Jacket for the FAMU Marching Band: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A Florida A&M University Marching Band jacket by SOL FRANK Uniforms, Inc. The green, orange, and off-white jacket, its colors representative of Florida’s agricultural industry, is constructed of one hundred percent wool, and features several University themed embellishments. The neck collar, supported internally by hard plastic, is primarily dyed green wool with an orange and off-white strip of cord running along its edge. At the front of the chest, starting from the top of the neck, orange fabric edged in thick green thread, and sewn diagonally, features the University white, green, orange, and black tribal patterned rattlesnake mascot. Large white patches with green embroidery that read FLORIDA / A&M are adhered to both outer shoulders. The buttons for the green, orange, and off-white shoulder straps are missing. Three embroidered patches of the rattlesnake line the orange area of the chest on both sides, and there is one rattlesnake patch on the wrist of the proper left arm. A black stitched outline of the mascot patch is present on the proper right wrist, where the patch is missing. The torso sides and outer arms of are green, the lower torso is off-white.

The upper back of the jacket features a very large embroidered mascot patch, set against an orange wool fabric background that extends down each arm and over the rectangular area of the entire backside, to the hem. Green fabric takes up the abdominal sides of the jacket. Ivory color looped embroidery in fleur-de-lis shapes are sewn to the lower back, one on each side of the dividing seam that runs the entire length of the jacket. The fleur-de-lis rest at the top points of green filled obelisk outlines.

The interior of the jacket is lined in a black synthetic material which shows extensive wear. An off-white fabric sewn-in tag at the bottom of the neck reads: [225 / Sol Frank / UNIFORMS, INC]. A second, large, off-white fabric sewn-in tag – located on the proper right breast – with red embroidered script reads: [SOL FRANK Uniforms Inc / SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS / AMERICA’S FINEST BAND UNIFORMS]. A third tag below the second, indicates the jacket’s owner and care instructions. A red dry cleaners tag [6063] is safety pinned to the proper right lower interior

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1970-1979
• Manufactured by: Sol Frank Uniforms, Inc., American, founded 1951
• Subject of: Florida A&M University, American, founded 1887
• Worn by: Ernest Brown, American, born 1959
• Owned by: William Patrick Foster, American, 1919 - 2010
• Type: jackets
• Type: uniforms
• Medium: polyester, plastic and metal
• Dimensions: L x W: 33 1/2 × 18 in. (85.1 × 45.7 cm)
• Dimensions: Chest: 18 in. (45.7 cm)
• Dimensions: L x W (Sleeve): 25 1/2 × 8 1/4 in. (64.8 × 21 cm)
• Place made: Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Education
• Topic: HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
• Topic: Marching bands (Music)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Object number: 2019.94.5.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from Anthony Foster in memory of William P. Foster
• 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: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.