Letter to the Musicians' Protective Association from Duke Ellington: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A two page letter from Duke Ellington to the Musicians' Protective Association, Local 767 written May 10, 1942. In the letter Duke Ellington files a claim against three parties to recover money owed him for arrangements of five numbers made for the show "Jump For Joy": He writes: "I am informed that the title of 'Jump for Joy,' the show and certain assets thereof are being sold at the office of Attorney Leo Gold in the Fox Building . . ." Ellington sought $1800 from the parties named in the suit, for arrangements of "Suntan Tenth of a Nation," "Two Left Feet," "Uncle Tom's Cabin," The Emperor's Bones," and "Cymbal Sockin' Sam."

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: May 10, 1942
• Written by: Duke Ellington, American, 1899 - 1974
• Received by: American Federation of Musicians, founded 1896
• Type: business letters
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 11 x 8 1/2 in. (27.9 x 21.6 cm)
• Place depicted: Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Correspondence
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Justice
• Topic: Labor
• Topic: Law
• Topic: Musicians
• Object number: 2011.57.32ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• 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.