on their bodies and heads. A large tree is visible on the right side of the photograph and bags connected to the same ropes they are hanging from are visible in the background. They are surrounded by a large group of men and several children, many of which are looking at the camera. A man on the right side of the photograph has his right hand resting on the left shoulder of one of the hanging men. Printed in black text beneath the image is "Nease and John Gillespie and Jack Dillingham, murderers of Lyerly / family. Lynched August 6th, 1906. Salisbury, N. C." Printed in black text on the back of the postcard is "Post Card."
- Place captured
- Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- Liljenquist Family Collection
- Classification
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Media Arts-Photography
- Type
- postcards
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Liljenquist Family
- Object number
- 2018.43.13.2
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
-
CC0
I. - Marchande de bananes aux Antilles
- Published by
- Chauvet
- Designed by
- Compagnie antilles, French, 1900 - 1910
- Photograph by
- Unidentified
- Subject of
- Unidentified Woman or Women
- Date
- ca. 1910
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper with ink on paper (fiber product)
- Dimensions
- H x W: 5 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (14 × 8.9 cm)
- Title
- French Colonial postcard from Martinique
- Caption
- The colonial postcard, popular in the first two decades of the 20th century, came to represent both the technological triumphs of western photography – in printing and mass production – and the political triumphs of European conquest and expansion. These postcards also promoted tourism to the French Caribbean, painting the region as a safe, favorable, and exotic travel destination.
- Historically, plantain trees grew in the French Caribbean, offering shade to coffee, cacao, and vanilla crops. As the 18th century progressed and French colonizers increasingly relied on the labor of enslaved persons, they planted additional bananas, turning the crop into a major food source for the islands’ enslaved populations. In the late 19th century, French colonizers introduced the dessert banana to the French Caribbean, hoping that the region would become a major international supplier of the exotic and sought-after fruit. Photography and postcards depicting the French Caribbean’s copious banana supply emphasized the region’s burgeoning market, however a lack of transportation infrastructure in the French Caribbean impeded the crop’s largescale distribution. With the establishment of "banana republics" in Central Americam, the early 20th century saw the age of industrical banana cropping in Martinique. Bananas continued to be grown locally and sold by vendors such as the woman pictured.
- The woman in this image wears a traditional, five-piece French Caribbean formal ensemble called a douillette, which is derived from the grand robe worn by early French settlers. Prior to Emancipation, dress codes required enslaved women to wear a chemise jupe, an informal bodice and skirt ensemble. Douillettes would have been worn by mulattas and free black women. Following Emancipation, black women resisted these old dress codes by donning elaborate douillettes that were previously forbidden. The douillette dress is made of colored or shiny fabric and is worn over a petticoat and accessorized with a satin foulard shawl over the shoulders.
- The ensemble is finished with a madras head scarf, albeit covered with a bunch of bananas. Originally produced in the Chennai region of southeast India, madras cloth became popular amongst Creole women in the 18th century and replaced the white cotton head kerchief which was associated with the dress codes of enslavement. In the early twentieth century, Guadeloupian and Martiniquan women reclaimed this head adornment as their own and many wore madras head scarves with their douillette and chemise jupes. The square or rectangular piece of madras cloth was worn over the forehead and folded to display varying numbers of peaks. The head scarf can be tied in a ceremonial fashion or can be worn to show the availability of the woman in courtship, depending on the number of peaks tied into it. One peak represents that the woman is single, two that she is married, three that she is widowed or divorced, and four that she is available to any who tries.
- Description
- A photographic postcard of an unidentified woman, a banana vendor, from the French Caribbean in a traditional Creole douillette ensemble. She wears a light colored floral grand robe with a foulard shawl around her shoulders and tucked into her waist. Her skirt has extra fabric tied in a knot at the front. She is featured standing, with her left hand on her hip and her right hand holding a bunch of bananas. She is wearing a madras headscarf and has another bunch of bananas on her head. The background is a painted forest and bridge scene. The image has a white border surrounding. [Compagnie des Antilles. - Priopriétaire de la Marque Rhum Chauvet] is printed in black on the top of the postcard above the woman. On the bottom of the postcard, [I. - Marchande de bananes aux Antilles] is printed. The back of the postcard is unused and has [CARTE POSTALE] printed in black at the top and in smaller letters printed underneath [La Correspondance au recto n'est pas acceptée par tous les Pays Etrangers. (Se renseigner à la Poste.)]. Below, are blank spaces for [CORRESPONDANCE] and [ADRESSE]. Four dark blank lines are below the Adresse. The first line begins with [M____].
- Place captured
- Martinique, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
- Cultural Place
- France, Europe
- Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Type
- postcards
- Topic
- African diaspora
- Agriculture
- Business
- Clothing and dress
- Colonialism
- Fashion
- Foodways
- Freedom
- French colonialism
- Gender
- Identity
- Labor
- Photography
- Travel
- Women
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2016.151.11
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
CC0
Postcard of Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, with autograph
- Photograph by
- Maurice Seymour Studio, American, founded 1929
- Subject of
- Ellington, Duke, American, 1899 - 1974
- Tizol Martinez, Juan, Puerto Rican, 1900 - 1984
- Bigard, Barney, American, 1906 - 1980
- Greer, Sonny, American, 1895 - 1982
- Date
- 1935
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (Sheet): 3 7/16 × 5 3/8 in. (8.7 × 13.7 cm)
- H x W (Image): 3 1/8 × 5 3/16 in. (7.9 × 13.2 cm)
- Description
- A black and white photographic postcard of Duke Ellington and his orchestra.
- Duke Ellington is standing in the front on the left side. His hand is resting on a piano and there is a saxophone next to him. He is wearing a white dress shirt and a black tuxedo with a white pocket square. His orchestra is standing behind him with instruments next to them, saxophones and clarinets along the front row and drums in the back. They are wearing light colored tuxedos with white dress shirts and shiny lapels. The signature of Duke Ellington in blue ink is across the center of the phtoograph. At the bottom right corner is the photographer's mark [Maurice / Chicago] in white.
- The back of the postcard is white. There is grey printed text which reads [POSTCARD / CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS] across the top and a stamp box with E K K P in the corners.
- Place captured
- Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Topic
- Musicians
- Photography
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2015.97.38.5
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
CC0
MARTINIQUE - Type et Costume Créole
- Published by
- Leboullanger, French
- Photograph by
- Bauer, Louis, French
- Subject of
- Unidentified Woman or Women
- Date
- ca. 1920
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper, with ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 5 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (14 × 8.9 cm)
- Title
- French Colonial postcard from Martinique
- Caption
- The title of this French colonial postcard “MARTINIQUE - Type et Costume Créole” exemplifies the standard naming structure that categorized “exotic” native subjects in the form of ethnic and occupational “types.” Presenting the image subjects in this way conveyed the perception of them as “tame” colonial subjects capable of assimilation into European ways of life. The colonial postcard, popular in the first two decades of the 20th century, came to represent both the technological triumphs of western photography – in printing and mass production – and the political triumphs of European conquest and expansion. These postcards also promoted tourism to the French Caribbean, painting the region as a safe, favorable, and exotic travel destination.
- The woman in this image wears a traditional, five-piece French Caribbean formal ensemble called a douillette, which is derived from the grand robe worn by early French settlers. Prior to Emancipation, dress codes required enslaved women to wear a chemise jupe, an informal bodice and skirt ensemble. Douillettes would have been worn by mulattas and free black women. Following Emancipation, previously enslaved black women resisted these old dress codes by donning elaborate douillettes that were previously forbidden. The douillette dress is made of colored or shiny fabric and is worn over a petticoat and accessorized with a satin foulard shawl over the shoulders.
- The ensemble is finished with an ornately tied madras head scarf. Originally produced in the Chennai region of southeast India, madras cloth became popular amongst Creole women in the 18th century and replaced the white cotton head kerchief which was associated with the dress codes of enslavement. In the early twentieth century, Guadeloupian and Martiniquan women reclaimed this head adornment as their own and many wore madras head scarves with their douillette and chemise jupes. The square or rectangular piece of madras cloth was worn over the forehead and folded to display varying numbers of peaks. The head scarf can be tied in a ceremonial fashion or can be worn to show the availability of the woman in courtship, depending on the number of peaks tied into it. One peak represents that the woman is single, two that she is married, three that she is widowed or divorced, and four that she is available to any who tries.
- As seen in this image, it was fashionable to accessorize these outfits with gold jewelry.
- Description
- A photographic postcard of an unidentified woman from Martinique in the traditional Creole douillette ensemble. She is featured standing, facing towards the left of the image, with her right hand on her front holding up her dress. Her other hand is resting on an object covered with fabric in front of her. The background is a painted canvas of a forest. She is wearing a long, paisley-patterned dress with a floral foulard scarf and a madras head scarf. The photograph has a white border and underneath the image, printed in black, [Cliché Fabre - Leboullanger, éditeur, à Fort-de-France / MARTINIQUE - Type et Costume Créole]. A circular stamp in black ink on the right bottom corner of the image says, [BAUER [indecipherable] / ET / CIE / DIJON]. The back of the postcard is unused and has [CARTE POSTALE] printed in black at the top. Below, are blank spaces for [CORRESPONDANCE] and [ADRESSE]. Handwritten in graphite on the top right is [132 / Dm / 16C].
- Place captured
- Fort-de-France, Martinique, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
- Cultural Place
- France, Europe
- Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Type
- postcards
- Topic
- African diaspora
- Clothing and dress
- Colonialism
- Fashion
- Freedom
- French colonialism
- Gender
- Identity
- Photography
- Travel
- Women
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2016.151.4
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
CC0
Photographic postcard of Billy Ward and His Dominoes, with autographs
- Photograph by
- Maurice Seymour Studio, American, founded 1929
- Distributed by
- Associated Booking Corporation, American, founded 1940
- Subject of
- Billy Ward & His Dominoes, American, 1950s-1960s
- Marks, Rose
- Date
- 1950-1969
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (Sheet): 5 1/2 × 3 9/16 in. (14 × 9 cm)
- H x W (Image): 4 7/16 × 3 in. (11.3 × 7.6 cm)
- Description
- A black and white photographic postcard of Billy Ward and His Dominoes with signatures on the back.
- The front of the postcard features two images superimposed over each other. In the bottom left corner is a photographic portrait of Billy Ward standing and playing a white grand piano. He is looking up towards the top right corner, where there is a portrait of the four Dominoes. All wear light-colored jackets and dark-colored ties. A small, black and white domino is visible on the proper left chest of the Dominoes' jackets. The two images are presented in two overlapping circles, as if spotlighted, against a black background. In the bottom right corner of the image is the photographer's mark [MAURICE chicago] in white.
- Printed beneath the image, black text reads [BILLY WARD / And His Dominoes] on the proper right, [Personal Manager / ROSE A. MARKS] in the center, and [Associated Booking Corporation / Joe Glaser, President / NEW YORK, CHICAGO, HOLLYWOOD] on the proper left side.
- The back of the postcard is oriented horizontally with printed grey text [PHOTO POST CARD] across the top and, in smaller grey text, [J. (?) K. COPY ART PHOTOGRAPHERS, N.Y.C.] and a [DEVOLITE PEERLESS] stamp box in the top right. In the center is the autograph [With all my heart / Billy Ward] in blue ink. On either side are two more autographs in graphite, [Musically / Yours / (illegible) / Van] on the left and [MUSICALLY / (illegible) / JONES] on the right. Horizontally along the left edge of the card is written [ SIGNED BY BILLY WARD & OTHERS].
- The back of the postcard is horizontal. There is grey text which reads [PHOTO POST CARD] horizontally along the top and [?, ?, ? PHOTOGRAPHERS, N.Y.C. vertically down the center. In the top right corner there is a grey rectangle with the words [DEVOLITE / PEERLESS] printed inside. There are several signatures on the back as well.
- Place captured
- Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
- Place printed
- New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2015.97.38.4
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
CC0
Woman in national dress. St. Lucia. W. I.
- Created by
- Minivielle & Chastanet, St. Lucia, founded 1864
- Photograph by
- Unidentified
- Subject of
- Unidentified Woman or Women
- Date
- ca. 1905
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 5 5/8 × 3 1/2 in. (14.3 × 8.9 cm)
- Title
- French Colonial postcard from St. Lucia
- Caption
- The colonial postcard, popular in the first two decades of the 20th century, came to represent both the technological triumphs of western photography – in printing and mass production – and the political triumphs of European conquest and expansion. These postcards also promoted tourism to the Caribbean, painting the region as a safe, favorable, and exotic travel destination.
- At the time of this postcard’s creation, St. Lucia was a British colony, however the woman’s ensemble displays elements of French Creole fashions characteristic of St. Lucia’s history of colonization by the French. It is also characteristic of contemporary national dress. She wears a traditional chemise jupe, an informal bodice and skirt ensemble. Prior to Emancipation, enslaved women in the French Caribbean were subject to le code noir, which required them to wear a chemise jupe made up of a white blouse, two skirts, and silver jewelry. The first skirt was colorful whereas the second one was made from cotton and muslin. Following Emancipation, black women resisted these dress codes by donning elaborate five-piece formal douillettes that were previously forbidden.
- The ensemble is finished with an ornately tied madras head scarf with attached pins. Originally produced in the Chennai region of southeast India, madras cloth became popular amongst Creole women in the 18th century and replaced the white cotton head kerchief which was associated with the dress codes of enslavement. In the early twentieth century, Guadeloupian and Martiniquan women reclaimed this head adornment as their own and many wore madras head scarves with their douillette and chemise jupes. The square or rectangular piece of madras cloth was worn over the forehead and folded to display varying numbers of peaks. The head scarf can be tied in a ceremonial fashion or can be worn to show the availability of the woman in courtship, depending on the number of peaks tied into it. One peak represents that the woman is single, two that she is married, three that she is widowed or divorced, and four that she is available to any who tries.
- It was fashionable to accessorize these outfits with gold jewelry. The woman in this image wears a traditional collier-choux around her neck. The collier-choux is a multi-layered necklace made up of a succession of two striated gold grains welded together.
- Description
- A picture postcard of an unidentified woman from Saint Lucia in traditional a Creole chemise jupe ensemble. She is featured seated on a bench resting her right arm on the back. She is wearing a white blouse with a dark foulard scarf tucked into her long floral-patterned skirt, or jupe. She wears a multi-layered collier-choux necklace and large earrings with a madras head scarf that has multiple pins attached. The image has a blank space below where [Women in national dress, St. Lucia. W. I.] is printed in red ink. There are four lines of handwriting in Swedish in black ink below.
- The back of the postcard is covered in print and writing reading [Tack för brefvet [sic, brevet] jag fick i Maj. / Allt folket här på oss ära de svarta. / Många hälsningar till [indecipherable] alla fråm din bror Otto.]. This translates to [Thank you for the letter I received in May / All the people around us respect/honor the Blacks. / Best regards to [...] all from your brother, Otto.] Printed in red ink, original to the postcard, is [ST. LUCIA (STE. LUCIE) / Post [English Monarchy Crest] CARD / THE ADDRESS ONLY TO BE WRITTEN ON THIS SIDE.] Handwritten in black ink, [Miss Pchéa Påhlsson / Villa Wäshanlid / Helsingborg [underlined] / Sweden [underlined] / Europe [underlined]].
- Place captured
- Saint Lucia, Caribbean, North and Central America
- Cultural Place
- France, Europe
- England, Europe
- Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Topic
- African diaspora
- Clothing and dress
- Colonialism
- Correspondence
- Fashion
- Freedom
- French colonialism
- Gender
- Identity
- Photography
- Race relations
- Travel
- Women
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2016.151.6
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
CC0
Postcard of a produce vendor
- Published by
- Adolph Selige Publishing Company, American, 1900 - 1920
- Subject of
- Unidentified Man or Men
- Unidentified Woman or Women
- Photograph by
- Unidentified
- Date
- 1907
- On ViewCulture/Fourth Floor, 4 050
- Exhibition
- Cultural Expressions
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 5 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (14 × 8.9 cm)
- Description
- Tinted postcard of a black and white photograph of a man holding up a goose for a woman.The man stands on the left side and in his right arm is a basket full of produce. He holds the goose in his left hand. He stands with his left foot on a stair step. The woman stands on the right side holding up her hands. She stands in the doorway of a wood structure. In the upper left corner is red text with handwritten text below "A GOOD TIME / COMING / McComb." The back of the postcard is divided into two halves with green printing throughout. On the left side is a line of vertical text in green text "5659 Adolph Selige, Pub. Co. St. Louis-Leipzig. Printed in Germany." On the left half of the back is hand-written text in black ink "March + I will / tackle the / native black / bass tomorrow. will you eat / with us? / Pop." On the right side is space for the address hand written in black ink [Edward H. Mitchell/Washington University/St. Louis/Mo.]. In the upper right corner is a green one cent stamp with an image of Benjamin Franklin. The stamp is cancelled with a black inked stamp "McCOMB / SEP / [illegible] / 1907 / MISS."
- Place made
- Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, North and Central America
- Place printed
- Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, Europe
- Classification
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Type
- postcards
- Topic
- Cooking and dining
- Foodways
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2015.37.4
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
-
Postcard of a performer playing a drum while on a unicycle
- Photograph by
- Unidentified
- Subject of
- Brown, Sam
- Date
- 1918 - 1936
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 5 3/8 × 3 7/16 in. (13.7 × 8.7 cm)
- Description
- A black and white photographic postcard of a man riding a unicycle while playing a drum.
- The man is wearing a tall brimmed hat, a button down shirt with metal forearm cuffs, dark pants, and shoes. His lips are painted white and puckered. He has a large drum strapped in front of him, a drum stick in his proper right hand, and a cymbal in his proper left arm. The name "Sam Brown" is handwritten in graphite on the bottom proper left side. The postcard has minor creases and small areas of discoloration. The image is depicted vertically on the front of the postcard.
- The back of the postcard is horizontal. There is black text. The top canter reads [POST CARD / CARTE POSTALE - POSTKARTE / Communication - Mitteilungen - Correspondance Address - Adresse]. There is a vertical black line underneath the words. In the top right corner there is a square with rounded edges that reads [STAMP / HERE] with a logo in between the words.
- Statement
- Objects depicting racist and/or stereotypical imagery or language may be offensive and disturbing, but the NMAAHC aims to include them in the Collection to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Objects of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate racism.
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Racist and Stereotypical Objects
- Topic
- Entertainers
- Minstrel (Music)
- Music
- Musicians
- Photography
- Stereotypes
- Vaudeville
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2015.97.38.2
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
CC0
Postcard of a nut cake vendor
- Published by
- Souvenir Postcard Company, American, 1905 - 1914
- Subject of
- Unidentified Woman or Women
- Photograph by
- Unidentified
- Date
- 1905-1914
- On ViewCulture/Fourth Floor, 4 050
- Exhibition
- Cultural Expressions
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 5 7/16 × 3 7/16 in. (13.8 × 8.7 cm)
- Description
- Postcard of a black and white photograph of a seated woman selling nut cakes from paper resting on her lap. The woman looks off to the right. She holds the paper in her lap with cakes layered under the paper. In her PR hand she holds a large fan. She wears a dark shawl and a blanket covers her knees and legs. Below the image, along the bottom, is a white rectangle with text within listing the manufacturer and image caption "SOUVENIR POST CARD CO N.Y. / 16804-Nut Cake Vender." The back of the postcard is dividing into two sections. Green printed text and lines cover the back. "Post Card / This space may be used for Correspondence / The address only to be Written Here / PLACE STAMP HERE / DOMESTIC ONE CENT / FOREIGN TWO CENTS."
- Classification
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Type
- postcards
- Topic
- Cooking and dining
- Foodways
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2015.37.2
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
-
CC0
MARTINIQUE - Type et Costume Créole
- Published by
- Leboullanger, French
- Photograph by
- Cochet
- Subject of
- Unidentified Woman or Women
- Date
- ca. 1910
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper, with ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 5 7/16 × 3 1/2 in. (13.8 × 8.9 cm)
- Title
- French Colonial postcard from Martinique
- Caption
- The title of this French colonial postcard (GUADELOUPE. - Type n° 7) exemplifies the standard naming structure that categorized “exotic” native subjects in the form of ethnic and occupational “types.” Presenting the image subjects in this way conveyed the perception of them as “tame” colonial subjects capable of assimilation into European ways of life. The colonial postcard, popular in the first two decades of the 20th century, came to represent both the technological triumphs of western photography – in printing and mass production – and the political triumphs of European conquest and expansion. These postcards also promoted tourism to the French Caribbean, painting the region as a safe, favorable, and exotic travel destination.
- The woman in this image wears a traditional, five-piece French Caribbean formal ensemble called a douillette, which is derived from the grand robe worn by early French settlers. Prior to Emancipation, dress codes required enslaved women to wear a chemise jupe, an informal bodice and skirt ensemble. Douillettes would have been worn by mulattas and free black women. Following Emancipation, black women resisted these old dress codes by donning elaborate douillettes that were previously forbidden. The douillette dress is made of colored or shiny fabric and is worn over a petticoat and accessorized with a satin foulard shawl over the shoulders. It was common for the dress and foulard shawl to match as they do in this image.
- The ensemble is finished with an ornately tied madras head scarf. Originally produced in the Chennai region of southeast India, madras cloth became popular amongst Creole women in the 18th century and replaced the white cotton head kerchief which was associated with the dress codes of enslavement. In the early twentieth century, Guadeloupian and Martiniquan women reclaimed this head adornment as their own and many wore madras head scarves with their douillette and chemise jupes, The square or rectangular piece of madras cloth was worn over the forehead and folded to display varying numbers of peaks. The head scarf can be tied in a ceremonial fashion or can be worn to show the availability of the woman in courtship, depending on the number of peaks tied into it. One peak represents that the woman is single, two that she is married, three that she is widowed or divorced, and four that she is available to any who tries.
- Description
- A photographic postcard of an unidentified woman from Martinique in traditional Creole dress. Only her torso is shown in silhouette. Her body is facing to the right of the image with her head turned to the left. She wears a traditional douillette clothing ensemble composed of a striped and floral-patterned foulard shawl draped over her shoulders with a matching floral-patterned blouse or dress underneath. She is wearing a large pendant on a necklace and small gold earrings along with a madras headscarf. [MARTINIQUE] is printed in black on the top of the postcard above the woman. On the bottom of the postcard are two lines of print. [Type et Costume Créole / Leboullanger, Fort-de-France - Photogr. Cochet]. The back of the postcard is unused and has [CARTE POSTALE] printed in black at the top. Below, are blank spaces for [CORRESPONDANCE] and [ADRESSE] with four dark blank lines below. The first line begins with [M____].
- Place captured
- Fort-de-France, Martinique, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
- Cultural Place
- Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia
- France, Europe
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Memorabilia and Ephemera
- Topic
- African diaspora
- Clothing and dress
- Colonialism
- Fashion
- Freedom
- French colonialism
- Gender
- Identity
- Photography
- Travel
- Women
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2016.150.2
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
CC0
Peoples Drug Company, A. J. Latimer, Prop., Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Created by
- Graycraft Card Co., American, active mid-20th century
- Date
- mid-20th century
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (each): 3 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (8.9 × 14 cm)
- Description
- Three (3) black-and-white photographic postcards of a Peoples Drug Company store in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The 2-story brick building has windows on both levels. The first-story windows at the proper left are labeled with the signage for a business that shares the building with the drug store. The windows on the proper right of the photograph show the drug store merchandise. The second story windows have striped awnings. There are three (3) signs on the exterior in between the first and second-level windows. The sign on the proper left is not fully legible. The sign in the middle reads [PEOPLES/ DRUG CO.] [Swift's/ Ice Cream], ]MALTED MILK/ JUMBO SODAS/ GINGER ALE]. The third sign, on the proper right, reads [DRUG STORE/ Coca-Cola/ [illegible]]. The text on the bottom of the card reads [Peoples Drug Company, A.J. Latimer, Prop., Tulsa, Oklahoma]. The verso of the post card is printed with the text [POST/ CARD], [PLACE/ STAMP/ HERE], and [A 'Natural-Finish' Card Made by Graycraft Card Co., Danville, Va].
- Place depicted
- Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- The Princetta R. Newman Collection of Family Photographs, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- Type
- postcards
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Princetta R. Newman
- Object number
- 2014.75.11.1-.3
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain