Necktie, worn by Doc Cheatham: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This necktie was made by “Jane,” undetermined place and date. It is a hand-made necktie made of white fabric with a cream-colored fabric lining. This necktie was previously worn by jazz musician Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham. There are numerous signatures in black ink on the front of the tie, one is dated “85.” There is an embroidered label:

Adolphus Anthony “Doc” Cheatham (1905-1997), first learned to play saxophone as well as trumpet. Early in his career, Cheatham performed with the African American Vaudeville theater in Nashville. Around 1924, Cheatham moved to Chicago where he heard trumpeters King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, both would have a lifelong influence on Cheatham’s playing.

Cheatham performed with several jazz musicians including Benny Carter, Fletcher Henderson, and Benny Goodman throughout the 1930s to the 1960s. In the 1970s, Cheatham worked to improve his playing by recording and listening to himself. After the age of 70, Cheatham’s self-assessment work would result in him receiving his best acclamations and critical reviews.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: mid 1980s
• user: Cheatham, Doc
• Object Name: necktie
• Physical Description: fabric (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 54 in x 3 in; 137.16 cm x 7.62 cm
• place made: United States
• ID Number: 2002.0218.05
• accession number: 2002.0218
• catalog number: 2002.0218.05
• Credit Line: Gift of Amanda N. Cheatham
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.