Photograph of Billie Holiday

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Object Details

Date: ca. 1940

Photograph by: Robin Carson, American
Distributed by: Associated Booking Corporation, American, founded 1940
Subject of: Billie Holiday, American, 1915 - 1959; Joe Glaser, American, 1896 - 1969

Description: A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Billie Holiday. Holiday is depicted from the shoulders up, right of center. She is wearing a black sequined garment, long pearl necklace, and large white feathers in her hair, tucked behind her proper left ear. She is looking towards the left side of the image with a serious expression. In the lower left quadrant of the image is a handwritten inscription in blue ink that reads, [To Laura / From / Mr and Lady Day]. The photographer's mark, printed in the negative, located in the bottom left corner reads, [Robin Carson]. The image is bordered with white and along bottom is black text on the left and right sides. The text in the lower left corner reads, [BILLIE HOLIDAY]. The text in the lower right corner reads, [ASSOCIATED BOOKING CORP. / JOE GLASER, President / Squibb B'ldg 745 - 5th Ave. N.Y. Beverly Hills, Cal.]. There are no inscriptions on the back of the photograph.

Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America

Topic: African American; Actors; Jazz (Music); Photography; Singers (Musicians)

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title: The Laura Cathrell Show-Down Magazine Collection
Classification: Photographs and Still Images

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2013.46.25.90

Type: gelatin silver prints; portraits

Restrictions & Rights: Public domain; Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions: H x W (Image): 8 3/4 × 7 1/2 in. (22.3 × 19 cm); H x W (Sheet): 10 × 8 1/8 in. (25.4 × 20.6 cm)

Metadata Usage: CC0

GUID: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd550b1ea2e-32c9-4785-aea2-55ab90b3e5bb

Record ID: nmaahc_2013.46.25.90