Ellington, Mercer Kennedy, 1919-1996 (musician) Search this
Strayhorn, Billy (William Thomas), 1915-1967 Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Musical History Search this
Extent:
400 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Phonograph records
Papers
Photographic prints
Posters
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks
Music
Clippings
Awards
Audiotapes
Place:
New York (N.Y.) -- 20th century
Harlem (New York, N.Y.) -- 20th century
Washington (D.C.) -- 20th century
Date:
1903 - 1989
Summary:
The collection documents Duke Ellington's career primarily through orchestrations (scores and parts), music manuscripts, lead sheets, transcriptions, and sheet music. It also includes concert posters, concert programs, television, radio, motion picture and musical theater scripts, business records, correspondence, awards, as well as audiotapes, audiodiscs, photographs, tour itineraries, newspaper clippings, magazines, caricatures, paintings, and scrapbooks.
Scope and Contents:
Dating approximately from the time Duke Ellington permanently moved to New York City in 1923 to the time the material was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution in 1988, the bulk of the material in the Duke Ellington Collection is dated from 1934-1974 and comprises sound recordings, original music manuscripts and published sheet music, hand-written notes, correspondence, business records, photographs, scrapbooks, news clippings, concert programs, posters, pamphlets, books and other ephemera. These materials document Ellington's contributions as composer, musician, orchestra leader, and an ambassador of American music and culture abroad. In addition, the materials paint a picture of the life of a big band maintained for fifty years and open a unique window through which to view an evolving American society.
The approximate four hundred cubic feet of archival materials have been processed and organized into sixteen series arranged by type of material. Several of the series have been divided into subseries allowing additional organization to describe the content of the material. For example, Series 6, Sound Recordings, is divided into four subseries: Radio and Television Interviews, Concert Performances, Studio Dates and Non-Ellington Recordings. Each series has its own scope and content note describing the material and arrangement (for example; Series 10, Magazines and Newspaper Articles, is organized into two groups, foreign and domestic, and arranged chronologically within each group). A container list provides folder titles and box numbers.
The bulk of the material is located in Series 1, Music Manuscripts, and consists of compositions and arrangements by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn and other composers. Series 6, Sound Recordings also provides a record of the performance of many of these compositions. The materials in Series 2, Performances and Programs, Series 3, Business Records, Series 8, Scrapbooks, Series 9, Newspaper Clippings, Series 11, Publicity and Series 12, Posters provide documentation of specific performances by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Ellington was a spontaneous and prolific composer as evidenced by music, lyrical thoughts, and themes for extended works and plays captured on letterhead stationery in Series 3, Business Records, in the margin notes of individual books and pamphlets in Series 14, Religious Materials and Series 15, Books, and in the hand-written notes in Series 5, Personal Correspondence and Notes.
During its fifty-year lifespan, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra were billed under various names including The Washingtonians, The Harlem Footwarmers and The Jungle Band. The soloists were informally called "the band", and Series 3 includes salary statements, IOU's, receipts and ephemera relating to individual band members. Series 1, Music Manuscripts contains the soloists' parts and includes "band books" of several soloists (for example; Harry Carney and Johnny Hodges) and numerous music manuscripts of Billy Strayhorn. The changing role of Strayhorn from arranger hired in 1938 to Ellington's main collaborator and composer of many well-known titles for Duke Ellington and His Orchestra including "Take The A' Train" and "Satin Doll" can be traced in these music manuscripts. Series 7, Photographs and Series 2, Performances and Programs contain many images of the band members and Strayhorn. This Collection also documents the business history of Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Series 3, Business Records contains correspondence on letterhead stationery and Series 11, Publicity contains promotional material from the various booking agencies, professional companies, and public relations firms that managed the Orchestra.
The materials in the Duke Ellington Collection provide insight into public and institutional attitudes towards African Americans in mid-twentieth-century America. The business records in Series 3 beginning in 1938 and published sheet music in Series 1 depict Duke Ellington's progression from an African-American musician who needed "legitimization" by a white publisher, Irving Mills, to a businessmen who established his own companies including Tempo Music and Duke Ellington, Incorporated to control his copyright and financial affairs. Programs from the segregated Cotton Club in Series 2, Performances And Programs and contracts with no-segregation clauses in Series 3: Business Records further illustrate racial policies and practices in this time period. The public shift in perception of Duke Ellington from a leader of an exotic "Jungle Band" in the 1930s to a recipient of the Congressional Medal Of Freedom in 1970 is evidenced in Series 2, Performances And Programs, Series 12, Posters, Series 7, Photographs and Series 13, Awards. Reviews and articles reflecting Ellington's evolving status are also documented in Series 8, Newspaper Clippings, Series 9, Scrapbooks, Series 10, Newspaper and Magazine Articles.
The materials in the Duke Ellington Collection reflect rapid technological changes in American society from 1923-1982. Sound recordings in Series 6 range from 78 phonograph records of three minutes duration manufactured for play on Victrolas in monaural sound to long-playing (LP) phonograph records produced for stereo record players. Television scripts in Series 4, programs in Series 2 and music manuscripts (for example, Drum Is A Woman) in Series 1 demonstrate how the development of television as a means of mass communication spread the Orchestra's sound to a wider audience. The availability of commercial air travel enabled the Ellington Orchestra to extend their international performances from Europe to other continents including tours to Asia, Africa, South America and Australia and archival material from these tours is included in every series.
Series 4, Scripts and Transcripts and Series 6, Audio Recordings contain scripts and radio performances promoting the sale of United States War bonds during World War II, and Series 7, Photographs includes many images of Duke Ellington and His Orchestra's performances for military personnel revealing the impact of historic events on Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Series 2: Programs and Performances, Series 9, Newspaper clippings and Series 8, Scrapbooks document the 1963 Far East tour aborted as a result of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
The Duke Ellington Collection contains works by numerous twentieth-century music, literature, and art luminaries. Series 1, Music Manuscripts contains original music manuscripts of William Grant Still, Eubie Blake, Mary Lou Williams, and others. Series 4, Scripts and Transcripts contains a play by Langston Hughes, and Series 12, Posters contains many original artworks.
Arrangement:
Series 1: Music Manuscripts, circa 1930-1981, undated
Series 2: Performances and Programs, 1933-1973, undated
Series 3: Business Records, 1938-1988
Series 4: Scripts and Transcripts, 1937-1970
Series 5: Personal Correspondence and Notes, 1941-1974, undated
Series 6: Sound Recordings, 1927-1974
Series 7: Photographs, 1924-1972, undated
Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1931-1973
Series 9: Newspaper Clippings, 1939-1973, undated
Series 10: Magazine Articles and Newspaper Clippings, 1940-1974
Series 11: Publicity, 1935-1988
Series 12: Posters and Oversize Graphics, 1933-1989, undated
Series 13: Awards, 1939-1982
Series 14: Religious Material, 1928-1974
Series 15: Books, 1903-1980
Series 16: Miscellaneous, 1940-1974
Biographical / Historical:
A native of Washington, DC, Edward Kennedy Ellington was born on April 29, 1899. Edward was raised in a middle-class home in the Northwest section of Washington described by his sister Ruth--younger by sixteen years--as a "house full of love." Ellington himself wrote that his father J.E. (James Edward) raised his family "as though he were a millionaire" but Edward was especially devoted to his mother, Daisy Kennedy Ellington. In 1969, thirty-four years after his mother's death, Ellington accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom with these words, "There is nowhere else I would rather be tonight but in my mother's arms." Both his parents played the piano and Ellington began piano lessons at the age of seven, but like many boys he was easily distracted by baseball.
In his early teens, Ellington sneaked into Washington clubs and performance halls where he was exposed to ragtime musicians, including James P. Johnson, and where he met people from all walks of life. He returned in earnest to his piano studies, and at age fourteen wrote his first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag" also known as "Poodle Dog Rag." Ellington was earning income from playing music at seventeen years of age, and around this time he earned the sobriquet "Duke" for his sartorial splendor and regal air. On July 2, 1918, he married a high school sweetheart, Edna Thompson; their only child, Mercer Kennedy Ellington, was born on March 11, 1919. Duke Ellington spent the first twenty-four years of his life in Washington's culturally thriving Negro community. In this vibrant atmosphere he was inspired to be a composer and learned to take pride in his African-American heritage.
Ellington moved to New York City in 1923 to join and eventually lead a small group of transplanted Washington musicians called "The Washingtonians," which included future Ellington band members, Sonny Greer, Otto Hardwicke and "Bubber" Miley. Between 1923 and 1927, the group played at the Club Kentucky on Broadway and the ensemble increased from a quintet to a ten-piece orchestra. With stride pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith as his unofficial guide, Ellington soon became part of New York's music scene; Smith proved to be a long-lasting influence on Duke's composing and arranging direction. At the Club Kentucky, Ellington came under the tutelage of another legendary stride pianist, "Fats" Waller. Waller, a protege of Johnson and Smith, played solos during the band's breaks and also tutored Ellington who began to show progress in his compositions. In November 1924, Duke made his publishing and recording debut with "Choo Choo (I Got To Hurry Home)" released on the Blu-Disc label. In 1925, he contributed two songs to Chocolate Kiddies, an all-black revue which introduced European audiences to black American styles and performers. By this time Ellington's family, Edna and Mercer, had joined him in New York City. The couple separated in the late 1920's, but they never divorced or reconciled.
Ellington's achievements as a composer and bandleader began to attract national attention while he worked at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City, from 1927 to 1932. The orchestra developed a distinctive sound that displayed the non-traditional voicings of Ellington's arrangements and featured the unique talents of the individual soloists. Ellington integrated his soloists' exotic-sounding trombone growls and wah-wahs, their high-squealed trumpets, their sultry saxophone blues licks and Harlem's street rhythms into his arrangements. In the promotional material of the Cotton Club, the band was often billed as "Duke Ellington and His Jungle Band." With the success of compositions like "Mood Indigo," and an increasing number of recordings and national radio broadcasts from the Cotton Club, the band's reputation soared.
The ten years from 1932 to 1942 are considered by some major critics to represent the "golden age" for the Ellington Orchestra, but it represents just one of their creative peaks. These years did bring an influx of extraordinary new talent to the band including Jimmy Blanton on double bass, Ben Webster on tenor saxophone, and Ray Nance on trumpet, violin and vocals. During this ten year span Ellington composed several of his best known short works, including "Concerto For Cootie," "Ko-Ko," "Cotton Tail," "In A Sentimental Mood," and Jump For Joy, his first full-length musical stage revue.
Most notably, 1938 marked the arrival of Billy Strayhorn. While a teenager in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Strayhorn had already written "Lush Life," "Something To Live For" and a musical, Fantastic Rhythm. Ellington was initially impressed with Strayhorn's lyrics but realized long before Billy's composition "Take the A' Train" became the band's theme song in 1942 that Strayhorn's talents were not limited to penning clever lyrics. By 1942, "Swee' Pea" had become arranger, composer, second pianist, collaborator, and as Duke described him, "my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine." Many Ellington/Strayhorn songs have entered the jazz canon, and their extended works are still being discovered and studied today. Strayhorn remained with the Ellington Organization until his death on May 30, 1967.
Ellington had often hinted of a work in progress depicting the struggle of blacks in America. The original script, Boola, debuted in Carnegie Hall in November of 1943, retitled Black, Brown and Beige. The performance met with mixed reviews, and although Ellington often returned to Carnegie Hall the piece was never recorded in a studio, and after 1944 was never performed in entirety again by the Ellington Orchestra. Nonetheless, it is now considered a milestone in jazz composition.
After World War II the mood and musical tastes of the country shifted and hard times befell big bands, but Ellington kept his band together. The band was not always financially self-sufficient and during the lean times Ellington used his songwriting royalties to meet the soloists' salaries. One could assign to Ellington the altruistic motive of loyalty to his sidemen, but another motivation may have been his compositional style which was rooted in hearing his music in the formative stage come alive in rehearsal. "The band was his instrument," Billy Strayhorn said, and no Ellington composition was complete until he heard the orchestra play it. Then he could fine tune his compositions, omit and augment passages, or weave a soloist's contribution into the structure of the tune.
In 1956, the American public rediscovered Duke and the band at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island. The searing performances of tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves on "Diminuendo and Crescendo In Blue," his premiere soloist, alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges on "Jeep's Blues", and the crowd's ecstatic reaction have become jazz legend. Later that year Duke landed on the cover of Time magazine. Although Ellington had previously written music for film and television (including the short film, Black and Tan Fantasy in 1929) it wasn't until 1959 that Otto Preminger asked him to score music for his mainstream film, Anatomy of a Murder, starring Jimmy Stewart. Paris Blues in 1961, featuring box-office stars Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier in roles as American jazz musicians in Paris, followed.
Ellington's first performance overseas was in England in 1933, but the 1960s brought extensive overseas tours including diplomatic tours sponsored by the State Department. Ellington and Strayhorn composed exquisite extended works reflecting the sights and sounds of their travels, including the Far East Suite, 1966. They wrote homages to their classical influences; in 1963, they adapted Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and celebrated Shakespeare's works with the suite Such Sweet Thunder in 1957. With Ella Fitzgerald, they continued the Norman Granz Songbook Series. Ellington also began to flex his considerable pianist skills and recorded albums with John Coltrane (1963), Coleman Hawkins (1963), Frank Sinatra, and Money Jungle (1963) with Charles Mingus and Max Roach. The First Sacred Concert debuted in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral in 1965. In his final years, Ellington's thoughts turned to spiritual themes and he added a Second (1968) and Third (1973) Concert of Sacred Music to his compositions.
In his lifetime, Duke received numerous awards and honors including the highest honor bestowed on an American civilian, the Congressional Medal Of Freedom. In 1965, Ellington was recommended for a Pulitzer Prize to honor his forty years of contribution to music but the recommendation was rejected by the board. Most likely he was disappointed, but his response at the age of sixty-six was, "Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn't want me to be famous too young."
Ellington never rested on his laurels or stopped composing. Whenever he was asked to name his favorite compositions his characteristic reply was "the next five coming up," but to please his loyal fans Ellington always featured some of his standards in every performance. Even on his deathbed, he was composing the opera buffo called Queenie Pie.
Duke Ellington died on May 24, 1974 at seventy-five years of age. His funeral was held in New York's Cathedral of St. John The Divine; he was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. His long-time companion Beatrice "Evie" Ellis was buried beside him after her death in 1976. He was survived by his only child, Mercer Kennedy Ellington, who not only took up the baton to lead the Duke Ellington Orchestra but assumed the task of caring for his father's papers and his legacy to the nation. Mercer Ellington died in Copenhagan, Denmark on February 8, 1996, at the age of seventy-six. Ruth Ellington Boatwright died in New York on March 6, 2004, at the age of eighty-eight. Both Mercer and Ruth were responsible for shepherding the documents and artifacts that celebrate Duke Ellington's genius and creative life to their current home in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
William H. Quealy Collection of Duke Ellington Recordings (AC0296)
Rutgers University Collection of Radio Interviews about Duke Ellington (AC0328)
Duke Ellington Oral History Project (AC0368)
Duke Ellington Collection of Ephemera and realated Audiovisual Materials (AC0386)
Annual International Conference of the Duke Ellington Study Group Proceedings (AC0385)
Robert Udkoff Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera (AC0388)
Frank Driggs Collection of Duke Ellington Photographic Prints (AC0389)
New York Chapter of the Duke Ellington Society Collection (AC390)
Earl Okin Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera (AC0391)
William Russo Transcription and Arrangement of Duke Ellington's First Concert of Sacred Music (AC0406)
Ruth Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0415)
Music manuscripts in the Ruth Ellington Collection complement the music manuscripts found in the Duke Ellington Collection.
Carter Harman Collection of Interviews with Duke Ellington (AC0422)
Betty McGettigan Collection of Duke Ellington Memorabilia (AC0494)
Dr. Theodore Shell Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera (AC0502)
Edward and Gaye Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0704)
Andrew Homzy Collection of Duke Ellington Stock Music Arrangements (AC0740)
John Gensel Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0763)
Al Celley Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC1240)
Materials at Other Organizations
Institute of Jazz Studies
Separated Materials:
Artifacts related to this collection are in the Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) and include trophies, plaques, and medals. See accessions: 1989.0369; 1991.0808; 1993.0032; and 1999.0148.
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Provenance:
The collection was purchased through an appropriation of Congress in 1988.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the original and master audiovisual materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Copyright restrictions. Consult the Archives Center at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Paul Ellington, executor, is represented by:
Richard J.J. Scarola, Scarola Ellis LLP, 888 Seventh Avenue, 45th Floor, New York, New York 10106. Telephone (212) 757-0007 x 235; Fax (212) 757-0469; email: rjjs@selaw.com; www.selaw.com; www.ourlawfirm.com.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art, 1943-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' Hidden Collections grant program. Funding for the digitization of two motion picture films was provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee, and for the remaining sound and video recordings from the Smithsonian's Collection Care Pool Fund. Funding for the digitization of the collection, not including audiovisual materials, was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Subjects depicted include Denmark, Holland, Sweden, and may also include Italy among unidentified slides.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires and appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Hildreth Meière papers, 1901-2011, bulk 1911-1960. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of 84 reels of motion picture film in the collection was provided by The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at St. Bonaventure University through a generous grant from the Ruth Dayton Foundation. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
1 Motion picture film (991 feet, 16mm color composite optical track print)
Container:
Item AC500-OF0022
Type:
Archival materials
Motion picture films
Date:
circa 1967
Scope and Contents:
Production Company: Communications Film
Sponsor: Danfoods
Content Description: The film begins with an animated history of marketing. It then tells the story of moving the product to market from Denmark via the AROSIA cargo ship to Danfoods' meat processing plant in California. The plant is toured and the testing of a new design by Landor Associates is shown. Finally there is a description of the sales process.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Landor Design Collection, circa 1862-2002, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
The collection is open for research but is stored offsite. Arrangements must be made with the Archives Center staff two weeks prior to a scheduled research visit.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Stubblebine Collection of Musical Theater and Motion Picture Music and Ephemera, 1866-2009, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection is open for research but is stored offsite. Arrangements must be made with the Archives Center staff two weeks prior to a scheduled research visit.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Stubblebine Collection of Musical Theater and Motion Picture Music and Ephemera, 1866-2009, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection is open for research but is stored offsite. Arrangements must be made with the Archives Center staff two weeks prior to a scheduled research visit.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Stubblebine Collection of Musical Theater and Motion Picture Music and Ephemera, 1866-2009, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection contains primarily black-and-white silver gelatin photographic prints, produced by film studios and distributors for advertising and theater lobby display purposes. The films are mostly American, although the collection includes some European and Japanese films. Some films are accompanied by small booklets in Danish.
Scope and Contents:
The collection contains primarily black-and-white silver gelatin photographic prints, produced by film studios and distributors for advertising and theater lobby display purposes. The films are mostly American, although the collection includes some European and Japanese films. Many prints were used for display purposes and have tack-holes in the corners. Some are in poor condition with tears, creases and folds; others are in excellent condition. Some images occur as glossy color photomechanical prints, but hand-tinted black-and-white prints are also included. There are often duplicate prints. Many prints are embossed or blind-stamped ASTATENS FILMCENSUR, with a date date. Some films include small booklets in Danish that lists the major actors and the plot of the movie. The collection has been divided into two series.
Series 1, Film Stills, is arranged alphabetically by film title, one motion picture per folder. The subjects range from pre-World War I silent films to comedies with Mickey Rooney, and European romances.
Series 2, Unidentied Film Stills, contains stills from films that can not be identified by archivists within the Archives Center. The series also contains a catalog that allows one to purchase books, pamphlets, programs, periodicals, and photographs of various films, actors, and directors.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1, Film Stills, 1915-1986
Series 2, Unidentified Film Stills, undated
Provenance:
Collection donated by a museum in Denmark, circa 1970s.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Copyright status of items varies. Collection items are available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Lee Ya-Ching Papers, NASM.2008.0009, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Film footage shot primarily by Roy Galloway of family activities and world travels. Galloway was an employee of National Carbon Co. in Calcutta, India, where he, his wife and, eventually, four children lived an American expatriate life. On home leaves they often travelled to other locales on their way to or on their return the United States. In the U.S. they often stayed at Sherwood Forest, a resort community in Maryland, and visited family in other locations. Home movie footage in India includes the Galloways and their first born, a daughter, relocating to India (visit to New Orleans, travel by ocean liner, arrival at Calcutta, Independence day, street scenes); birthdays (one with Chinese dollmaker); christenings; Christmas; swim club (Tetje Royal Calcutta Swimming Club). Footage taken in and around Calcutta includes Durga Puja, Kali Temple, Calcutta water front; American Men's Club, locust swarms, holy man, Camper Down sports meet, Jeriwalla Plant and tiger shoot from elephants. Travel footage includes visiting Darjeeling, Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Benares, Kashmir, Dal Lake (houseboats and water taxis), Srinagar (rug factory), Kashmir, Ceylon, Turkey (Istanbul), Himalayas (flying in the Pilatus Porter aircraft used to supply Hillary expedition), Nepal (Kathamandu), Switzerland (Geneva), France (Nice), Holland, Italy (Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri, Florence, Genoa), Russia (Moscow, Lenin grad), Belgium (Brussels Fair), Greece (Crete, Rhodes, Delos, Mykonos, Athens), Austria (Vienna), Germany (Heidelberg), Spain, Denmark (Copenhagen); Sweden (Stockholm), England (London, Marlborough Hall, Stratford-on-Avon, Anne Hathaway cottage, Stonehenge), Mexico, New York City (zoo, Times Square), Nova Scotia (Halifax), Hong Kong, Japan, Hawaii, Egypt (Alexandria), Suez Canal, Burma, Thailand, and Lebanon (Beirut). Footage also includes Chesapeake Bay bridge; Washington College graduation; Bennington, VT; travel on the ship SS Biancamano and a solar eclipse.
Supplementary materials: partial annotation by Roy Galloway.
Legacy keywords: Domestic and family life ; Domestic relations ; Transportation ; Resorts ; Architecture ; Tourism ; Rites and ceremonies
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Local Numbers:
HSFA 2011.16.1
Related Materials:
8mm film shot in southeast Asia by Roy Galloway in 1940s is in the Screen Archive South East, United Kingdom.
Provenance:
Received from Fred Galloway in 2011.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Travelogues (Motion pictures)
silent films
Citation:
Roy Galloway travel films and home movies, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Two travelogues: DENMARK FAIRYTALE LAND and FESTIVAL IN SOLVANG.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Provenance:
Received from Elisabeth Ward 2004.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Travelogues (Motion pictures)
Citation:
Elisabeth Ward films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
14.41 cu. ft. (2 record storage boxes) (20 document boxes) (4 12x17 boxes) (1 16x20 box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Motion pictures (visual works)
Black-and-white photographs
Manuscripts
Video recordings
Date:
circa 1885-1981
Introduction:
Materials in this record unit were donated to the Archives by Lucile Quarry Mann and the National Zoological Park between 1977 and 1988. During 1980 and 1981, Lucile
Mann narrated the 16mm motion picture on audiotape with scripts by Pamela M. Henson, Oral Historian. In 1985, the motion picture was transferred to a 3/4" videotape and the
taped narration was synchronized with the image.
Descriptive Entry:
These papers consist of correspondence from professional colleagues and government officials concerning entomology and live zoological collections as well as correspondence
from personal acquaintances concerning zoo visits, lectures, published works, social events, and the occasions of the Manns' retirement (and including photographs). Also included
are William M. Mann's correspondence to his mother in which he described his school activities and field trips abroad, and to Lucile Mann during his travels on the Smithsonian-Chrysler
Expedition to East Africa, 1926, and as Technical Observer for the Quartermaster Corps during World War II.
These papers also document the Manns' trips abroad: the Smithsonian-Chrysler Expedition to East Africa (Tanganyika) in 1926, British Guiana in 1931, the National Geographic
Society-Smithsonian Institution Expedition to the Dutch East Indies in 1937, to Brazil and Argentina in 1939, the Smithsonian-Firestone Expedition to Liberia in 1940, visits
to European zoos in 1929, 1938, and 1948, Lucile Q. Mann's trips, 1962-1974, and William M. Mann's entomological trips, 1912-1922. Documentation includes correspondence, diaries,
field notes, photographs, souvenirs, lists of animals brought back by the 1937 expedition, and newspaper and journal articles, in particular, articles by William H. Shippen
of Washington, D.C.'s Evening Star during the 1939 voyage to South America.
In addition, there are manuscripts and printed materials covering the Manns' trips and NZP experiences, including outlines for lectures and radio talks; drafts and outlines
for biographies of William H. Blackburne and William M. Mann; book reviews by William M. Mann; materials on the Mulford Biological Expedition to the Amazon River Basin; William
M. Mann's entomological monographs; a report to the Quartermaster Corps. and a scrapbook of newspaper articles on William M. Mann's autobiography, Ant Hill Odyssey
(1948).
Photographs include William M. Mann's collection of portrait photographs of individuals, mostly naturalists; photographs taken during the Manns' trips abroad; group photographs
of the Manns with acquaintances; photographs of animals and insects; and a photograph of Smithsonian officials and staff with President Calvin Coolidge, 1927. Audiovisual
materials include motion pictures of scenes filmed in Liberia, 1940, audiotapes containing a narration by Lucile Mann for the Liberian film, 1981, and videocassettes taped
from the motion picture and audiotapes, 1985.
Historical Note:
William M. Mann (1886-1960) was born in Helena, Montana. He attended Lyon School for Boys, Spokane, Washington, 1900-1902, and Staunton Military Academy, Virginia,
1902-1905. During a brief furlough from the academy in 1903, Mann worked as an animal cage cleaner at the National Zoological Park (NZP). After graduating from the academy
in 1905, Mann worked as a rancher in Texas and New Mexico where he also collected entomological specimens.
Mann attended Washington State College, Pullman, 1907-1909, and Stanford University, 1909-1911, where he received his B.A. Mann continued his entomological studies under
William Morton Wheeler at Bussey Institution, Harvard University, where he received his Sc. D. degree in Entomology in 1915.
Between 1911 and 1916, Mann made several entomological collecting trips abroad: as a member of the Stanford Expedition to Brazil, 1911; to Haiti, 1912; to Cuba and the
State of Hildago, Mexico, 1913; as a member of the Philip Expedition to the Middle East, 1914; and as a Sheldon Traveling Fellow to Fiji and the Solomon Islands, 1915-1916.
He also studied briefly in Switzerland, 1914.
Mann served as an entomologist for the Bureau of Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1916-1925. During this period, Mann made entomological collecting
trips to Spain, Columbia, Central America, Mexico, and Cuba, and as assistant director of the Mulford Expedition to the Amazon River Basin, 1921-1922. He also did entomological
studies in Holland and Italy.
In 1925, Mann was appointed the fifth Superintendent of the NZP. In 1926, the title of Superintendent was changed to Director. Mann held that title until his retirement
in 1956. Mann's major achievements during his tenure as head administrator of the NZP included the Park's building program, 1927-1940, and his various expeditions to collect
live animals in order to increase the NZP population.
In 1944, Mann was appointed Technical Observer by the Quartermaster Corps, United States Army, to report on the living conditions in the United States military bases in
Fiji and the Solomon Islands. After his retirement in 1956, Mann was director emeritus of the NZP, and was made honorary research associate of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mann was also an honorary curator of Entomology at the United States National Museum during almost his entire career, and donated his entomological collection to the USNM.
Lucile Quarry Mann (1897-1986) was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She received her B.A. in English from the University of Michigan in 1918. She worked for Military Intelligence
in Washington, D.C., during the last remaining months of World War I. She served as assistant editor at the Bureau of Entomology, USDA, 1918-1922, and as editor for The
Women's Home Companion in New York City, 1922-1926.
In 1926, Lucile Quarry married William Mann, shortly after Mann's return from an animal collecting expedition to East Africa. As a wife of a zookeeper, Lucile Mann traveled
with her husband to Europe and on live-animal collecting expeditions. She also acted as a foster parent to many of the orphaned infant NZP-born animals at the Manns' apartment.
Lucile Mann worked in the NZP administrative offices from 1951 until her retirement in 1967, but she continued to work there part-time until 1971. She also was editor of
Tiger Talk, the NZP newsletter, and Spots and Stripes, the Friends of the National Zoo newsletter.
A taped interview with Lucile Mann was made in 1977 as part of the Archives' Oral History Project. The tapes and transcripts can be found in RU 9513.
Chronology:
1886 -- William M. Mann born, Helena, Montana.
1897 -- Lucile Quarry born, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
1900-1902 -- William M. Mann attended Lyon School for Boys, Pullman, Washington.
1902-1905 -- William M. Mann attended Virginia Military Academy, Staunton, Virginia.
1903 -- William M. Mann worked at NZP as an animal cage cleaner under animal keeper, William H. Blackburne.
1905 -- William M. Mann worked as a rancher in Texas and New Mexico.
1907-1909 -- William M. Mann attended Washington State College, Pullman.
1909-1911 -- William M. Mann attended Stanford University. Received B.A., 1911.
1910 -- William M. Mann did entomological collecting along the Arizona-Mexican boundary.
1911 -- William M. Mann was a member of the Stanford Expedition to Brazil
1911-1915 -- William M. Mann attended Bussey Institution, Harvard University. Received Sc.D. in Entomology in 1915.
1912 -- William M. Mann went on an entomological collecting trip to Haiti.
1913 -- William M. Mann went on a entomological collecting trip to Cuba, and Hildago, Mexico.
1914 -- William M. Mann was a member of the Philip Expedition to the Middle East.
1915-1916 -- William M. Mann, as a Sheldon Traveling Scholar, went on a entomological collecting trip to Fiji and the Solomon Islands.
1916-1925 -- William M. Mann served as an entomologist for USDA, and as an entomological explorer, traveled to Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Spain, France, and Italy, and studied in Italy and Holland.
1918 -- Lucile Quarry received B. A. in English from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and worked until November for Military Intelligence in Washington, D. C.
1918-1922 -- Lucile Quarry was an assistant editor for USDA's Bureau of Entomology.
1921-1922 -- William M. Mann was assistant director of the Mulford Expedition to the Amazon River Basin.
1922-1926 -- Lucile Quarry was an editor for The Woman's Home Companion in New York City.
1925 -- William M. Mann appointed Superintendent of NZP.
1926 -- Job title changed to Director of NZP
1926 -- William M. Mann went to Tanganyika as a member of the Smithsonian-Chrysler Expedition to East Africa, to collect animals for the NZP.
1926 -- William M. Mann and Lucile Quarry married.
1928 -- The Manns visited European zoos. (Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, and the Netherlands)
1931 -- The Manns went to British Guiana to collect live animals for the NZP.
1937 -- The Manns went on an around-the-world trip by sea as members of National Geographic Society-Smithsonian Institution Expedition to the Dutch East Indies to collect live animals for the NZP in Sumatra.
1938 -- The Manns visited European zoos. (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Danzig, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France, Scotland, and Ireland)
1939 -- The Manns visited Brazil and Argentina, to collect live animals for the NZP.
1940 -- The Manns visited Liberia as members of the Firestone-Smithsonian Expedition to Liberia to collect live animals for the NZP.
1944 -- William M. Mann served as Technical Observer for the Quartermaster Corps, U. S. Army in Fiji and the Solomon Islands.
1948 -- The Manns visited European zoos. (Great Britain, France, West Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands)
1951 -- Lucile Q. Mann began work at the NZP.
1956 -- William M. Mann retired from NZP.
October 10, 1960 -- Death of William M. Mann (age 74 years)
1967 -- Lucile Q. Mann retired from NZP.
1967-1971 -- Worked part-time at NZP.
1977 -- Oral history interview for SIA. (See RU 9513)
November 26, 1986 -- Death of Lucile Q. Mann (age 89 years)
This donation consists of one 16mm b&w film, entitled 'Seekrieg.' This film is a silent German documentary which contains footage of German Naval Operations at the Battle of Jutland on May 31st, 1916. This film includes footage of float planes.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Samuel B. Fishbein, Gift, 1995, 1996-0005, NASM
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Topic:
World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations Search this
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
Bendix Air Races Collection, Acc. NASM.1988.0115, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
The film, titled "Memories of the New York World's Fair" by filmmaker Frank J. Pezzano documents the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. Pezzano edited the film and included hand-drawn and typed intertitles identifying the various locations and activities he filmed.
Scope and Contents:
Collection consists of one compilation reel created by the Archives Center of 8mm color amateur motion picture film of the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. When originally acquired, the collection comprised two reels of 8mm color camera reversal motion picture film. Archives Center staff created a single compilation reel for long-term storage and handling.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Series 1, Memories of the Fair, 1939-1940
Biographical / Historical:
The film, titled "Memories of the New York World's Fair" by filmmaker Frank J. Pezzano, documents the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. Pezzano edited the film and included hand-drawn and typed intertitles identifying the various locations and activities he filmed.
The theme of this fair was "The World of Tomorrow," symbolized by the Trylon and Perisphere sculptures. It commemorated the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of George Washington as President in New York City. The Fair was held on 1216 acres in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York, and was divided into seven geographic and thematic zones: Amusement, Communications and Business Systems, Community Interests, Food, Government, Medicine and Public Health, Production and Distribution, Science and Education, and Transportation. In expanding on the theme, the Fair tried to show that what was being built then would be the "World of Tomorrow." Sixty-two nations built exhibit halls. World War Two began September 1, 1939, as the Nazis overran countries represented at the Fair, such as France, Denmark, and Belgium.
His family believes Mr. Pezanno attended the fair alone as indicated by the fact that no family members are depicted in the film. Pezzano's film presents a comprehensive tour of the exterior elements of the fair and includes footage of many of the iconic corporate, state, and national pavillions as well as the images of the fair at night. Pezzano also filmed special attractions such as "Frank Buck's Bring 'Em Back Alive," the parachute ride, and an ice show.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center:
Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, 1790-1980s (AC 0300)
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, circa 1724-1977 (AC 0060)
Larry Zim World's Fair Collection, 1841-1988 (AC 0519)
Edward J. Orth Memorial Archives of the World's Fair, 1939-1940 (AC 0560)
Provenance:
Donated by John A. Pezzano, 1996
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection materials available for reproduction. The Pezzano family retains interests in the film and must be contacted for permission for any third-party, commercial use. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply.
"Memories of the New York World's Fair" Filmed by Frank J. Pezzano, 1939-1940, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Hubble [videorecording] : 15 years of discovery / ESA ; directed by Lars Lindberg Christensen ; written by Stefania Varano, Lars Lindberg Christensen, Stuart Clark
