Noisemaker with image of a caricatured Black man: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Tin noisemaker with a lithographed image of a caricatured Black man. Man is depicted from above the shoulders and is wearing a yellow and black striped jacket, a blue bowtie, and a red boater hat. Man has his mouth open and appears to have only two teeth. Image of man placed against a yellow background. Reverse side of noisemaker is painted blue and has a strip piece cut out. Noisemaker has red wooden handle. Above the image of the man is a green logo that reads, [U.S. / METAL TOY / MFG. CO. / MADE IN U. S. A.]

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1930s-1960s
• Manufactured by: U.S. Metal Toy Manufacturing Company, American, active mid-1930s - 1970s
• Type: noisemakers
• Medium: tin and wood
• Dimensions: 2 1/2 x 2 1/4 x 4 1/2 in. (6.4 x 5.7 x 11.4 cm)
• Place made: Brooklyn, New York City, Kings County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Amusements
• Topic: Caricature and cartoons
• Topic: Stereotypes
• Object number: 2007.7.296
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer
• 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.