Piano bench from Pilgrim Baptist Church used by Thomas Dorsey: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Wood and vinyl piano bench with the seat as a lid for a storage compartment contained within the bench. Bench seat is covered in a bright orange vinyl material. The bench has four (4) legs that taper down and are capped with metal. The storage compartment inside the bench is divided in half by a small wood rib. The lid of the bench is attached by two (2) hinges on the inside. A small orange paper with a lot number attached to the PL front leg on the outside.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1930s
• Used by: Thomas Andrew Dorsey, American, 1899 - 1993
• Created by: The Cable Piano Company, American, founded 1880
• Type: piano benches
• Medium: wood , metal and vinyl
• Dimensions: 19 1/2 x 36 1/2 x 15 1/4 in. (49.5 x 92.7 x 38.7 cm)
• Place used: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Baptist
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Gospel (Music)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Religion
• Topic: The Black Church
• Topic: Urban life
• Object number: 2015.134.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Rev. Richard C. Keller, Jr., Mr. Edward G. Keller and Ms. Paulene Austin Keller
• 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: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.