Photograph of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Robinson is depicted wearing a white fedora, a light colored suit, and a dark patterned tie. He is facing the viewer with a wide smile. Robinson is depicted in a Truckin’ dance pose; standing on his proper right leg with his proper left lifted and bent behind him. His proper right arm is bent and lifted in front of his body with his index finger raised and pointed towards the top edge of the image. His proper left arm is held out behind him with his index finger pointing towards the floor. Robinson is standing against a plain white wall. The photographer's mark is printed in the negative in the bottom right corner: [James J / Kriegsmann / NY]. Robinson signed the front of the photograph at the left center of the image, in blue ink: [to a very / smart little / lady, Sally Jay(?) / wishing you / the best of / everything / Bill Bojangles / Robinson]. There are no inscriptions on the back of the image.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1935
• Photograph by: James J. Kriegsmann, 1909 - 1994
• Subject of: Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, American, 1878 - 1949
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 9 3/16 × 7 5/16 in. (23.4 × 18.5 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: Vaudeville
• Object number: 2013.46.25.22
• 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.