Photomontage of Sam Theard: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white photomontage of two (2) images of Sam Theard. Theard, depicted on the left, is seated with his knees drawn up and his elbows resting on his knees. He is looking up towards the image of Theard on the right. In the image of Theard on the right, he is standing with his arms out, bent at the elbows, with his proper right thumb and middle finger held together as if snapping. Theard is wearing the same outfit in both images: plaid pants held up by diagonally striped suspenders, a white short-sleeve collared shirt, and a white cap with a turned up brim. The photographer's mark, handwritten in green, and located in the center of the bottom edge reads, [Stiger / K.C. Mo.]. In the top left corner of the image is a handwritten inscription in black ink that reads, [From original Lovin Sam Theard. / To a Very Sweet Kid / Laura Cathrell / 12/8/35 / CATCH ON?]. There are no inscriptions on the back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: December 8, 1935
• Photograph by: Stiger Studio, American
• Subject of: Sam Theard, American, 1904 - 1982
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 9 15/16 × 7 5/8 in. (25.2 × 19.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 9 15/16 × 7 7/8 in. (25.2 × 20 cm)
• Place made: Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Comedy
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2013.46.25.189
• 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.