Gelatin silver print of a crowd at the Apollo Theater: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white photograph of a crowd at the Apollo Theater.

At the top left corner of the image is a marquee reading [HERE COMES ANOTHER GREAT SHOW! / COUND BASIE / AND HIS BAND AND REVUE / FRIDAY / DEC. 28 / BENNIE CARTER and his BAND and REVUE]. At the bottom left are three men, two of them dressed in Apollo Theater uniforms consisting of dark colored double-breasted overcoats with decorative braid and trim at the collars, and dark colored caps reading [APOLLO] with braided trim along the brims. Another uniformed attendant is visible in the bottom center of the image, turned away from the camera. The crowd forms a line several people deep to the right of the attendants and stretching back past the marquee. Behind the crowd is a wall with images of performers and framed advertisements for upcoming performances, including one for Lil Green and two for Count Basie. The image has been captured from above the crowd, with many looking towards the camera and smiling.

THere are two inscriptions on the back of the image, both handwritten in graphite: [MIDNIGHT SHOW] and [(APOLLO THEATRE)].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1945
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Apollo Theater, American, founded 1934
• Subject of: Count Basie, American, 1904 - 1984
• Subject of: Benny Carter, American, 1907 - 2003
• Subject of: Lil Green, American, 1919 - 1954
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 7 5/8 × 9 1/2 in. (19.4 × 24.1 cm)
• Place depicted: Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Theatre
• Topic: Urban life
• Object number: 2015.97.38.33
• 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: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.