Artifacts & photographs · collection records

Objects and images, held to the record.

A growing collection of visual and material evidence from Black cowboy history. Each entry identifies what is known now and what still requires archival verification.

Historical group photograph of Black cowboys with horses on a prairie — Collection image: Black cowboys at the Bonham Negro State Fair, 1913. Source verification in progress.

Collection standard

Every item carries its context.

Photographs and objects can illuminate a life, a place, or a practice—but only when their captions, dates, source credits, rights, and provenance are handled with care. This first collection makes those conditions visible.

Historical group photograph of Black cowboys posed with horses on a prairie — Group photograph identified by the contributor as Black cowboys with horses at the Bonham Negro State Fair in Bonham, Texas.

Historical photograph

Black cowboys at the Bonham Negro State Fair

1913 (as identified by the contributor)

Creator credit: Photographer: not identified in the supplied record.
Repository: Original repository: not yet documented.
Source: Contributor-supplied digital file: Black_Cowboys_Bonham_Negrostatefair_1913.jpg.
Rights: Copyright and reproduction permission have not been documented; display is provisional while rights research continues.
Provenance: Digital copy supplied to Black Cowboy History. Chain of custody before receipt and the originating collection are not yet documented.
Documentation status: Partially documented: the supplied file names Bonham, the Negro State Fair, and 1913; the original caption, photographer, repository, and rights holder remain to be verified.

Historical photograph

Bill Pickett on horseback

Date not documented in the supplied file

Creator credit: Photographer: not identified in the supplied record.
Repository: Original repository: not yet documented.
Source: Contributor-supplied digital file: Bill Pickett.jpg.
Rights: Copyright and reproduction permission have not been documented; display is provisional while rights research continues.
Provenance: Digital copy supplied to Black Cowboy History. Its date, original holding institution, and chain of custody before receipt are not yet documented.
Documentation status: Identification as Bill Pickett is contributor-supplied. The original photograph, photographer, date, repository, and rights holder still require verification.

Detailed view of vintage-style western saddle leatherwork — Leather saddle detail used as an interpretive image while the archive develops object-specific material-culture records.

Interpretive artifact image

Western saddle, leatherwork detail

Object date not documented

Creator credit: Maker and photographer: not documented.
Repository: Original collection: not documented.
Source: Managed archive image record; no object accession or collection citation has been supplied.
Rights: Usage status is under review; this image is not presented as a fully documented archival object record.
Provenance: Interpretive image in the archive’s working collection; acquisition history and object ownership are not documented.
Documentation status: Not yet verified as a specific historical object. It remains clearly labeled as interpretive until an accession record, maker, date, and holding collection are confirmed.

A note on this collection

Verification comes before final publication.

The archive does not treat historical-looking imagery as self-authenticating. Records will be expanded with verified captions, dates, source credits, rights statements, and provenance before being presented as final archival documentation.