Darkwater: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A hardcover copy of the Darkwater by W.E.B. Du Bois. The front cover of the book is a blue fabric. The title is engraved in light-blue type that reads: [DARKWATER / W.E.B. DU BOIS]. Underneath the title near the center of the cover is an engraved design. The interior of the book has black type on white pages. The back cover is blue fabric. The content of the book includes biographical information, essays, poems, and spirituals written by Du Bois.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1920
• Published by: Harcourt, Brace & Howe, American, founded 1919
• Written by: W.E.B. Du Bois, American, 1868 - 1963
• Owned by: Barry Greenstein, American
• Type: books
• Medium: ink on paper with book cloth (textile material) on cardboard
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Closed): 7 3/16 × 5 1/4 × 1 5/16 in. (18.3 × 13.3 × 3.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Open): 2 3/8 × 10 1/4 × 7 1/2 in. (6 × 26 × 19.1 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Literature
• Topic: Poetry
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Race discrimination
• Topic: Religion
• Topic: Spirituals (Music)
• Object number: 2014.304.38
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Barry Greenstein
• 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.