Apollo Theater, American, founded 1934 Search this
Medium:
ink on paper
Dimensions:
H x W (Each page): 14 × 9 in. (35.6 × 22.9 cm)
H x W x D (Overall): 14 × 9 × 3 1/4 in. (35.6 × 22.9 × 8.3 cm)
Type:
ledgers (account books)
Place used:
Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Date:
1934-1977
Caption:
Harlem’s iconic Apollo Theatre has hosted thousands of Black musicians, dancers, and entertainers across genre and decade. This ledger contains records of performances from Duke Ellington, Adelaide Hall, the Nicholas Brothers, Fletcher Henderson, Bill Robinson, Ray Anthony, Pearl Bailey, Louise Beavers, James Brown, Buck and Bubbles, Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, Count Basie, Sammy Davis, Jr., Katherine Dunham, Steppin’ Fetchit, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Fletcher Henderson, Earl Hines, Billie Holliday, The Ink Spots, B.B. King, Nellie Lutcher, “Moms” Mabley, Buddy Rich, Bill Robinson, George Shearing, Noble Sissle, Ike and Tina Turner, Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, Ethel Waters, Teddy Wilson, Bessie Smith, and Josephine Baker, Al Green, Kool and the Gang, Sweetback, the Stylistics, Redd Foxx, Aretha Franklin, Richard Pryor, James Brown, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Johnnie Taylor, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Dance Theater of Harlem, Ballet Africa, Wilson Pickett, Curtis Mayfield, The Gospel Caravan, Nancy Wilson, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, The Four Tops, Dick Gregory, and many other performers and films.
Description:
A ledger consisting of approximately 450 looseleaf pages with a record of musical and entertainment acts and films at the Apollo Theatre from 1934 - 1964 and 1969 - 1977 (the pages for 1965-1968 are not included). The pages are lined, with typed and handwritten notations in blue, black, and red inks. Each sheet has four holes punched along the left-hand margin, some of which have been reinforced with adhesive labels, indicating they were once housed in a four-ring binder. The format of the pages and notations varies slightly over time but most pages have columns to record: date, a note on the weather, name of the acts and films, afternoon receipts, evening receipts, total receipts, attendance, and tax. The first two pages are entirely typed, later pages have dates and column headings typed in red ink and completed by hand in various inks. Typed at the top of each page is [APOLLO THEATRE] with the month and year and at the bottom are total amounts for receipts, attendance, and tax. Some areas have been pasted over typewritten corrections.
