Printed inspirational quote from Mae's Millinery Shop: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A printed inspirational quote (a) and frame (b) from Mae's Millinery Shop. The text is printed in Gothic script in black ink on cream paper with a pink, blue, and white floral cluster printed at the center top. Some of the text is printed on top of the flowers. The quote reads: "When shadows fall athwart thy path / 'Tis God who passes by: / Bow down in peace and praise and pray, / And even while you sigh / Remember this: - Each sorrow is a shadow sweet / That tells how near Christ's Nailed Feet / Are walking by thy side. / Then let thy soul confide." The reverse is blank.

The frame (b) has a decorative geometric design carved into the gilt wood. The glass is backed with cardstock that is black on the back side. A nail for hanging is at the center of one side on the reverse, with a safety pin fastened around it.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1941-1994
• Created by: Unidentified
• Owned by: Mae Reeves, American, 1912 - 2016
• Subject of: Mae's Millinery Shop, American, 1941 - 1994
• Type: prints
• Medium: a: ink on paper;
• Medium: b: wood, glass, and metal
• Dimensions: H x W (a): 5 × 7 1/8 in. (12.7 × 18.1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (b): 5 3/4 × 7 7/8 × 1/2 in. (14.6 × 20 × 1.3 cm)
• Place collected: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Black Enterprise
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Christianity
• Topic: Faith
• Topic: Millinery
• Topic: Religion
• Topic: Women
• Object number: 2010.6.1ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from Mae Reeves and her children, Donna Limerick and William Mincey, Jr.
• 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.