Albumen print of a Buffalo Soldier musician: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A sepia tone albumen cabinet photograph of a Buffalo Soldier bandmember in full regalia. Captured in studio against an ornate veranda backdrop, an unidentified soldier poses wearing a small dark hat with infanty bugle insignia; long uniform band jacket with elaborate embroidery and cording at the shoulders and across the chest; white gloves, light-colored trousers, and shoes. His proper left hand rests on an ornate half column prop, and he gazes directly into the camera. At the bottom of the photograph in brown ink is: [Baecker & Brooks,WEBSTER, / S. D.]. There are various numerical graphite inscriptions on the reverse of the cabinet photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1890
• Photograph by: Baecker & Brooks, American
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: United States Army, American, founded 1775
• Type: cabinet photographs
• Type: albumen prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: albumen and silver nitrocellulose on paper (fiber product) cardboard
• Dimensions: H x W (Image and Sheet): 5 1/2 x 3 15/16 in. (14 x 10 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Mount): 6 7/16 x 4 3/16 in. (16.4 x 10.7 cm)
• Place captured: Webster, Day County, South Dakota, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: American West
• Topic: Band (Music)
• Topic: Buffalo Soldiers
• Topic: Military
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: U.S. History, 1865-1921
• Object number: 2013.244.29
• 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 displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public Domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.