242
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(CIVIL RIGHTS.) KU KLUX KLAN—GRIFFITH, D.W.
Birth of a Nation.
Original program for a June 1915 showing of the notoriously racist film * together with a
5 x 7 photograph of a man in Klan regalia. A note on the program “I saw this picture +
paid $2.00.”
California, 1915
[300/400]
243
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(CIVIL RIGHTS.) KU KLUX KLAN.
The Unmasked Horseman. Yesterday,
Today, Tomorrow and Forever.
Offset chromolithograph, 16 x 20 inches, matted and
framed; some very slight wrinkling and a few almost imperceptible closed tears at the margins.
[Indiana]: The Photo Art Company, 1928
[1,000/1,500]
A very scarce poster, the Klan equivalent of the typical African American “uplift” poster. The
rider on a white horse depicted in this piece is a member of the upper echelons of the Klan.
After the formation of the so-called “New Klan” in 1915, four degrees were established for
members to pass through in order to rise to the top of the organization. This horseman is a
member of the Third Order of the Knights of the Great Forest, the Order of American
Chivalry. He is pictured here with his mask off. Theoretically, when a Klansman removed his
mask from his hood, he vowed never to wear it again, swearing to cooperate with all police
investigations.
243
