Noisemaker from the American Legion: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

1927 American Legion noisemaker comprised of two pieces, a rubber bulb with a metal tip (a) and a metal horn with a flared end (b). The rubber bulb is 8 inches long and has a horizontal seam line around its center. The top of the rubber has three concentric circular seam lines at the center. It is connected to a gold colored metal cap that is scrunched on the bottom where it connects to the rubber. The bottom is a hollow metal cylinder. The metal horn has a long hollow cylinder with grooved lines at its end and in the center. A pictorial bas-relief has been attached to the side of the horn with metal. The bas-relief has an image of a large building with two towers. Text above the image reads, [AMERICAN LEGION / SEPTEMBER]. The text continues below the image with [1927 / PARIS]. Closer to the opening of the horn, facing the opposite direction, is the inscription, ["LE JAZZ / H [image of anchor] N]. On the other side of the trumpet in the same location is the inscription, [H. CARAMELL / 21 R DU PT WILSON / LEVALLOIS]. A decorative ridge pattern lines the center of the horn above the inscriptions.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1927
• Created by: American Legion, American, founded 1919
• Subject of: H. Caramell, French
• Type: noisemakers
• Medium: rubber and metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D (a): 13 × 2 7/8 × 2 7/8 in. (33 × 7.3 × 7.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (b): 7 1/2 × 3 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (19.1 × 8.9 × 8.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (pieces together): 18 1/2 × 3 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (47 × 8.9 × 8.9 cm)
• Place made: Paris, France, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Military
• Topic: Ornamentation
• Topic: World War I
• Object number: 2017.111.1ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Alan Laird
• 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.