Postcard of Commencement Hall at Roger Williams University: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An unsent picture postcard of Commencement Hall at Roger Williams in Nashville, Tennessee. The postcard is in color and captures the white, two-story building. The front entrance has steps to walk up to the door and is flanked by two large pillars on either side. There is a balcony on the second story facing the front. There is one sapling on the left and in front of the building. On the front of the postcard, at the bottom, is black text. On the lower left corner is [LAY BROS, PHOTO] and in the center [COMMENCEMENT HALL / The Beginning of the New Roger Williams University, 1908, Nashville, Tenn.]. The back of the postcards are unused with [PRIVATE POST CARD] printed in black at the top and black spaces under [CORRESPONDENCE] on the left and [ADDRESS] on the right. In the upper right corner is a [STAMP / HERE] stamp.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1908; printed 1911-1928
• Photograph by: Lay Brothers Photography, American, 1911 - 1928
• Subject of: Roger Williams University, American, 1866 - 1929
• Type: picture postcards
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (8.9 x 14 cm)
• Place depicted: Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Correspondence
• Topic: HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
• Topic: U.S. History, 1865-1921
• Object number: 2011.36.71.7
• 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.