Photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins with two unidentified men: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins with two unidentified men. Hawkins and one of the unidentified men are seated at a wooden desk. The third man stands behind them, in between the seated men. There is a microphone on the desk in front of Hawkins and he is resting his proper left hand on the base of the stand. At the top of the microphone is a rounded microphone flag with the radio station call sign, [WHK], visible and the letters [MBS] on the bottom. He is wearing a medium-toned suit, a white collared shirt, a dark tie with a paisley pattern, and a white pocket square. The other seated man is wearing a dark suit jacket, a white collared shirt, a check patterned tie, and a white pocket square. He is looking down and writing on a small pad of paper in front of him. Both Hawkins and the standing man are also looking towards the small pad of paper. The standing man is wearing a medium-toned, double breasted suit, a white collared shirt, a dark bowtie, and glasses. Also on the desk is a blotter with some papers resting on the surface, a clear paperclip bowl, and a business card file. In the background is a medium-toned, polka dot curtain on the left. On the right is a white wall decorated with a shield shaped award, a portrait of a man, and a framed picture. The photograph has a white frame and a landscape orientation. There is a surface loss at the top right corner. There is yellowed tape residue at all four corners and along the top and bottom edge and a small tear along the left edge. The back of this photograph is white and plain.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1949-1958
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Bill Hawkins, American, 1909 - 1975
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: WHK, American, founded 1922
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 8 1/16 × 10 1/8 in. (20.5 × 25.7 cm)
• Place captured: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Radio
• Object number: 2018.91.2.23
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of W. Allen Taylor, son of "Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins," The First Black Disc Jockey of Cleveland, Ohio
• 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.