Photographic postcard of man in a western wear with steamboat backdrop: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A sepia toned photographic postcard of man in a western wear standing in front of a steamboat bow photography backdrop. The image is in a portrait orientation. The man is depicted in full length, standing right of center, facing the viewer. He is wearing western wear, including wooly chaps, a wide belt with a gun holster, a light-toned long sleeved shirt, kerchief, and a wide brimmed hat. He wears a serious expression on his face. His proper left arm is resting at his side and is proper right hand is wrapped around a flagpole at the center of the boat prop’s handrail. The man is standing on the deck of a steamboat prop. Painted on the backdrop is the ship’s bridge surrounded by a handrail, a ship’s wheel visible in the view screen, a ladder leading up to the bridge, a horn, and two steam stacks. The man stands next to a nautical rope handrail with a metal frame. At the center of the metal frame is the flagpole that the man is holds with his proper right hand. The flag at the top is white with eleven stars. The reverse is white with black ink text. It is in a landscape orientation. The text [POST CARD] is written in outlined letters across the top. Below are sections for [CORRESPONDENCE HERE] on the left, and [NAME AND ADDRESS HERE] on the right divided by a short vertical line down the center. At the top right is an AZO stamp box. Vertical text printed on the left center edge of the postcard reads [AUDITORIUM STUDIO / ODD FELLOWS BLDG., / 190 AUBURN AVE., / ATLANTA, GA.]. The postcard is blank.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1912-1918
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Photograph by: Auditorium Photography Studio, American, founded 1912
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Type: portraits
• Type: picture postcards
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W: 5 7/16 × 3 7/16 in. (13.8 × 8.8 cm)
• Place captured: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2014.37.36.12
• 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: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.