Museum object · Racist and Stereotypical Objects
Cabinet card of sideshow actor Mianko Karoo
ca. 1890
York, York County, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
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.
This cabinet card image depicts sideshow actor Mianko Karoo exhibiting his exceptional height by standing next to a smaller man. Karoo is shows wearing a tall fur hat with feather plume and a long, dark velvet robe with floral embroidery along the edges and cuffs. The robe is worn open over an outfit with fur at the chest, fur around the waist, and fur trimmed boots. He also wears large white hoop earrings and has markings on his face. Karoo stands with his proper right arm on his hip and holds his proper left arm out straight, demonstrating the smaller man and his top hat measures beneath it. The smaller man's proper left hand rests on the back of a wooden chair that is to his side. The two men are posed infront of a studio backdrop with tropical foliage and a decorative metal column to the right.
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Sources & collection details
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗
Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13
Catalog reference: 2008.9.19
