Dance card for the University of Illinois Senior Ball: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A dance card from the 1924 University of Illinois Senior Ball, which featured live music from King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band. The dance card is a small, printed paper booklet strung on a silk cord loop with front and back covers composed of thin wood. Both the covers and twelve interior pages have been cut in a Swiss shield shape. Threaded through the jump ring at the top of the booklet is a gold and blue twisted cord loop that terminates in a blue and gold tassel at the top.

Adhered to the center of the front cover is a bronze medallion stamped with the University of Illinois seal. Around the edge of the seal is a circular band with embossed text that reads [UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS / CHARTERED 1867]. The band frames the school motto that reads [LEARNING & LABOR] embossed in a semicircle at the top. Below are embossed symbols that includes a plow, an anvil, and a steam engine beneath an open book. The open book has small text embossed on the pages that read [AGRCUL / TURE] on the left and [SCIENCE / & ART] on the right. The edges of the medallion are molded in a braid pattern. The back cover is plain.

The interior pages are white and feature printed black text as well as four handwritten name entries. The first page is blank. The second page has large, Old English font text that reads [1924 Senior Ball / University of Illinois / Gym Annex / June 5 and 6] and features a small, black-and-white graphic of a female flamenco dancer at the center of the page. Pages 3-7 of the booklet is a continuing list of names under the title [Patrons and Patronesses] printed at the top of each page. The next two pages, pages 8 and 9, are titled, [Dances] with numbered, fillable lines printed below. Page 8 has the name, [Ulla Graner] written under dance number three, and the name [Olga Jilly] under dance number five. On page 9, the name [Grace Finch] has been filled in under dance number seven, and the name [Helen Finch] has been filled in under [1st Extra] dance. The names all appear to be written in black ink by the same hand and the rest of the lines have been left blank. Page 10 is the name of the Class President of 1924. Page 11 features the title [Senior Ball Committee] followed by the names of 16 individuals. The last page, page 12, features black centered text that reads [Music by / KING OLIVER / and his / CREOLE JAZZ BAND] as well as the name of the decorations supplier. Threaded through the jump ring at the top of the booklet is a gold and blue twisted cord loop that terminates in a blue and gold tassel at the top.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1924
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Issued by: University of Illinois, American, founded 1867
• Subject of: King Oliver, American, 1885 - 1938
• Subject of: Lil Hardin Armstrong, American, 1898 - 1971
• Subject of: Louis Armstrong, American, 1901 - 1971
• Subject of: King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, American, founded 1920
• Type: dance cards
• Medium: brass (alloy) on wood with ink on paper (fiber product) , metal and cord (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Overall): 22 1/2 × 2 1/2 × 1/2 in. (57.2 × 6.3 × 1.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Dance card only): 3 1/16 × 2 1/2 × 1/2 in. (7.8 × 6.3 × 1.2 cm)
• Place used: Champaign County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Segregation
• Object number: 2024.45
• 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.