Tin windup toy of "Ham and Sam The Minstrel Team": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Tin windup toy depicting two African American musicians; one figure plays the banjo while the other figure remains seated and plays the piano. The piano and chair that the pianist sits in have painted images of caricatured African Americans. The sheet music on the piano reads [DIXIE BLUES] at the top of each sheet. A tasseled blanket illustration drapes over the top of the piano and has black lettering which features prominently on the front of the piano. The text reads [HAM AND SAM/"THE MINSTREL TEAM"/TRADE MARK]. The banjo player, standing to the right of the piano player, is wearing red and white checkered pants, a green jacket with white and red trim, and a yellow top hat. The piano player is wearing a faded red and green outfit, with a red and green cap. A white sticker on the back of the piano in the bottom left corner reads, [LAST WOUND-UP/$650]. The Strauss Toys logo, a clown standing on a globe holding a banner aloft which reads [STRAUSS] with red text reading [TOYS] printed on the globe, is situated at the bottom center of the piano back. Beneath the logo is scripted black lettering which reads, [THE FERDINAND STRAUSS CORPORATION/New York, U.S.A./PATENTED BY UA M Co. OCT. 1921/OTHER PATENTS PENDING]. The metal loop on the PR side of the piano is used to wind the toy.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1921
• Manufactured by: The Ferdinand Strauss Corporation, American, 1914 - 1927
• Type: windup toys
• Type: chromolithographs
• Medium: tin, oil paint
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 7 1/2 × 6 1/2 × 5 in. (19.1 × 16.5 × 12.7 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Caricature and cartoons
• Topic: Minstrel (Music)
• Topic: Stereotypes
• Object number: 2007.7.474
• 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: Public Domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.