Photograph postcard of the Jenkins Orphanage Band, Charleston, South Carolina: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white photograph postcard of the Jenkins Orphanage Band of Charleston, South Carolina. The photograph features twenty (20) boys and young men in uniform standing in rows, holding musical instruments including french horns, marching euphoniums, drums, and trombones. All of the band members are looking at the camera. At the bottom of the photograph is printed [JENKINS ORPHAN BAND Charleston S.C.]. At the lower left corner is the mark [Tappin-Elcha/ 438 Lenox Ave. N.Y] in white. The verso of the postcard is printed at the upper edge: [POST CARD/ CORRESPONDENCE [vertical line] ADDRESS ONLY].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1914
• Created by: Edward Elcha, American, 1885 - 1939
• Created by: Percy Tappin, British West Indian, born 1892
• Subject of: Jenkins Orphanage Band, American, 1891 - 1980s
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Type: postcards
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 3 1/2 × 5 3/8 in. (8.9 × 13.7 cm)
• Place depicted: Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
• Place printed: Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Band (Music)
• Topic: Child musicians
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2014.63.88.1
• 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 displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public Domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.