Photograph of Billie Holiday

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Billie Holiday. Holiday is depicted from the shoulders up, right of center. She is wearing a black sequined garment, long pearl necklace, and large white feathers in her hair, tucked behind her proper left ear. She is looking towards the left side of the image with a serious expression. In the lower left quadrant of the image is a handwritten inscription in blue ink that reads, [To Laura / From / Mr and Lady Day]. The photographer's mark, printed in the negative, located in the bottom left corner reads, [Robin Carson]. The image is bordered with white and along bottom is black text on the left and right sides. The text in the lower left corner reads, [BILLIE HOLIDAY]. The text in the lower right corner reads, [ASSOCIATED BOOKING CORP. / JOE GLASER, President / Squibb B'ldg 745 - 5th Ave. N.Y. Beverly Hills, Cal.].

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