Explore Black History

1928

6.1a (envelope): An off-white, open envelope addressed to [BURTON AVERY, K-123 / CENTRAL SQUARE, N.Y.] with the following return address [RETURN TO / J.E. MACQUINN / 1325 MASS. AVE., N.W. / WASHINGTON, D.C.], postmarked, September 7, 1928. In the upper right corner is a red, United States, six cent stamp with a portrait of President James A. Garfield, affixed upside down.
6.1b (letter): A typewritten letter on Ku Klux Klan letterhead from H.K. Ramsey, Imperial Klaliff, to Faithful Klansman, dated September 4, 1928. The letter refers to an enclosure, a booklet entitled, Constitution and Laws of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Incorporated, which according to the letter, was amended at the Klonvokation. The letterhead has a top, center banner that reads [Imperial Palace / Imperial Empire / Knights of the Ku Klux Klan / Incorporated / Atlanta, Georgia]. To the left of the banner is an illustration of two hooded klansmen on rearing horses, below the Klan insignia, a white cross or “X,” with a black edged square in the center filled in with a divided black and white circle with [1915] printed on the white side and [1866]printed on the black side. The cross is surrounded by five stars and topped with a crown . There is a scrolled banner on either side of the cross. In the right corner of the letterhead is a triangle-shaped banner with the Klan motto [QUOD SEMPER, QUOD UBIQUE / QUOD AB OMNIBUS] printed t the top of the banner, above the motif of a winged, horned dragon. The letter text states [September 4, 1928. / Faithful Klansman; / Enclosed herewith is a copy of our Constitution and / Laws as amended at the Klonvokation. / Please familiarize yourself with the changes. / A copy is going to each Exalted Cyclops and Kligrapp. / Additional copies may be had by ordering same in the regular / manner, at ten cents per copy. / Faithfully yours, / In the Sacred Unfailing Bond / HK Ramsey / HKR/W / IMPERIAL KLALIFF.].

Objects depicting symbols of hate or related to organized hate groups may be offensive and disturbing, but the NMAAHC aims to include them in the Collection to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Objects of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate history and culture.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Documents and Manuscripts

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, A Gift of the Bunch Family

National Museum of African American History and Culture

2014.258.6.1ab

envelopes
letterheads

No Known Copyright Restrictions
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6.1a (envelope): ink on paper with glue;
6.1b (letter): ink on paper

L x W (Envelope): 9 7/16 × 4 1/8 in. (24 × 10.5 cm)
L x W (Letter): 10 7/8 × 8 7/16 in. (27.7 × 21.5 cm)

Object Name • Letter to Burton Avery, K-123 from H. K. Ramsey with envelope

nmaahc_2014.258.6.1ab

NMAAHC

LETTER TO BURTON AVERY, K-123 FROM H. K. RAMSEY WITH ENVELOPE

National Museum of African American History and Culture

CC0

1920s

Ramsey, Harry Kyle • Avery, Burton A. • Ku Klux Klan, 2nd

White supremacy movements • Fraternal organizations • United States History • Associations and institutions

Envelopes • Letterheads

Images

No Known Copyright Restrictions