Souvenir program for Memphis Bound!: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A souvenir program for the play, "Memphis Bound!" The cover is white and features a centrally depicted, blue illustration of a riverboat with the play's title, [MEMPHIS / BOUND!], in red text in the water beneath the illustration of the boat. In the top left corner is a black and white headshot of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson wearing a plumed British naval hat. In the bottom right corner is a black and white headshot of Avon Long wearing an elaborate British naval hat. The back cover features a black-and-white image of Sheila Guyse, who portrayed Lily Valentine in the play, seated with her legs crossed. She is depicted wearing a light colored dress with dark striped detailing on the bodice, hem line, and in the middle of the body of the skirt. She has white flowers tucked behind her proper right ear. The name of the play, [MEMPHIS / BOUND!], is written in red text, in a semicircle above her head. The program is fifteen (15) pages with black-and-white photographs and illustrations.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1945
• Written by: Unidentified
• Printed by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, American, 1878 - 1949
• Subject of: Avon Long, American, 1910 - 1984
• Subject of: Sheila Guyse, American, 1925 - 2013
• Subject of: John J. Wildberg, American, 1902 - 1959
• Type: theater programs
• Medium: ink on paper with metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 11 15/16 × 9 1/16 × 1/16 in. (30.3 × 23 × 0.2 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Comedy
• Topic: Musical Theatre
• Object number: 2013.46.25.8
• 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: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.