Kip Rhinelander

Leonard Kip Rhinelander (1902? - 1936) was a New York socialite. His sensational 1925 divorce trial highlighted a contemporary racial issue, i.e. the vague legal definition of that time on who was to be considered "white" or "colored". Its circumstances also led to a new development in journalistic photography, i.e. using (ethical) photomanipulation ("see" Composograph).

Biography

Early years

Leonard was born in Pelham, New York on May 9, 1903 to Adelaide Kip and Philip Jacob Rhinelander, the youngest of five children, 4 boys and 1 girl. The eldest, a son, died at 13 days of age. Mrs. Rhinelander died in 1915 as a result of injuries suffered when an alcohol lamp on her dressing table exploded. The third son, T.J. Oakley Rhinelander died in France during World War I, in 1918.

Marriage

After Rhinelander met Alice Jones, a domestic servant, in 1921, a three-year long romance followed, culminating in their marriage in October, 1924. Their marriage did not go unnoticed for long. Headlines read "L. Kip Rhinelander Weds Obscure Girl".

Reporters for the "New Rochelle Standard Star" hunting for a story, uncovered the fact that Alice was of mixed race and suggested that she had hidden this fact from her husband.

Newspaper headlines soon read, "Rhinelander's Son Marries Daughter of Colored Man."

Divorce trial

For a time, Kip stood by his wife during the intense national coverage of their marriage. After two weeks, he left her and signed an annulment complaint that his father's lawyers had prepared. It charged Alice with hiding her race from her husband. The document asserted that she had tried to pass herself off as white.

The trial was known as "Rhinelander v. Rhinelander".

Kip's attorney was a former New York Supreme Court justice, Isaac Mills. Alice retained a former protege of Mills, Lee Parsons Davis. The jury was all-white and all-male. Vaudeville star Al Jolson was among the witnesses.

The most famous aspect of the trial was the question of whether she was really "colored" as both sides contended. In a notorious episode of indecisiveness, an attorney instructed her (in the judge's chambers) to remove her upper clothing so that the jury could inspect the precise color of her nipples (245 N.Y. 510). They viewed her breasts, back and legs, concluding that she was indeed "colored" and that Kip must have known that she was not white. The judge barred reporters from seeing this, leading to the creation of a composograph.

Alice did, however, win the case. The annulment was denied and the marriage upheld. According to the terms of the settlement, Kip paid Alice a lump sum of $32,500 and $3600 per year for life. In return, Alice forfeited all claims to the Rhinelander estate and agreed not to use the Rhinelander name, nor to lecture or write publicly about her story, pledges which she honored for the rest of her life. Her life over, the name carved on her gravestone is "Alice J. Rhinelander."

Later years

Kip appealed several times but the verdict held. He disappeared from public view, although rumors suggested that they had reunited. In 1930, Kip resurfaced in Nevada, a single man. There he won a divorce, but it was valid only in the state of Nevada. The two signed a separation agreement in New York at a later date.

Death

Kip died of pneumonia at his father's house in Long Beach, Long Island, on February 20, 1936, but Alice outlasted him, dying in 1989. He is buried in the family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx.

Case citation

"Leonard Rhinelander v. Alice Rhinelander"; 219 A.D. 189; 219 N.Y.S. 548; Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, Second Department (1927). [http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/students/index.php/topic,2486.msg17811.html#msg17811]

Resources

*cite book | last = Lewis | first = Earl | title = Love on Trial | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company | location = New York | year = 2002 | isbn = 0393323099
*"Reprimand." Time Magazine 7 Dec. 1925. 25 Apr. 2008. [cite news
author=
title=Reprimand
date=1925-12-07
work=Time Magazine
url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,721496,00.html
accessdate=2008-08-09]
*"Reply." Time Magazine 18 Jan. 1926.. [cite news
author=
title=Reply
date=1926-01-18
work=Time Magazine
url=http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,728898,00.html
accessdate=2008-08-09]
* [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/rccc/2004/00000001/00000004/art00002 Hidden in plain sight: defying juridical racialization in Rhinelander v. Rhinelander]
*A. Cheree Carlson, "'You Know It When You See It:' The Rhetorical Hierarchy of Race and Gender in Rhinelander V. Rhinelander." Quarterly Journal of Speech 85 (1999): 111-128.
* [http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/douglass/dbr017.php The Blues, Black Vaudeville, and the Silver Screen, 1912-1930s: Selections from the Records of Macon's Douglass Theatre]
* [http://www.pbs.org/ktca/americanphotography/features/popups/rhinelander.html Composograph of Alice Rhinelander]

Notes

ources

* [http://www.focalpress.com/companions/0240804155/posneg/posneg1.htm THE LONG TRADITION OF DOCTORING PHOTOS]
* [http://www.fathom.com/feature/122286/ Love and Race Caught in the Public Eye]
* [http://www.natcom.org/pubs/QJS/QJS999.htm Early-century court case was won by deconstructing race]
* [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2000/7/2000_7_38.shtml Till Divorce Do Us Part - Ellen Feldman] November 2000
*cite book | last = Kobre | first = Kenneth | title = Photojournalism | publisher = Curtin & London | location = Somerville | year = 1980 | isbn = 0930764161
*http://academic.udayton.edu/race/04needs/sex05.htm
* [http://backintyme.com/Essay060101.htm Why Did One-Drop Become Nationwide Tradition?] Essays on the Color Line and the One-Drop Rule - Frank W Sweet - January 1, 2006