White bow tie from the travel wardrobe trunk used by Cab Calloway: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An ivory white, one size fits all bow tie from the travel wardrobe trunk used by Cab Calloway. The satin, pre-tied, butterfly bow tie features an adjustable neck strap that fastens at the front of the neck. The bow tie has a smaller bow that nestles inside a larger one. The bow tie has a small piece of matching white fabric that wraps around the bow at the center and is stitched closed at the back, forming the center knot. It is stitched to the band at one end. Sewn to each end of the neck band is a metal hook and eye. Threaded through the band is a metal strap slider used to adjust the neck band length.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: mid 20th-late 20th century
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Worn by: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
• Type: bow ties
• Medium: satin with thread and metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 2 3/16 × 14 13/16 × 13/16 in. (5.5 × 37.7 × 2 cm)
• 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: A2015.273.1.1.26
• 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.