Aristocrat of Harlem: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This sheet music for "Aristocrat of Harlem" depicts a cartoon of a grinning man, outlined in black. Pictured from the shoulders up, he wears a top hat and polkadot bow tie, and holds a black and white tipped cane. The background is an orange and white pattern of abstract figures in tuxedos playing various instruments. The title runs across the top margin, black letters on a blank white field that read "ARISTOCRAT of HARLEM." In the top left quarter are the words "By PETER TINTURN/ BUDDY FEYNE/ AND/ NAT JAFFE." Along the bottom margin is the words "MILSONS" crossed with a winding ribbon with the words "Seventh Avenue/ Music Publishing Corp. / New York City." There is handwritten name written in blue ink on the lower right quarter.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1935
• Written by: Peter Tinturin, American, 1910 - 2007
• Written by: Buddy Feyne, American, 1912 - 1998
• Published by: Milsons Music Publishing Corp., American
• Subject of: Nat Jaffe, American, 1918 - 1945
• Subject of: Cotton Club, American, 1923 - 1940
• Type: sheet music
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 12 × 9 in. (30.5 × 22.9 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Caricature and cartoons
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Minstrel shows
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Popular music
• Topic: Segregation
• Object number: 2013.223.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Vicki Gold Levi
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.