reproductions

Once black Americana was a collectibles area reserved for blacks ‘of a certain age’, including celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby, Spike Lee, and Whoopie Goldberg, who wished to chronicle and document the struggles of their race, or historians of many colors. One collector told Pamela Wiggins why she collects and decorates her home with black Americana items: “I had to ask why she’d be interested in owning something so offensive… She wanted to own all types of Black Americana because they were a reflection of her cultural heritage. Her ancestors dealt with more hardships than she would, thankfully, ever know. But acknowledging these difficulties and triumphs through her varied collection reflected an important aspect of her lineage when incorporated into her home’s decor.”

But now younger African-Americans and others are buying these items and reproductions to decorate their homes. Some without the same motivations.

According to Howard Dodson, director of the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, “There are two kinds of collectors of black Americana: those who are interested in collecting as a financial investment and those with a passion for finding ‘the missing pages of history.’”

Black Americana certainly is a wise investment. In an area where much was destroyed because it was offensive, ugly and degrading — destroyed as we Americans tried to purge the proof of our racism — authentic items are rapidly increasing in value. (It is also said that many African-Americans bought lots of racist items in the 1970’s and then promptly destroyed it all.)

Even reproductions have more value than you might think as collectors want to get their hands on something.

However, along with the usual concerns that valuable documentation of our history is not being properly saved, there is the question: Should Black Americana Be Bought & Sold?

There is also some concern that part of the drive in purchasing black Americana is pimpin’ black culture. That this adoption of old images and negative stereo-types is being glamorized in a perverse way. Like hip-hop’s bad ‘rap’ (pun intended), collecting black Americana is sweeping the nation in a concerning way.

Perhaps most concerning to me, a white woman of a certain age, is the number of white folks who are buying reproductions of black lawn jockeys.

Yes, white people with black lawn jockeys. In 2006 (and 2007 too, I guess).

Some claim it is to validate and honor Jocko Graves, the son of a free black soldier named Thomas Graves, who fought with George Washington. The story goes that Washington assigned the youth to safely remain on the Pennsylvania shore with the horses while they crossed the Delaware. Jocko was also to keep a lantern burning so George and the soldiers would know where to return after battle. When Washington and his army returned they discovered Jocko had frozen to death — still holding the horses and the lit lantern.

The story continues that Washington was so moved by Jocko’s devotion that he commissioned a statue in Jocko’s honor. Titled “Faithful Groomsman” the statue stood at Mount Vernon in honor of the young patriot.

This story is, at least in part, presented by Waymon LeFall who has written a children’s book, “The Legend of Jocko, Hero of the American Revolution”, as what he calls “a missing piece of African American history”. LeFall says that “lawn jockeys are not racist reminders of the days of slavery but monuments to an African American hero.”

But Professor Kenneth Goings, chairman of African-American and African Studies at Ohio State University and the author of the 1995 book “Mammy and Uncle Mose: Black Collectibles and American Stereotyping”, says this legend isn’t true. And in an October interview with ‘The Daily Journal’ Goings says the lawn jockeys are “very, very much racist symbols” and says that he’s amazed people can believe anything else. He continued to say black lawn jockeys are part of the Old South mythology: “They are meant to evoke that Old South, grand plantation, “Gone With the Wind” mythology, and I’m not sure they can evoke anything else.”

As a white woman perhaps I shouldn’t say anything on the subject of such racist symbols and what they mean… Afterall, I don’t want a man telling me (or the world) how to feel about witchhunts and symbols of misogyny. But ‘I do declare’, the black lawn jockey shouldn’t be on any white person’s property.

If you aren’t black and you collect black Americana, at least keep it within your home where it can have the context of your explanation — that it is for historical reasons, family ties, belief in Jocko’s patriotism, or whatever non-racist interest you have.

Don’t get me wrong, I completely appreciate the intentions in preserving the vanishing American history — and interest in the black experience. (I do the same in the name of feminism.) But if you’re white and have a black lawn jockey, don’t expect anyone else to know you believe in Jocko or that you’re a history buff. Don’t expect them to visit you to find out what your reason is.

This week, UK avant-garde artist Banksy took Paris Hilton’s new CD home with him, redesigned it, and put it back on retail shelves for unsuspecting customers to buy. Overall, his alteration was derogatory toward Hilton, challenged pop culture’s meaning to the public, and caught the attention of his fans. And, of course, those 500-or-so works of subversive art turned up on eBay, ranging from a few hundred to a thousand dollars each.

The actual Paris Hilton CD, however, sells for significantly less on eBay.

Neither work was designed specifically as a collectible, but one is, and one isn’t. In this case, the altered version is the collectible one. Viewing Antiques Roadshow is a bit enlightening when it comes to in-authentic pieces. Reproductions (as opposed to fakes) are still worth quite a bit of money once they become antiques, even if they aren’t really as old as they look. A bootleg collectible can sometimes be rarer than the original.

Witness The Phantom Edit. In 2000, amid the noisy disappointment of legions of Star Wars fans in Star Wars Episode I, a talented video editor re-cut the film and released his own version. Many agreed that this new version was stronger than George Lucas’ own, and began to spread the word. The Phantom Edit became an overnight success, a bootleg of sorts, being downloaded and re-copied by fans all over. Copies are very difficult to come by today.

There is a rather important reason the Phantom Edit and Banksy’s CD are hard to get your hands on. The problem with altered, amended, or reproduced collectibles is, without permission, they are illegal. eBay has strict rules about copyright infringement and deletes auctions as soon as infringement comes to their attention. Bootleg collectibles are the bane of genuine manufacturers, as they dilute the market for their wares. Lawsuits are a regular occurance, forcing even immovable giants like Wal-Mart to give in, as in the case of the Teletubby rip-off “Bubbly Chubbies.” Even many fan-recorded bootlegs of live performances, long a staple of die-hard collectors, cross the line into copyright infringement.

With permission, however, collectors have enormous opportunity to have rare items in their collection. Many bands do allow bootlegs, with restriction, and the cult classic Mystery Science Theatre 3000 enjoys redistribution by fans long after their contracts to reproduce the bad films have expired. Breyer, a giant in collectible horse figurines, encourages collectors to alter and modify their horses, creating an even larger environment for collectors than appears in catalogs and price guides. Squished pennies (which, despite schoolyard threats, are not illegal in the US) are appreciated by collectors and children alike.

While Banksy’s art might fetch a pretty (unflattened) penny from the ravenous collectors, illegal activities do mar the collectible markets overall. Wise collectors would stick to legally-acquired collectibles, even if they were recorded live or have a new coat of paint. For those of you on the fence, keep in mind that, in the US at least, only selling a bootleg or copyright-infringer is illegal…owning them is just over the border into lawfulness. If ever collecting walked the line between right and wrong, bootlegs, art, and reproductions are the place to find it!