Badge from Madam C.J. Walker convention: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A tiered pin or badge, in gold metal. The first tier features an illustration of clasped hands,the forearms and hands of two males shaking hands, the second tier is a rectangular white placard with the name, "Alice Gause" handwritten in black ink. The third tier features a circular shaped black and white portrait of Madame C.J. Walker in an ornate gold metal frame. The tiers are connected via chains.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1920s
• Manufactured by: Bastian Brothers Company, American, founded 1895
• Photograph by: Addison N. Scurlock, American, 1883 - 1964
• Subject of: Madam C.J. Walker, American, 1867 - 1919
• Subject of: Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, American, founded 1906
• Subject of: Alice Gause
• Type: portraits
• Type: badges
• Medium: brass (alloy), gold, lithographic ink on paper, metal, plastic and nitrocellulose
• Dimensions: H x W: 4 5/16 x 2 3/8 x 5/16 in. (11 x 6.1 x 0.8 cm)
• Place collected: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Black Enterprise
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Women
• Object number: 2008.15.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dr. Patricia Heaston
• 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 displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.