Project Twenty: The Jazz Age: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A documentary film with the title The Jazz Age from the television series Project 20. It consists of two (2) reels of 16mm black-and-white acetate film with optical sound (2017.55.86.1a & 2017.55.86.1b). Two (2) green film cannisters also accompany the film strips. There is a partially removed circular label on the first cannister (2017.55.86.1c) with the following printed on it in ink [America Enters the Twentieth Century Series / THE JAZZ AGE, PART 1 - 1919-1926 / (Black & White) / 26 mins]. The second cannister (2017.55.86.1d) also has a circular green and white Mc-Graw-Hill Book Co. label affixed to it. Text in the lower half of the label reads [The Jazz Age Series / THE JAZZ AGE, PART II / 26 mins]

Through a combination of voiceover narration by Fred Allen and archival footage of major events of the early 20th century, the documentary captures the zeitgeist of post WWI America. Some of the scenes and topics that arise in the film include a Ku Klux Klan initiation (including footage of the 1926 KKK parade in Washington DC); changes in women's rights at the beginning of the century; the proliferation of automobiles; life under Prohibition and the development of speakeasy culture. The second half of the documentary (reel two) focuses on many of the changes in culture and entertainment: there is footage of Josephine Baker performing, a shot of the entrance to the Cotton Club and mention of entertainers such as Cab Calloway.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1956
• Produced by: Universal Network Television, American, founded 1950
• Produced by: Henry Salomon, American, 1917 - 1958
• Narrated by: Fred Allen, American, 1894 - 1956
• Subject of: Josephine Baker, American, 1906 - 1975
• Subject of: Ku Klux Klan, 2nd, American, 1915 - 1944
• Subject of: Cotton Club, American, 1923 - 1940
• Subject of: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
• Owned by: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
• Type: documentaries
• Type: sound films
• Type: black-and-white films (visual works)
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film and
• Dimensions: Duration (Reel 1): 25 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 900 Feet
• Dimensions: Duration (Reel 2): 28 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 1000 Feet
• Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Documentary films
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Gender
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Law
• Object number: 2017.55.86.1a-d
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
• 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: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.