Photograph of three dancers at the Silver Slipper Ballroom: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of a crowd at the Silver Slipper Ballroom surrounding three (3) dancers featured at the center of the image. The three (3) female dancers are depicted doing full splits on the ballroom floor, each smiling at the camera. The dancer in the center is Laura Cathrell. The crowd is seated and standing around the dancers. The ballroom has fringed decorations along the ceiling. The walls in the background are covered in a floral patterned wallpaper. Below the dancers, written in the negative, is the text [Silver Slipper Ballroom / Sarah at Hodimont]. In the lower right corner is an additional note in white text [Woodland's / Studio / St Louis']. Written in black ink, in the lower right quadrant, is a note in ink [Music by / St. Louis / Crackerjacks / Inc.].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1934
• Photograph by: Woodland's Studio, American
• Subject of: Laura Cathrell, 1914 - 1999
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: St. Louis Crackerjacks, American, 1938
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Silver Slipper Ballroom, American
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 7 3/8 × 9 3/16 in. (18.7 × 23.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 7 15/16 × 9 3/4 in. (20.1 × 24.8 cm)
• Place depicted: Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, North and Central America
• Place printed: Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2013.46.25.52
• 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.