Page from a photograph album with six mounted photographs: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

2021.13.13a-f: A page from a photograph album with six black-and-white photographs. The black paper page is roughly rectangular in shape with damage along edges. The front page features four photographs in a landscape orientation, spaced out in two, roughly even, rows. The back of the page features two photographs in portrait orientation and are adhered side-by-side, near the left edge of the page.

2021.13.13a (front, top left): A black-and-white photograph of a man and a woman standing in front of a 1920s era convertible car with the roof up. The photograph is in landscape orientation. The man and the woman are standing closely together in front of the driver side door of the car. The woman, pictured center, is depicted from the knees up, facing the viewer. She is wearing a dark tone, beaded, drop waist dress with a scoop neckline and elbow length sleeves. The dress features vertical beaded lines arranged in a chevron pattern over the chest with additional vertical beaded lines near the hemline. Her hands are resting at her sides and her eyes are closed. The man, pictured right, is standing almost directly behind the woman, looking over the woman’s proper left shoulder. His proper left hand is tucked into his trouser side pocket. He is wearing dark tone trousers, a dark belt, and a white dress shirt. The car is parked on an empty dirt road and there are trees and brush in the distant background. The photograph has a narrow white border around the edges.

2021.13.13b (front, top right): A black-and-white photograph of a 1920s era convertible car with the roof up. The photograph is in landscape orientation. The car is depicted from the front with the front grill and head lights at the center of the image. At the apex of the grill is a round hood ornament. Attached to the front left of the car is a tire jack. A partially obscured man standing next to the raised front left tire is crouched down as if repairing the tire. The car is parked on a dirt road lined with brush and in the distant background are trees. The photograph has a narrow white border around the edges.

2021.13.13c (front, bottom left): A black-and-white photograph of a woman posing in front of a 1920s era convertible car with the roof up. The photograph is in landscape orientation. The woman is depicted almost in full length, in front of the front grill of the car. She is standing in three-quarters pose, turned towards the left edge of the photograph, with her proper right hand resting on the car’s headlight. Her proper left arm is resting at her side, her eyes are closed, and her chin is tilted downwards. She is wearing a dark tone, drop waist, patterned dress with a scoop neck, a large silk sash around the hips, bell shaped sleeves and silk cuffs at the wrist. She is also wearing a princess length strand of graduated beads around her neck and white socks and shoes. Two partially visible men are standing next to the open passenger side door peering in. The car is parked on a dirt road lined with brush and in the distant background are trees. The photograph has a narrow white border around the edges.

2021.13.13d (front, bottom right): A black-and-white photograph woman posing in front of a 1920s era convertible car with the roof up. The photograph is in landscape orientation. The woman is standing in front of the driver side door, facing the viewer, and resting her proper right hand on the top edge of the door. Her proper left arm is resting at her side. She is wearing a dark tone, drop waist, patterned dress with a scoop neck, a large silk sash around the hips, bell shaped sleeves and silk cuffs at the wrist. She is also wearing a princess length strand of graduated beads around her neck and white socks and shoes. In the background, behind the car, is a man wearing dark trousers, a white button down shirt, and a newsboy cap, walking behind the back of the car. The car is parked on a dirt road and there are trees and brush in the distant background. The photograph has a narrow white border around the edges.

2021.13.13e (back left): A black-and-white photograph of a woman posing next to a tree stump. The photograph is in portrait orientation. The woman, depicted to the right of the tree stump, is shown in full length with her proper right hand resting on the top of the tree stump. She is wearing a dark tone, drop waist, patterned dress with a scoop neck, a large silk sash around the hips, bell shaped sleeves and silk cuffs at the wrist. She is also wearing a princess length strand of graduated beads around her neck and white socks and shoes. The woman is standing in a large, empty field, surrounded by brush. In the distant background is a line of trees. The photograph has a narrow white border around the edges.

2021.13.13f (back right): A black-and-white photograph of a woman posing next to a tree stump. The photograph is in portrait orientation. The woman, depicted to the right of the tree stump, is shown in full length with her proper right fingers resting on the top of the tree stump. She is wearing a dark tone, beaded, drop waist dress with a scoop neckline and elbow length sleeves. The dress features vertical beaded lines arranged in a chevron pattern over the chest with additional vertical beaded lines near the hemline. The woman is standing in a large, empty field, surrounded by brush. In the distant background is a line of trees. The photograph has a narrow white border around the edges.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1920s
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Type: scrapbooks
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W (2021.13.13a-d: Page): 6 5/16 × 9 1/2 in. (16 × 24.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (2021.13.13a: Image): 2 5/16 × 4 1/8 in. (5.9 × 10.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (2021.13.13a: Sheet): 2 13/16 × 4 1/2 in. (7.1 × 11.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (2021.13.13b: Image): 2 5/16 × 4 1/8 in. (5.9 × 10.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (2021.13.13b: Sheet): 2 13/16 × 4 9/16 in. (7.1 × 11.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (2021.13.13c: Image): 2 5/16 × 4 1/8 in. (5.9 × 10.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (2021.13.13c: Sheet): 2 13/16 × 4 9/16 in. (7.1 × 11.6 cm)
• Place captured: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Transportation
• Object number: 2021.13.13a-f
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of James M. Baxter
• 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: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.