A Darky's Prayer: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A picture postcard mounted on black mat board featuring a color image of an alligator biting the backside of a kneeling Black man. A second, smaller alligator is next to the other. The man is wearing a white shirt, black necktie, and blue pants. His hands are together at his chest, as if in prayer. Scenery features a body of water and greenery. White text box with black text at the top center. It reads [A DARKY'S PRAYER / Oh, Lawdy, please deliber me / From dese 'gators dats got hold ob me / If I only had de chance / I'd gib dem my pants, / If de'd only let de rest ob me be.] Yellow text in the bottom right corner of the image [© ASHEVILLE POST CARD CO.] Image is surrounded by a white border with black text in the top right and bottom right corners: [254] and [94261]

Materials, dates and provenance

• Created by: Asheville Postcard Company, American, founded 1910
• Type: postcards
• Medium: ink on paper with mat board
• Dimensions: H x W (Postcard): 3 1/2 x 5 9/16 in. (8.9 x 14.1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Mat Board): 5 x 7 1/16 in. (12.7 x 17.9 cm)
• Place printed: Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Language
• Topic: Stereotypes
• Object number: 2007.7.389
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer
• 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: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.