When a Coon Sits in the Presidential Chair: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Sheet music for the song "When a Coon Sits in the Presidential Chair" written by George R. Wilson and published by Charles K. Harris. The front page features text with the title, author, and publisher information printed in dark blue ink. A black-and-white photograph is printed at the left center depicting Wilson, his wife, and their son, who are referenced as "Geo. R. Wilson and His Famous Family" on the cover and identified below the photograph. The interior first page has advertisements for other songs published by Harris printed in blue ink. The remaining four (4) pages, printed in black ink on front and back on two sheets of paper, contain the music and lyrics for the song, including the back page. The name "Florence Mae Ramey" is handwritten in black ink across the front top edge of the cover.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1898
• Written by: George R. Wilson
• Published by: Charles K. Harris, American, 1867 - 1930
• Type: sheet music
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (closed): 14 × 10 7/8 in. (35.6 × 27.6 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Caricature and cartoons
• Topic: Language
• Topic: Minstrel (Music)
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Popular music
• Topic: Race discrimination
• Topic: Stereotypes
• Object number: 2016.166.32.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Liljenquist Family Collection
• 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: Public Domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.