Standup of the radio show character Andy Brown: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A die cut cardboard standup of the character Andy Brown from the radio show "Amos 'n' Andy," an advertisement for the 1930 Amos n' Andy movie Check and Double Check. The doll is an illustration of a man depicted in blackface wearing plaid white vest, white shirt, red tie, and black jacket. He has a pen and two pencils in his proper left vest jacket. The man is depicted looking at the viewer and wears squashed bowler hat on his head. He has brwon eyes and a wide, frowning red mouth. In his proper left hand is lit cigar held below his chin. In his proper right hand he holds a cane that crosses across his body and proper right leg. The man also wears stripped pants and dark shoes. The proper left shoe has a hole near the toes, which peek through. On the proper left flap at the bottom is black text [COPYRIGHT 1930 / BY THE PEPSODENT CO. / LITHO. IN U.S.A.]. On the proper right flap at the bottom is additional black text that reads [A-pdm-11R]. On the back of the doll in the upper half is an inscription handwritten in blue ink.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1930
• Printed by: Pepsodent Company, American, 1915 - 1944
• Subject of: Amos 'n' Andy, American, 1928 - 1960
• Subject of: Charles Correll, American, 1890 - 1972
• Subject of: Freeman Gosden, American, 1899 - 1982
• Type: paper dolls
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 8 9/16 × 4 3/16 in. (21.7 × 10.7 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Amusements
• Topic: Blackface
• Topic: Caricature and cartoons
• Topic: Comedy
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Radio
• Topic: Segregation
• Object number: 2015.64.10.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Kathleen M. Kendrick
• 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: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.