A crank toy in the form of two minstrel male dancers mounted atop a brown wooden box. The figures are metal and wood, and are connected by wire to a cylindrical metal spindle covered in red fabric that protrudes out from a round hole in the top of the box. The figures have identical fabric clothing: brown shirts, white bow ties, white belts, and tan pants. Both figures dimpled bald heads, round white eyes, large red mouths, widely spaced white teeth, elongated necks and have bare feet. An L-shaped silver metal crank extends out from one side of the box. The crank has a brown and black wooden handle.
Statement:
Objects depicting racist and/or stereotypical imagery or language may be offensive and disturbing, but the NMAAHC aims to include them in the Collection to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Objects of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate racism.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer
