Photograph of five female performers and one male performer: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of five female performers and one male performer in costume. Laura Cathrell is centrally depicted, with the male performer standing behind her and two female performers kneeling on either side of her. Laura Cathrell is depicted standing with her body facing the left edge of the photograph and her head turned towards the viewer. Her knees are bent and she is resting her proper left hand on her proper left knee. Her proper right hand rests on her proper right hip. She is wearing a satiny dress with short sleeves, a “V” neck, a knee-length skirt with two large ruffles at the waist, ballet slippers, and a polka dot headdress with large, fabric flowers gathered along the proper left side of her face. The male performer is wearing a black shirt, satiny pants with sequins at the pant cuffs, and a matching satiny beret. Birdie Warfield Edison is the performer on the far left of the image. She and another female performer are kneeling on their proper left knees with their proper right knees bent and placed directly over their ankles. Their hands are raised, and their hands and torsos are turned slightly towards Cathrell. The women on the right side image are posed in a mirror image of the women on the left. All of the female performers, except for Cathrell, are wearing identical costumes that include short sleeve dresses made from striped fabric. The dresses have wide collars embellished with sequins, black buttons down the front of the dress, and skirts that are short in front and long in the back. They are also wearing half hats with feathers extending over the brims. In the background is a drum and microphone stand on the left and a bar and tables covered with white tablecloths on the right. There are no inscriptions on the front or back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1933-1950
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Laura Cathrell, 1914 - 1999
• Subject of: Birdie Warfield Edison, American
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 4 9/16 × 6 13/16 in. (11.6 × 17.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 5 1/16 × 6 15/16 in. (12.8 × 17.7 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2013.46.25.193
• 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.