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Cite as: Gerald E. Talbot Collection, African American Collection of Maine, Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine, University of Southern Maine Libraries.
For more information on this item, please refer to the AA MS 1 Gerald E. Talbot Collection finding aid.
Description by Emily LaRoche
The Sambo ashtray was probably produced during the Jim Crow Era. It is a ceramic piece in the shape of a young African American farm boy’s head. The boy is portrayed in the stereotypical Sambo image. He is wearing a hat and his mouth is open, exposing his teeth. It is a hangable wall ashtray. The back of the boy’s head is open, serving as the ashtray. This piece is one of many in its style with the intended purpose to dehumanize African Americans, as made apparent by its function as a receptacle for cigarette ashes.
The existence of the “Sambo” figure began in the 17th century with early colonization efforts. The American Sambo image probably came from Europe as England made contact with West Africa. As the slave trade grew and evolved, so did Sambo. The image took root in America with the rise of plantations and slavery. Sambo began to have a clearer identity at this time. He was a foolish character, simultaneously the instigator and the butt of racist jokes. Sambo was usually dressed in plantation clothes, complete with a hat and big foolish grin (Boskin). This portrayal served as a way to degrade and dehumanize African Americans. The image of the Sambo was expressed everywhere- in ashtrays, postcards, toys, games, newspapers, magazines, children’s tales, paintings, advertisements, skits, etc. It was particularly prominent during the Jim Crow era, from the mid 1870s to mid 1960s (Lemons). The image became a part of the popular culture and everyday life of the 20th century, allowing it to have a long lifespan compared to some other racist stereotypes. The commonality of offensive depictions of African Americans into everyday life contributed to the dehumanization of African Americans. Today, with an increased interest in racist memorabilia, the Sambo image is still relevant. The popularity of the figurines and images of Sambo has even led to modern efforts to reproduce these images (Pilgrim).
References:
Boskin, Joseph. Sambo: the Rise & Demise of an American Jester. Oxford University Press, 1988.
Lemons, J. Stanley. “Black Stereotypes as Reflected in Popular Culture, 1880-1920.” American
Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 1, 1977, pp. 102–116. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2712263.
Pilgrim, David. “New Racist Forms of the 21st Century.” Ferris State University, Ferris State
University, Jan. 2001, ferris.edu/jimcrow/newforms/.
Bibliography
Boskin, Joseph. Sambo: the Rise & Demise of an American Jester. Oxford University Press, 1988.
- History and description of Sambo
Lemons, J. Stanley. “Black Stereotypes as Reflected in Popular Culture, 1880-1920.” American
Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 1, 1977, pp. 102–116. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2712263.
- Describes black stereotypes at the time that the ashtray was probably created.
Pilgrim, David. “New Racist Forms of the 21st Century.” Ferris State University, Ferris State
University, Jan. 2001, ferris.edu/jimcrow/newforms/.
- Details black memorabilia and reproductions
Description by Zachary Caron
This sambo motif ashtray, made of ceramic and covered in paint, provides an insight to the period of time in the United States directly after slavery up until the end of the civil rights movements. This era was later known as the “Jim Crow Era” which took place between 1877 up until the Civil Rights Movement of 1950.
The ashtray portrays the popular racial stereotype of “Sambo”, a young black boy wearing a typical farmer outfit from the time period he is from. Originally the word Sambo comes from an anglicized version of the word “Zambo” which describes someone of a Native American and African descent. A grave was dedicated to Sambo in England around the year 1736. The child buried there was theorized to either be a “cabin boy” (a child around the age of 14 that helped in ships, usually in kitchens) or a slave, since the area around where Sambo was buried was a notorious shipping port for slaves and exotic spices. Later, the character of Sambo was used in a book titled “The Story Of Little Black Sambo.”(1899) This book was about the character “Sambo” who gets the best of a pack of hungry tigers, and was widely read to children in the United States, furthering the racial prejudice and stereotype of Sambo.
The origin of this ashtray is currently unknown, but things similar to it were produced mainly in the United States. It was meant to be hanging on a wall with the head facing upward, as to have ashes spilled inside the ceramic child’s head. Over time, this bit of racist memorabilia was no longer used simply for an ashtray, and it could be argued that it never was simply an ashtray. It was more than an ashtray due to the alternate purpose of it being something to dehumanize black people in the eyes of white racists. These crude caricatures of black people that were used for things such as mascots or ashtrays painted a picture of black people as either lazy and foolish or crude and barbaric. The cultural contexts of this ashtray show the racism that existed during the Jim Crow era, and that still exists today. Artifacts like this ashtray deal with a vast racial inequality that has existed since slavery in the United States has existed. The dehumanizing aspect of these racist artifacts deal with things such as the depiction of black people being “sub-human” or “apes” in a social context.
Description by Daniel In
Although specific manufacturing dates and make number are unknown, racist African American ephemera rose in prominence at the turn of the 20th century. The origins of the “sambo” caricature date back to 1898, in a storybook titled The Story of Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman which features a boy named “Sambo” as its protagonist. There were other negative caricatures of black children like “golliwog” and the more prominent “picaninny,” which served to both reaffirm the negative stereotypes enforced onto black people. The child’s dark black skin stands in contrast to their bright red lips; these were common traits used in black caricatures to reaffirm their features while simultaneously reinforcing stereotypes of African American people as lazy, carefree, or irresponsible. Similar negative caricatures exist like the Mammy caricature, which was often portrayed as a larger or obese black maternal figure and was used to reaffirm the false conception that black women were content as slaves. These imagery and caricatures are permeated through ephemera from the late 19th and early 20th centuries where they were most popular.
The ashtray is a ceramic or glass figurine modeled after the Sambo caricature featuring dark brown skin, bright white eyes with missing teeth, a raggedy shirt, and a straw hat which serves as the ashtray’s opening. When laid flat the face on the ashtray faces upwards, and it also features holes on its backside which were used when hung on a wall. There are also numbers engraved or imprinted onto the ashtray’s backside, “England Bretby 1491”.
Bibliography
- https://ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/antiblack/picaninny/homepage.htm
- University database describing the origins of the Picaninny caricature.
- https://ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/mammies/homepage.htm
. University database describing the origins of the Mammy caricature.
. Picture of mug and lid with depiction of picaninny advertising black tea.
. Explains black stereotypes in US and their origins.
Keywords
Sambo, ashtray, African American, figurine, smoking, farm boy, racist memorabilia, racism, black memorabilia
