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Museum object · Archival Collections

Cab Calloway Home Movie #2

early 1950s

Long Beach, Nassau County, New York, United States, North and Central America

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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 compilation reel of silent, black-and-white home movies featuring Cab Calloway and his family at their home in Long Island, NY and at the beach. (N.B. Original footage has exposure irregularities). It consists of 16mm film (2015.273.2.2.1a), an original 400-foot film reel (2015.273.2.2.1b), and original 400-foot film can (2015.273.2.2.1c). The first two shots of the film were captured in front of the Calloway home. The first depicts Zulme "Nuffie" Calloway, Cab Calloway's wife, holding one of their children, and the second shows the local milkman dropping off milk. This is followed by shots of Mrs. Calloway and an unidentified woman exiting an unidentified building. The next shot captures an unidentified woman showing off one of Calloway's children for the camera. An overexposed section follows. The subsequent series of shots depict Calloway napping with one of his children in a hammock as an unidentified older woman sits next to them.

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: A2015.273.2.2.1abc

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