Object Details
Summary
Collection documents both negative and positive images of African Americans, primarily on postcards, as drawings, cartoons, and similar art forms collected mostly during the Civil Rights Movement in America.
Scope and Contents
Collection consists primarily of 932 postcards documenting white society's perception of African American life and culture beginning in the late nineteenth century. The materials provide evidence of how the perception of African Americans changed over time and in other ways how they wanted to be perceived. Many of the images were created by major printing companies who catered to a wide consumer market. Evolutions in printing technology and art forms can also be studied using the materials.
sova.nmah.ac.0281
Creator
Boaz, Joyce
Hoffman, David
Hoffman, Iris
Occupation
Lithographers
Topic
Racism
Racism -- 1890-1920
Art -- Political aspects
African American art
African American athletes
Ethnic imagery
Advertising art -- 20th century
African American art
Cakewalk (Dance)
Caricatures and cartoons
Caricatures and cartoons -- United States
Political cartoons
African American women
African American men
African American children -- 1890-1920
Commercial art -- Printing
African American dance -- Southern States
African Americans -- United States -- History and criticism
Musicals -- United States.
Provenance
The collection was donated by David and Iris Hoffman in December 1987.
Creator
Boaz, Joyce
Hoffman, David
Hoffman, Iris
Culture
African American Culture
See more items in
Hoffman/Boaz Postcard Collection
Biographical / Historical
Materials were collected between 1946 and 1970 by David and Iris Hoffman and Iris's sister Joyce Boaz. Most of these materials were purchased in antique shops during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement was an effort led by black Americans to end institutionalized racial discrimination, disenfranchisement, racial segregation, and the negative portrayal of them in American society. It was the intention of the donors to create a collection that would visually document the historical changes in the way African Americans were treated and perceived in the United States. The Hoffmans and Boaz were able to amass 932 postcards depicting both positive and negative images of African Americans in drawings, cartoons, and similar art forms.
Extent
0.66 Cubic feet (2 boxes)
Date
1898-1920
Archival Repository
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier
NMAH.AC.0281
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Postcards
Picture postcards
African american dance
Photographic postcards
Drawings
Photomechanical reproductions
Citation
Hoffman/Boaz Postcard Collection, 1898-1920, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, box X, folder XX, digital image file XXXXXXX.
Arrangement
Collection is arranged in one series.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Vanessa Broussard-Simmons, 1988.
Rights
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Genre/Form
Postcards -- 1900-1950
Picture postcards -- 20th century -- United States
African American dance -- History -- 20th cenury
Photographic postcards
Drawings -- 19th century
Drawings -- 20th century
Photomechanical reproductions
Restrictions
The collection is open for research use.
NMAH.AC.0281
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep831146683-f98e-411e-b1e4-054eec9f402f
NMAH.AC.0281
ACAH
Record ID
ebl-1562714418934-1562714418941-0