Table knocker from the Elk's Rendezvous nightclub: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Elk's Rendezvous table knocker in the shape of a small mallet with a small wooden cylinder as a head, dyed red. The head has two incised lines that run around the head's circumference. The handle, a plain straight stick, has the words "Elks Rendezvous/ Harlem's Foremost Cabaret/ 133rd & Lenox Ave. NYC/ 3 Shows Nightly AU 3-8111" stamped lengthways along it. Stamped on either side of the text is an orange geometric pattern around the handle.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1930 - 1945
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Elks Rendezvous, American, ca. 1930 - 1945
• Type: musical instruments
• Type: noisemakers
• Medium: pigment on wood
• Dimensions: L x W: 7 × 3/4 in. (17.8 × 1.9 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Amusements
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musical Theatre
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Popular music
• Object number: 2013.223.69
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Vicki Gold Levi
• 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.