Boxing pennant for Jack Johnson vs. Jim Jeffries: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A souvenir boxing pennant for “The Fight of the Century” of Jack Johnson vs. Jim Jeffries in Reno, Nevada on July 4, 1910. The pennant is composed of wool felt and has a red body edged in blue trim. Painted in black is the date [July 4, 1910] (oriented vertically) and [RENO] (oriented horizontally). Between the painted words, a round piece of printed cotton with an image of Johnson and Jeffries sparring has been sewn to the pennant. Jeffries and Johnson are depicted against a light blue background, with Johnson on the left in white trunks and Jeffries on the right in white trunks. Black text below reads [PURSE $101,000 / CLEASON & RICKARD]. Around the edge of the image is a darker blue border with text reading [JACK JOHNSON JIM JEFFRIES / WORLDS HEAVY WEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP]. The blue felt trim extends past the base of the pennant to form two tassels.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1910
• Created by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Jack Johnson, American, 1878 - 1946
• Subject of: James J. Jeffries, American, 1875 - 1953
• Type: pennants
• Medium: wool felt with paint and printed cotton
• Dimensions: H x W: 13 1/2 × 25 1/2 in. (34.3 × 64.8 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Athletes
• Topic: Boxing
• Topic: Race relations
• Topic: Sports
• Object number: 2022.107
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• 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.