Costume, Theater
Object number2016.75.10 a,b
Date1941-1962
MediumFabric; Metal; Plastic; Paper; Ink
Credit LineTransfer from Library of Congress, Gift of Barbara Edwards Lee
DescriptionUniform tailcoat costume. Long-sleeve. Tailcoat is blue-purple fabric with red lining and details. Collar is red with gold trim. White fabric chest has gold metal buttons along left and right, six on each side. Garment closes at front with black hook-and-eye fasteners. Red shoulder boards with red fringe and gold lion head. Red and white cuffs with three gold metal buttons each. Paper note stapled to inside of collar at back center with name typed black text. The back of the note has printed black text with price list.Dimensionsa: 43.5 × 19 in. (110.5 × 48.3 cm)b: 1.438 × 4.188 in. (3.7 × 10.6 cm)
Inscriptions(b) Paper note with typed black text "Philip EASTMAN Jr." on one side and the other side has printed black text with price list.
Historical NotesPart of a collection of costumes from the National Negro Opera Company. The company was founded by Mary Caldwell Dawson in 1941 and was active until 1962. This costume was possibly used in a production of Verdi's La Traviata. Born in North Carolina, Mary Cardwell moved to Pittsburgh with her family in 1901, and first learned to sing in her church choir. She graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music with degrees in voice and piano in 1925 and aspired to a career in the opera. But she found few opportunities. She returned and settled in Pittsburgh after she got married, opening the Cardwell Dawson School of Music, from which she taught many fine vocalists. Seeking to create opportunities for her students, she first formed the nationally celebrated Cardwell Dawson Choir and toured the country in the 1930s. But convinced that African American singers needed the greater opportunities that an Opera Company could provide, she founded the National Negro Opera Company in 1941.
Related person
Philip Eastman Jr.
Related institution
National Negro Opera Company
Related person
Mary Cardwell Dawson
Terms
On View
Not on view
1941-1962
1941-1962
1941-1962
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