American Spirituals: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An album titled American Spirituals by Kenneth Spencer, Sonora, MS 478. The album contains four LPs, (2011.21.4a-d).

2011.21.4a-d: Four records from the American Spirituals set. Each record has a red Sonora label with gold lettering at center. Each label has the songs for that side and the Sonora logo.

2011.21.4e: The album jacket cover is pink with black print. Depicted on the jacket, is a chariot drawn by four white horses racing past an angel blowing a trumpet.

2011.4f: The album also contains a paper holder for all four LPs. The paper holder has four sections held together by binding on the proper right edge.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1945
• Published by: Sonora Radio & Television Corp., American, founded 1942
• Recorded by: Kenneth Spencer, American, 1913 - 1964
• Type: record covers
• Type: long-playing records
• Medium: vinyl , ink on cardboard , paper
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 10 1/4 x 12 1/4 x 3/4 in. (26 x 31.1 x 1.9 cm)
• Place depicted: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Spirituals (Music)
• Object number: 2011.21.4a-f
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Arthur Tyrill Farrell Family
• 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: © Sonora Records/ RCA Victor Records Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.