Policeman Ventriloquist Marionette
date: label: Date made
content: 1850 - 1860
name: label: previous owner
content: Rollins, Hazelle H.
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This Civil War era marionette, possibly from Louisiana, is dressed as a policeman in a simple blue cotton suit, with a leather belt and cap, and yields a Billy club. His head, feet, and hands are made of wood with glass eyes, red cotton yarn hair, and is stuffed with straw.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Thought to be part of a larger group of marionettes, that included Mr. Bones, Mr. Tambo, and a horse skeleton, this group of marionettes is thought to have played on a showboat traveling up and down the Mississippi River between 1850-1875.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Showboats offered a variety of entertainment, including both comedy and music, to working class Americans in urban and rural areas. A common form of entertainment, the popular minstrel show is considered to be the first uniquely American form of entertainment that featured white people parodying African Americans. It was rare, however, that this popular amusement involved puppetry. The rest of the show consisted of songs, dances, and other variety acts, and ended with a short skit.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: general subject association
content: Theater, Minstrel Shows
label: general subject association
content: Puppetry
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Puppets
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Anne W. and John W. Rollins, Jr.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1980.0910.01
label: accession number
content: 1980.0910
label: catalog number
content: 1980.0910.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: puppet
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: straw (stuffing material)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: leather (belt material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (eyes material)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: string (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 41 in x 13 1/2 in; 104.14 cm x 34.29 cm