Continuous service records for Alton Augustus Adams, Sr.: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A tri-fold booklet holding Alton Augustus Adam’s Continuous Service Records from 1917-1945. The notebook has five interior pages that are off-white with black type. The pages are divided by titled columns at the top, with fill-in-the-blank squares below. The pages are filled in with typed and handwritten text throughout. Each page is filled out on the front and back. The pages are fastened on the left with two metal clasps. The clasps are bent over on the interior with button ends on the exterior. The cover is cardboard covered with a green fabric. The cover folds with the pages. Glued to the inside in the back is an off-white paper with black type. This paper is titled “INSTRUCTIONS / BUREAU OF NAVIGATION / NAVY DEPARTMENT / May 9, 1921.” There is also a round edged tab above the instructions page, with an off-white sticker, and black ink hand writing, reading “Alton A. Adams / 67782” at center.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1917-1945
• Printed by: United States Navy, American, founded 1775
• Subject of: Alton Augustus Adams Sr., Danish West Indian American, 1889 - 1987
• Type: documents
• Medium: ink on paper, cardboard, fabric, metal
• Dimensions: closed: 6 1/4 × 3 3/4 × 1 5/8 in. (15.9 × 9.5 × 4.1 cm)
• Dimensions: open: 6 1/4 × 14 1/8 × 1 in. (15.9 × 35.9 × 2.5 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Band (Music)
• Topic: Marching bands (Music)
• Topic: Military
• Object number: 2014.263.5
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Alton A. Adams, Jr. Trustee
• 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: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.