Photograph of The Henry LeTang Dancers at Club 845: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of The Henry LeTang Dancers at Club 845, posing in matching costumes. Each of the six (6) women is wearing a large scalloped headpiece, a crop top with winged shoulders, and a long skirt with an embellished waist that opens in front. The women are depicted standing in a semicircle, facing the viewer, with their hands holding the front of their skirts open and with one leg extended forward. Laura Cathrell is the performer depicted on the far left side of the image. Birdie Warfield Edison is third from the right. She is one of the two women in the center that are standing back-to-back and the rest of the women are turned slightly towards the center. A large number of tables are set up behind the women. Each table is covered with a tablecloth and set with two (2) chairs. There are no inscriptions on the front or back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1950-1951
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Laura Cathrell, 1914 - 1999
• Subject of: Birdie Warfield Edison, American
• Subject of: Club 845, American, founded 1945
• Subject of: Henry LeTang Dancers, American
• Subject of: Henry LeTang, American, 1915 - 2007
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 4 9/16 × 6 9/16 in. (11.6 × 16.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 4 15/16 × 6 15/16 in. (12.5 × 17.6 cm)
• Place captured: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2013.46.25.194
• 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.