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Museum object · Jewelry and Adornment

Red feather hatband accessory worn by Cab Calloway

mid 20th-late 20th century

Smithsonian NMAAHC collection

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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 feather accessory for hatbands worn by Cab Calloway. The feather accessory is a small bundle of black, red, yellow, and red spotted black feathers with calamuses bound together with black tape. The trimmed black feather at the back of the bunch has a solid black calamus, rachis, barbs, and afterfeathers. In front of the black feather is a trimmed red feather with solid red rachis, barbs, and afterfeathers. A thinner yellow, white, and black mottled feather is bound in front red feather that extends slightly above the tops of the red and black feathers. In the very front, near the taped wrapped base, is a fragment of a small, red spotted, black feather. The red spots are mostly round with one, upside down heart shaped spot at the center. The spots are divided by red speckled circular patterns.

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: A2015.273.1.24.5

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