Swing Low, Sweet Chariot: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An album titled Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, by Paul Robeson, Columbia Masterworks, MM 819. The album contains four LPs, (2011.21.3a-d).

2011.21.3a-d: Four records from the Swing Low, Sweet Chariot set. Each record has a blue Columbia Masterworks label with silver lettering at center. Each label has the songs for that side and the Columbia logo.

2011.21.4e: The album jacket cover is red cardboard with black and white print. The cover depicts a pair of hands reaching towards the top of the cover to a smaller depiction of a church.

2011.4f: The album also contains a paper holder for all four LPs. The paper holder has four sections held together by binding on the proper right edge. Red writing on the cover reads: [Size 10 - Record / Speed - 78].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1949
• Published by: Columbia Records, American, founded 1888
• Recorded by: Paul Robeson, American, 1898 - 1976
• Type: record covers
• Type: long-playing records
• Medium: vinyl , ink on cardboard , paper
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 10 3/4 x 12 1/2 x 3/4 in. (27.3 x 31.8 x 1.9 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Spirituals (Music)
• Object number: 2011.21.3a-f
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Arthur Tyrill Farrell Family
• 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: © 1949 Columbia Records Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.