Print of Cab Calloway wearing a white tuxedo: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white photograph of Cab Calloway wearing a light colored tuxedo with tail coat. Calloway is posed standing in front of a spotlight, his knees bent, his arms held out from his sides with index fingers pointing, and his head turned slightly to his proper right, smiling widely. The spotlight casts a bright arc against the dark background and Calloway's shadow is behind and to the left of him. A photographer's signature is in the bottom left part of the image: [C (illegible) / la Habana]. At the bottom right corner of the print is printed: [MOSS PHOTO, N.Y.].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1930s - 1950s; printed later
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 8 7/8 × 7 5/16 in. (22.6 × 18.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 10 × 8 1/8 in. (25.4 × 20.6 cm)
• Place captured: Havana, Cuba, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
• Place printed: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Conductors (Musicians)
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2013.237.18
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cabella Calloway Langsam
• 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.