Young Trombone Players: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph by Kenneth Royster of a group with young trombone players. In the foreground of the image are two (2) young boys each playing a trombone. The boy on the left has his trombone angled up and has a towel on his head. There are various people standing behind the boys. Most are wearing white and some are wet, presumably from a baptism. The figure directly behind the boys is drying his head with a towel. There are numerical inscriptions on the reverse.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1997
• Photograph by: Kenneth Royster, American, born 1944
• Subject of: Unidentified Child or Children
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 14 15/16 × 14 7/8 in. (37.9 × 37.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (sheet): 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (matted): 22 × 28 in. (55.9 × 71.1 cm)
• Place depicted: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Christianity
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Religion
• Object number: 2018.41.6
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Kenneth Royster in honor of Prof. Samuel L. Green
• 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: © Kenneth Royster Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.