Photograph of the Five Spirits of Rhythm: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a sepia toned image of five (5) members of the Five Spirits of Rhythm. One man is centrally depicted, seated on a bench, holding a conductor's baton and paper. The other four (4) men stand around and behind the bench, each holding a tiple. They are dressed in matching suits with dark neck cloths tied in loose bows, dark jackets with wide, light colored lapels, and dark pants with wide, light colored stripes running down the sides of the pant legs. Text written in the negative above their heads reads, [FIVE SPIRITS OF RHYTHM] [sic]. The photography studio’s name is in the bottom right corner, written in the negative: [CALUMET / STUDIO]. There are no inscriptions on the back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1934
• Photograph by: Calumet Studio, American
• Subject of: Leo Watson, American, 1898 - 1950
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Spirits of Rhythm, American, founded 1932
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 3 3/4 × 5 11/16 in. (9.6 × 14.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 4 1/8 × 6 in. (10.4 × 15.2 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2013.46.25.12
• 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.