Broadside for the Black Star Line: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A double-sided broadside with photographic images of the SS. Frederick Douglass on one side and the SS. Phillis Wheatley on the other side. The side with an image of the SS. Phillis Wheatley is white with black type. It is bordered with black stars. The image of ship is at top center underneath the words “BLACK STAR LINE / Incorporated / 56 West 136th Street / New York city / Incorporated under the State Laws of Delaware – June 26, 1919 / Capital Stock $10,000,000 (Common) Shares at $5 each.” Underneath the image are the words “Colored Men! Would you like to be Ship Masters? Engineers? Wireless Operators?” Also underneath the image is a quote from H. A. Price and additional contact information. The other side of the broadside has an image of the SS. Frederick Douglass at top center underneath the same headline as the front. Printed below the image is “Invest Your Money in the Most Colossal / Most Prosperous Negro Industry of All Times…”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1921
• Issued by: Black Star Line, Inc., American, 1919 - 1922
• Printed by: The Hunt Printing Company, American
• Subject of: Marcus Garvey, Jamaican, 1887 - 1940
• Subject of: Universal Negro Improvement Association, American, founded 1914
• Type: broadsides
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 11 1/4 x 8 1/2 in. (28.6 x 21.6 cm)
• Place printed: Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Black Enterprise
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Labor
• Topic: Transportation
• Object number: 2009.9.9
• 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.