Photograph of three men with three female performers in costume: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of three (3) men with three (3) female performers in costume. The six (6) are seated around a small table covered with a white table cloth. One of the performer, Birdie Edison, is seated on the lap of the man seated in the center of the table. Laura Cathrell is the woman seated on the left. All of the women are wearing identical costumes with white bodices with beaded embellishments that decorate the front of the bodice. They each wear halo-style headdresses with sweetheart shaped front brims, decorated with feather plumes and beaded embellishments on the brim. Each dancer also wears arm-length fingerless gloves, also detailed with beading. The men are all depicted wearing dark and medium toned suits with collared shirts and ties. On the table are glasses, an ashtray, and a piece of silverware. 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 Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: Café St-Michel, Canadian
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 4 13/16 × 6 3/4 in. (12.3 × 17.1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 5 1/16 × 6 15/16 in. (12.8 × 17.7 cm)
• Place captured: Montreal, Île-de-Montréal, Quebec, Canada, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2013.46.25.196
• 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.