Button with an image of a bird with the head of an African American woman: Museum Object and Cultural History
Button with an image of a bird with the head of an African American woman: Date: late 20th century. Manufactured by: Unidentified. Subject of: Ullman Manufacturing Company, American, 1899 - 1915.
The object in the museum catalogue
A pinback button based on artwork from a 1905 postcard published by the Ullman Manufacturing Company. The button is round and predominately white with a painted illustration and printed text on the front. At the center of the button is an illustration of a woman with the body of a bird. The figure's body is depicted in profile with the face turned slightly towards the viewer. She is wearing a large, pink, Edwardian style hat with the ruffled brim and large red flowers above and below the brim. The woman's hair is curled around her face and her lips are painted red. The figure's neck merges into the bird body. The figure's wings are at her side and she holds a white and red fan to her face with her proper left foot. She is standing in a grassy field and there is green foliage in the background. Black printed text above and below image of bird reads, [NATURAL HISTORY SERIES / -BIRDS-] and [THE BLACKBIRD / HABITAT - COONLAND]. The back of the button is silver toned with a pinback and a "C" clasp.
Materials, dates and provenance
- Date: late 20th century
- Manufactured by: Unidentified
- Subject of: Ullman Manufacturing Company, American, 1899 - 1915
- Type: buttons (information artifacts)
- Medium: ink on paper with metal
- Dimensions: H x W x D: 3 1/2 × 3 1/2 × 3/8 in. (8.9 × 8.9 × 0.9 cm)
- Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Topic: African American
- Topic: Caricature and cartoons
- Topic: Stereotypes
- Object number: 2007.7.181
- 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: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Sources
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