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COLLECTION Identifier: MS Thr 2194

Collection related to early 20th-century African American musicians

Overview

Collection related to early 20th-century African American musicians.

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1901-1967

Condition Description

Photographs and postcards in good condition; some sheet music detaching from covers.



Physical Description

1 box

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

This collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine what material is offsite and retrieval policies and times.

Extent

.08 linear feet (1 box)

Collection of photographs, postcards, and sheet music related to minstrel shows and musicians and bands including Josephine Baker, the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra, the Lucky Millinder Orchestra, and Ray Charles. Sheet music includes "Harlem Cabin Door", "Black and Tan Fantasy", "'Fats' Waller's Original Piano Conceptions", and "Duke Ellington's Streamlined Piano Solos". Some photographs have annotation or captions.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged by type of material: Photographs; Postcards; and Sheet music.

Physical Location

Harvard Depository

Custodial History

Ownership prior to this acquisition is unknown.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

2022MT-82. Purchased from Auger Down Books with the Frank E. Chase Bequest, 2022 March 28.

Processing Information

This collection was processed to a basic level with minimal rehousing, organization, and preservation. (Melanie Wisner, 2022)

Title
Collection related to early 20th-century African American musicians, circa 1901-1967 (MS Thr 2194): Guide
Status
completed
Author
Houghton Library, Harvard University
Date
2022 May 2
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
hou03466

Repository Details

Part of the Houghton Library Repository

Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.

Contact:
Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2440