Tom N. Wills of Arizona, a Great Roaper: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This chromolithographic postcard features a color image of Tom N. Wills, a cowboy from Arizona roping a steer. Wills is on horseback and is trailing a steer. He is holding the end of a lasso with the other end around the steer's head. There are other cowboys watching on the far right of the photograph. Text in the top left corner reads [12-"Tom N. Wills of Arizona, a Great Roaper." The back of the postcard reads [POST CARD.] across the top in green text. Green text on the left edge reads [PUB. BY T.P. & CO.NY.Y MADE IN GERMANY]. Handwritten text in the top right corner reads [$250]. The number [44] is written under it and is circled. Handwritten text in the bottom right corner reads [K11S234].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1907-1909
• Published by: Taylor, Platt & Company, American, founded 1907
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Tom N. Wills, American
• Type: chromolithographs
• Type: picture postcards
• Medium: lithographic ink on paper (fiber product) with ink
• Dimensions: H x W: 3 7/16 × 5 7/16 in. (8.7 × 13.8 cm)
• Place made: Germany, Europe
• Place depicted: Arizona, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: American West
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Sports
• Object number: 2014.37.35.10
• 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.