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Collection of Vintage Music Autographs and Ephemera.

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:2,700.00 USD Estimated At:5,400.00 - 6,500.00 USD
Collection of Vintage Music Autographs and Ephemera.
Few modern American genres evoke the instant associations of the Big Band era and the Jazz Age. From Basie to Ellington, Goodman to Miller, and the scores of styles and musicians who created the sound of America, Big Band material has often been the realm of the specialist. Many of its keepsakes - the ephemera that marked the memories of its fans - have actually become elusive.

The present collection offers a wide panorama of the cultural artifacts underpinning the era. Spanning 1927 to 1966, but principally dated in the 1930s and 1940s, the assemblage includes concert ticket stubs, show programs, handbills, record store posters, nightclub souvenirs, period autographs, lobby cards, movie stills, postcards, fan and record industry magazines, sheet music, an oversize RKO theatre owners' advertising book for the 1942 sensation "Syncopation," starring Charlie Barnet, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Gene Krupa, et al, and curiosa such as matchbook covers and novelty promotional pieces. Including broad representation of both the bands and their individual artists, male and female, instrumental and vocal.

Artists represented on unsigned items include Ray Anthony, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Barnet, Tex Beneke, Les Brown, Dave Brubeck, Cab Calloway, June Christy, Nat King Cole, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Erroll Garner, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Glen Gray, Fletcher Henderson, Woody Herman, Harry James, Louis Jordan, Sammy Kaye, Stan Kenton, Gene Krupa, Kay Kyser, Frankie Laine, Peggy Lee, Guy Lombardo, Vincent Lopez, Jimmy Lunceford, Gordon MacRae, Freddy Martin, Billy May, Johnny Mercer, Glenn Miller, Vaughn Monroe, Gerry Mulligan, Red Norvo, Patti Page, Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Charlie Spivak, Rudy Vallee, Sarah Vaughan, Fred Waring, Chick Webb, Ted Weems, Lawrence Welk, Paul Whiteman, Margaret Whiting, and others.

Signed items (some in pencil) include Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Jess Stacy, and Teddy Wilson, on a Hotel Pennsylvania drink menu * Blue Barron on contract * Eddie Duchin and Shep Fields on Aragon Ballroom postcards * Ziggy Elman and Benny Goodman on 1938 recording contract * Glen Gray band member autographs on Palladium Ballroom Cafe menu, 1941 * 1943 letter of Milton Gabler (famous Decca Records producer and founder of Commodore Records; worked with Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, and Billie Holiday; signed Bill Haley and the Comets to Decca; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by his nephew, comedian Billy Crystal) * Horace Heidt on hotel drink menu, with band signatures on verso * Dick Jurgens on postcard * Kay Kyser (signed with full name James K. Kyser) on letterhead, with original envelope, 1928 * Waldorf-Astoria Starlight Roof Supper Club menu signed inside by Guy Lombardo, printed cover art by Xavier Cugat * Hal McIntyre on contract * Art Mooney on contract * Buddy Morrow postcard * and numerous vintage signatures of artists and band members, including Harry James and "Tiny" Timbrell who later appeared on Elvis records and soundtracks.

Capturing the golden era of Big Bands, some of the historic nights - and days - represented are 1937's Benny Goodman vs. Chick Webb Battle of Swing, 1954's landmark Festival of Modern American Jazz, Glenn Miller at CBS Radio Theatre, and many, many more. Additional venues represented include the Apollo (an early Louis Armstrong appearance), the Capital, Paramount, and Roxy Theatres, the Famous Door, Palomar Ballroom, Savoy Ballroom, Steel Pier, and more.

It is important to note that much of the unsigned ephemera is very scarce - often magnitudes more so than signed material - and found only by chance. Duplicating such a collection would take many years and inordinate labor. Understandably in varied condition, with some wear and defects, mostly minor, and satisfactory to very fine, most items in the superior range. Offering a wealth of materials, themes, and graphic choices for an all-encompassing display - or rotating exhibitions in a club, restaurant, performance space, academic music department, or favorite room of a home or office. Request free detailed prospectus. Color montages on website and by e-mail. (collection of over 235 pcs.)