Badge from the National Convention of Madam C. J. Walker's Agents: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A badge from the National Convention of Madam C. J. Walker's Agents. The badge consists of a pendant and two ribbons hanging from a gold-colored metal bar. The bar at the top has a pin back, and the front features a smooth empty rectangular field with a scrolled border. A circular pendant is connected to the bar via two short chains, one from each corner. The pendant features a circular black & white photographic portrait of Madam C. J. Walker set in a gold-colored metal frame edged with a scrolling design. The ribbon on the front of the badge is yellow with black text at the bottom that reads "NATIONAL / CONVENTION / OF / MADAM / C.J. WALKER'S / AGENTS." The ribbon on the back is black with metallic silver text at the bottom that reads "NATIONAL / CONVENTION / OF / MADAM / C.J. WALKER'S / AGENTS" The ribbons are connected at the bottom via a strip of woven metal wire from which hang coiled metallic fringe. Fastened between the two ribbons is a white manufacturer's tag with black letters. It reads "Bastian Brothers Co./ Novelties That Advertise/ Badges Buttons Signs/ Main Office and Factory/ Rochester, N.Y. U.S.A."

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1917
• Manufactured by: Bastian Brothers Company, American, founded 1895
• Subject of: Madam C.J. Walker, American, 1867 - 1919
• Subject of: Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, American, founded 1906
• Type: badges
• Medium: metal and ribbon
• Dimensions: H x W: 9 1/4 x 2 5/16 x 5/8 in. (23.5 x 5.9 x 1.6 cm)
• Place made: Rochester, Monroe County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Women
• Object number: 2013.153.2.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of A'Lelia Bundles / Madam Walker Family Archives
• 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.