Photograph of Paul Brown and a woman standing next to a trumpet player: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Paul Brown and a woman standing next to a male trumpet player. The man depicted on the left side of the image is wearing a plaid three-piece suit and is playing the trumpet. A large drum is sitting on the floor directly behind him. Paul Brown and an unidentified woman are depicted on the right side of the image, in front of a piano. Brown is wearing a black tuxedo with a white bow tie. He is standing behind the woman with his proper left hand resting on her shoulder. The woman is wearing a long, light colored dress with puffed, elbow-length sleeves. The woman is holding a piece of paper in her proper left hand, while pointing towards it with her proper right hand. All three are looking at the piece of paper held by the woman. In the foreground are wooden chairs and tables covered in gingham tablecloths. The photographer's mark, printed in the negative, in the bottom left corner reads, [H. BatteLLe / N.Y.C.]. Over the woman’s dress is a handwritten inscription in black ink that reads, [proof]. In the center of the top border of the photograph is a second inscription in black ink that reads, [#2[?]]. There are no inscriptions on the back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1937
• Photograph by: Hughey J. Battelle
• Subject of: Paul Brown
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 9 1/16 × 7 1/16 in. (23 × 18 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 9 15/16 × 7 15/16 in. (25.2 × 20.1 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2013.46.25.167
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• 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.