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Museum object · Jewelry and Adornment

Yellow 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 yellow, brown, white, and yellow spotted black feathers with calamuses bound together with black tape. The yellow feather at the back of the bunch has a solid yellow calamus, rachis, barbs, and afterfeathers. In front of the yellow feather is a brown feather with solid brown barbs, afterfeathers, and a rachis that extends slightly above the tops of the yellow and brown feathers. A thinner feather is bound in front brown feather. It has a gray and brown mottled rachis and barbs. In the very front, near the taped wrapped base, is a fragment of a small, yellow spotted, dark brown feather. The spots are divided by yellow 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: A2015.273.1.24.4

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