Film still of Una Mae Carlisle on the set of “I Like It ‘Cause I Love It”: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white film still of Una Mae Carlisle on the set of “I Like It ‘Cause I Love It,” a soundie from 1944. The silver gelatin print depicts Carlisle seated center at a piano, with her proper right side facing the viewer. Her face is turned towards the viewer and she is smiling. She is wearing a light-toned dress, and a flower hair accessory. The piano is depicted in the lower right quadrant. Above the keyboard is a mirrored backboard. In the mid-ground are two (2) women and one (1) man. The women are depicted on the right half of the mid-ground. The woman on the far right, Birdie Warfield Edison, stands with her proper left arm resting on the piano. She is wearing a spaghetti strap dress and a flower corsage. In the center, behind the featured piano player, is a woman seated at a small table. She is partially obstructed by the piano player. On the left side of the mid-ground is the man, also seated at the table. He is depicted wearing a medium toned suit, white shirt, and a dark tie. He is holding a cigarette in his proper right hand and looking towards the piano player. On the table are glasses of liquid. In the far background is a trellised wall. On the trellis is foliage. The wall also has a brick portion on the left side behind the seated man. In the lower right corner is a number printed in the negative. [#69]. There are no inscriptions on the back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1944
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Una Mae Carlisle, American, 1915 - 1956
• Subject of: Birdie Warfield Edison, American
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 7 1/2 × 9 5/16 in. (19.1 × 23.7 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 8 1/8 × 10 in. (20.6 × 25.4 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2013.46.25.53
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.