Photograph of Sandy Burns, George Wiltshire, and Dusty Fletcher: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Sandy Burns, George Wiltshire, and Dusty Fletcher in costume. All three stand in front of a light colored curtain. Fletcher, the man on the far left side, has his proper left leg raised to the shoulder of the man standing in the middle. He also has his proper right arm raised, fist clenched and captured mid-punch. His proper left arm is resting on his raised leg. He wears a matching patterned jacket and vest, dark bowler hat, dark tie, and dark pants. Wiltshire is depicted in the center, standing in profile, facing Fletcher. He points with his proper left hand down toward a pile of money on the floor. He is wearing a dark pinstripe suit with a straw boater hat with a black band around the crown. Burns, depicted on the right is wearing a light colored suit, white shirt, patterned tie, and a bowler hat. He is wearing blackface makeup. His proper left hand is held in a fist and is raised to waist-level. He is looking Fletcher on the far left. The photographer's mark, printed in the negative, is located between Fletcher’s and Wiltshire’s feet and reads, [Mittoo / Studio]. There are several notations in pencil on the back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1936
• Photograph by: Mittoo Photo Studio, American
• Subject of: Dusty Fletcher, American, 1900 - 1954
• Subject of: Sandy Burns, American
• Subject of: George Wiltshire, American, 1901 - 1976
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 13 1/4 × 10 7/16 in. (33.7 × 26.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 13 7/8 × 11 in. (35.2 × 28 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Blackface
• Topic: Comedy
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Vaudeville
• Object number: 2013.46.25.93
• 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.