Artificial Rose, used by Hildegarde: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Red fabric rose; green fabric leaves; green plastic stem. Used by Hildegarde.

Singer-pianist Hildegarde (Hildegarde Loretta Sell) was a native of Adell, Wisconsin. She was in turn, a youthful Milwaukee pianist in a silent movie house, a member of a male orchestra that toured vaudeville, a member of the Grand Quartette (or, Jerry & Her Baby Grands) and an accompanist for many other vaudeville acts. She was also part of Gus Edwards' touring troupe as a child "immigrant" who danced and sang "Dutch" songs. Between 1933 and 1936 she worked in London on radio and in clubs and cabarets, recording her first vocal in 1933 . Late in 1936 she began appearing on American radio broadcasts and in U.S. hotels and clubs. From 1943 to 1946 she starred in her own radio programs and again appeared as a top-billed club performer in New York and other cities. She continued European and American engagements in clubs and television through the 1970s.

Materials, dates and provenance

• user; performing artist: Hildegarde
• Object Name: rose, artificial
• Physical Description: plastic (overall material)
• Physical Description: fabric (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 10 1/4 in x 2 1/2 in; 26.035 cm x 6.35 cm
• ID Number: 1980.0403.02
• accession number: 1980.0403
• catalog number: 1980.0403.02
• Credit Line: Gift of Hildegarde
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.