The Show-Down vol. 1 no. 6: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The Show-Down magazine, volume 1, number 6. The front cover is green with brown print and features a brown tinted image of Todd Duncan and Anne Brown, against a gradient background. Duncan is depicted from the waist up and Brown from the shoulders up. Duncan is wearing a white collared shirt. Brown is wearing a light colored, ruffled blouse. They are both looking off to the upper left edge of the image and are smiling. The main cover line is centered along the bottom fourth of the front cover and reads [“Fats” Waller – A New King / by Gene Mays]. The masthead is centered in the top third of the front cover, and reads, [THE / SHOW DOWN]. A horizontal brown line extends from either side of the word [THE]. The text, [SHOW DOWN], is in large, block lettering patterned with vertical white stripes. The price is centered below the mast head, [Fifteen Cents]. The date is printed in boxes on either side of the image, [May] on the left, and [1936] on the right. The interior pages are white and green with black text and black-and-white images. The back cover is blank. This magazine issue is fifteen (15) pages.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: May 1936
• Published by: Show-Down Publishing Company, American, founded 1935
• Edited by: Sally J. Cathrell Jr., American, 1913 - 1981
• Written by: Gene Mays
• Subject of: Fats Waller, American, 1904 - 1943
• Subject of: Anne Wiggins Brown, American and Norwegian, 1912 - 2009
• Subject of: Todd Duncan, American, 1903 - 1998
• Type: magazines (periodicals)
• Medium: ink on paper with metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Closed): 11 1/4 × 8 3/4 × 1/16 in. (28.6 × 22.3 × 0.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Open): 11 1/4 × 17 1/2 × 1/4 in. (28.6 × 44.4 × 0.7 cm)
• Place printed: Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Black Press
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Mass media
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Nightlife
• Object number: 2013.46.25.75
• 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.