- Manufactured by
- Unidentified
- Owned by
- Wallace, Herman, American, 1941 - 2013
- Subject of
- Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, American, founded 1835
- Date
- ca. 1994
- Medium
- ink on cardboard
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 13 3/8 × 13 3/8 × 1/4 in. (34 × 34 × 0.7 cm)
- Caption
- Wallace was an avid chess player. The collection includes homemade and mass produced chess boards and pieces. He wrote that he saw the game as a powerful humanizing force which helped him and fellow inmates use their minds towards a positive and productive pursuit. Wallace used the game to strategically inspire camaraderie, eliminate violence, and establish a network of empowerment, entirely lacking in an environment purposefully inhumane and hopeless.
- Description
- A black and tan cardboard chessboard used by Herman Wallace while incarcerated at Angola Prison. This chessboard features a prominent jagged split across the middle, alongside various wear and tear from use. On the playing side, one of the four corners, is a small white label with black type that reads: [100% COTTON / MADE IN CHINA]. On the reverse of the board are splotches of black ink, illegible inscriptions with “1994”, and an unrelated transparent deodorant label.
- Place used
- Angola, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- Herman Wallace Archival Collection
- Classification
- Toys and Games
- Type
- checkerboards
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Maria Hinds
- Object number
- A2018.36.1.12.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




