Keeping Count at the Majestic

Most of the photos in my collection, maybe 98%, are of static people, posing motionless for a camera that is usually secluded in a photographer's studio. Therefore this outdoor photo is, for me anyway, a rare exception. It's a quick snapshot of an urban scene. A few dozen people have stopped along a city sidewalk to listen to a band. The bandsmen stand in a circle and actually seem to be playing music. The moment has a little added tension as a car approaches and the band looks like it is blocking traffic. 

The camera was unable to get everything in clear focus and the sepia tones have the usual faded contrast which I improved. There is also no caption or postmark to identify location or date. On the back of the postcard are some numbers, a couple of sums written down by someone likely figuring out a price totaling 14.86, the $ sign being assumed. 

The cardstock has a NOKO stamp box which indicated a brand of photo paper. The NOKO company used four different stamp box designs and according to a catalog on the now-defunct Playle's postcard website this version was popular from 1907 to 1929.

But there is a subtle clue in the automobile partly visible on the right. 

The car's wheels are a simple spoke design, like an old horse-drawn wagon wheel. The fender has a broad open curve that connects to a running board. The motor compartment is a coffin-like box and behind it are lantern sidelights. All are features of an early automobile manufactured in the 1905-1918 era. I found a good example in a 1909 auto trade journal report about the new models being released by the Oldsmobile company.  

1909 Oldsmobile Advert
Source: 1909 Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal, v. 13

There is too little of the car in the photo to make a positive match but I think the style is close enough to say that the photo could not have been taken any earlier than around 1908. Since there is another similar car wheel on the left of the street, that suggests this picture is closer to 1908 than 1928. Another clue is that the street appears to be unpaved. This is a small town, not a metropolis.

In the background on the right is a storefront with tall glass windows. Stenciled on one is Steam Laundry and hanging on the other side of the doorway a circular sign. But despite my efforts to digitally sharpen the image and contrast I can't make out anything except for a few letters. It's tantalizing to be so close to reading it, but who knows, maybe it was just an advertisement for laundry starch. 

But the best clue was the sign on the next building: 

Majestic   

Special          To
Feature        Night

Clearly it's a theater, or theatre, to use the fancier term, but the name is unhelpful as Majestic was once one of the most common names for a theater/theatre in America. There were hundreds of them in big cities and large towns that genuinely deserved to be named Majestic as they were built with multiple floors, grand entrances, and opulent interiors that could seat thousands. This theater with just a ground floor and a narrow width, maybe just 20 feet, is smaller than the laundry next door. Its archway entrance looks a bit decorative, if not exotic, but the remaining brickwork is plain and looks hastily constructed. That is a pretty low rung on the ladder of majesty. 

But what drew my attention to this postcard is, of course, the band. This ensemble has around 17-18 men with an instrumentation of brass, drums and a few clarinets. The men are dressed in white military-style uniforms, not unlike those of laundry deliverymen, I suppose, that is typical for many small town bands of this probable era of 1908-1920. Except for one thing. Their uniforms accentuates the contrast of their face and hand complexion. This is a band of African-American musicians. In the American newspaper parlance of the early 20th century they were a "colored band". As demeaning as that phrase is in the 21st century, it does make for a convenient expression when doing historical research. 

The automobile and the small theater are consistent with the era of live vaudeville entertainers and a time when cinema films were still silent and of short duration. The Majestic's "Special Feature" might have been a new silent comedy or western. Or it could have been a variety show troupe touring the vaudeville circuit. And this band of Black musicians might be one of the few professional African-American touring shows. 

Or not. 

Maybe they really were an amateur band of workers at the steam laundry. I truly don't know. The only facts are what we see in the photo.

But I couldn't help but look for a connection between "Majestic Theater/Theatre" and "colored band". The archive found a medium long list which I could filter by limiting the time frame and location, mainly to the southern states. (I tried including "steam laundry" too, but that only added more false trails.)

Marion KY Crittenden Record-Press
13 July 1911

In Marion, Kentucky a weekly county newspaper, the Crittenden Record-Press, ran regular notices of the town's Majestic theatre. In July 1911 it promoted the appearance of a "Troupe of 30 colored people band and orchestra "Black Diamond Aristocracy" two nights July 15th and 17th. At the majestic theatre." 

Marion is the county seat of Crittenden County situated in western Kentucky about 10 miles south of the Ohio River, In 1910 it had a population of 1,627. Its Majestic theatre gave regular performances of touring dramas, comedies, and musical revues typical of the lower level vaudeville circuits. Unfortunately I could not find any address for the Majestic. It seems to have operated only from about 1910 to 1912. 

But I did find a better report on the "Black Diamond Aristocracy" in a Greenfield, Indiana newspaper. Greenfield is about 300 miles north of Marion.

Greenfield IN Daily Reporter
13 June 1911

                            

Jubilee Troupe

   The Black Diamond Aristocracy Company will give a concert at the Rogers opera house Monday evening, June 19th. This is a regular colored jubilee troupe. Its members are selected by the President of the Southern Indiana Institute, and the entertainments are being given for the purpose of raising money to buy a farm where colored boys and girls may receive free industrial training.
   The troupe includes thirty people. The Pickaninny Band is a popular feature. The program includes "Down in Louisiana." "The Suwanee River." "Buck, Ben and Bald." "Just Barely Living and That is All." "Jubilee Whoop and Gospel Train." "Loving Joe." "the Old Kentucky Home." "Teach Our Baby That I am Dead." and many other Southern plantation melodies.

I make no claim for a connection between my photo postcard and the Majestic theatre of Marion, Kentucky other than it is purely a coincidence and it was possible. But my larger point is that here are two examples of how African-Americans found work in the entertainment industry of the early 20th century, despite enduring institutional discrimination, ignorant bigotry, and overt violent racism. It is a history that deserves to be remembered for the talent, determination, and tremendous influence these musicians had on our American musical culture.

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where shows are half-price all weekend.