Photograph of Bill Bailey: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Bill Bailey. Bailey is centrally depicted as a cut out image on a black background. He stands with his arms akimbo. he is wearing a light colored suit, tie, and a banded bowler hat. An inscription in white ink in the lower left corner reads, [To Lauri / a dear dear friend / with my best wishes / Sincerely / Bill Bailey]. On the back of the image is the photographer’s stamp in blue ink that reads, [PHOTO BY / MORGAN & MARVIN SMITH / 43 West 66th St., N.Y. C.]. There is an additional inscription in pencil on the back of the image.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1937
• Photograph by: Marvin Smith, American, 1910 - 2003
• Photograph by: Morgan Smith, American, born 1910
• Subject of: Bill Bailey, American, 1912 - 1978
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 9 5/8 × 7 11/16 in. (24.5 × 19.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 9 15/16 × 8 in. (25.3 × 20.3 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Tap dancing
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2013.46.25.39
• 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.