Photograph of Ralph Cooper: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Ralph Cooper. Cooper is featured left of center looking to the right of the image. He is depicted from the waist up and wears a black jacket, striped shirt, patterned tie, and carnation in his lapel. On the right side of the front of the image, is an inscription in black ink that reads, [To Laure / A beautiful / page from / Omar Kyam [sic] / combined with / an encyclopedic / vocabulary, could / not combine your / charm and beauty / in words- / Luck Always! / Coop]. The image is bordered with white and along bottom is black text on the left and right sides. The text in the lower left corner reads, [PERSONAL MANAGEMENT / GALE AGENCY, INC. 48 WEST 48th STREET / NEW YORK CITY]. The text in the lower right corner reads, [RALPH COOPER / Star of Stage, Screen and Radio]. There are no inscriptions on the back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1930-1950
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Distributed by: Gale Agency Incorporated, American
• Subject of: Ralph Cooper, American, 1908 - 1992
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 8 9/16 × 7 3/8 in. (21.8 × 18.7 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 10 3/16 × 8 in. (25.8 × 20.3 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Hollywood (Film)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Radio
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2013.46.25.42
• 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.