Spool of black thread from the travel wardrobe trunk used by Cab Calloway: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A spool of black thread from the travel wardrobe trunk used by Cab Calloway. The black cotton thread has been wound on a natural wood spool. The spool features a hole at the center of each of the spool caps. Adhered to one spool cap is a white, circular, adhesive label with a red and white graphic of an encircled, five pointed star at the center. Navy blue text printed around the star graphic reads [AMERICAN THREAD CO.]. The other spool cap is plain with adhesive residue on the surface.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: before 1985
• Manufactured by: The American Thread Company, American, 1898 - 1985
• Owned by: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
• Type: spools
• Medium: thread on wood with ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 2 1/16 × 1 7/16 × 1 7/16 in. (5.2 × 3.7 × 3.7 cm)
• Place made: Willimantic, Windham County, Connecticut, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Band (Music)
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Conductors (Musicians)
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: A2015.273.1.1.13
• 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: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.