Illustrated brochure for Jubilee Quartet and "Black Patti" impersonator: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An illustrated pamphlet featuring the singer John C. Payne as part of the California Jubilee Quartet and as “the Black Patti,” an impersonator of opera singer Sissieretta Jones. The pamphlet consists of a single sheet of off-white paper printed in black ink and folded once to form four pages.

The front of the brochure has a large black-and-white photograph of the four members of the California Jubilee Quartet: S.S.R.S. Stewart, Ivan H. Browning, John C. Payne, and J.T. Hill, all dressed in formal black suits with tails and white gloves. Large text above reads [“COMING” / THE / CALIFORNIA / JUBILEE / All Star / QUARTET]. Smaller text below reads [Plantation Melodies – Jubilee Songs – Sacred Numbers / Popular Airs – Classical Selections]. On the interior pages is another photograph of the quartet along with short biographies for each member. The back page has a large black-and-white studio portrait of Payne dressed as Sissieretta Jones. Text above reads [A MAN WITH A DOUBLE VOICE / Only impersonator of Black Patti on the Pacific Coast]. A stamp at the bottom in black ink reads [NOV 21 1913].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: November 21, 1913
• Distributed by: California Jubilee All Star Quartet, American, active ca. 1912 - 1922
• Subject of: John C. Payne, American, 1872 - 1952
• Subject of: Sissieretta Jones, American, 1868 - 1933
• Type: brochures
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 8 × 11 1/16 in. (20.3 × 28.1 cm)
• Place depicted: Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Gender
• Topic: LGBTQ
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Opera (Music)
• Topic: Popular music
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2024.83.1
• 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 underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.