Photograph of a cocktail party held by Irving Mills: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of the cocktail party that launched Master Records, Inc., held by Irving Mills. The image depicts eleven (11) men, including Irving Mills, Lew White, Adrian Rollini, Duke Ellington, Will Hudson, Dick Altschuler, and Tommy Dorsey. Mills is at the center of the group. He is wearing a dark pinstriped suit, a white shirt, and medium toned tie that is slightly askew. On the far left is White. He is partially obscured by the left edge of the photograph. Next to him, standing in profile, is Rollini. Next to Rollini is Ellington. Ellington is wearing a dark pinstriped suit, a light toned, striped collared shirt, and medium toned, patterned tie. He is facing the right edge of the photograph. To the right of Ellington is Hudson and a partially obscured man standing behind Mills. Hudson is facing the viewer and is wearing wire rimmed glasses. Dorsey is depicted in profile with his arm around Mill’s shoulders, facing the left edge of the image. Four additional men in suits and ties, including Altschuler, stand in front, looking towards the viewer. There is an inscription on the back of the photograph, written in pencil that reads, [I. Mills' Cocktail Party / L to R: Lew White, Organist, / Adrian Rollini [insert arrow] Duke, Will Hudson, / FRONT: Dick Altschuler, president / Am. Record Corp., I. Mills, gen. / Mgr., & Tommy Dorsey / PHOTO: AL BRACKMAN]. There are no inscriptions on the front of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1936
• Photograph by: Al Brackman, American, 1912 - 1992
• Subject of: Lew White, American, 1902 - 1955
• Subject of: Adrian Rollini, American, 1903 - 1956
• Subject of: Duke Ellington, American, 1899 - 1974
• Subject of: Will Hudson, American, 1908 - 1981
• Subject of: Richard W. Altschuler
• Subject of: Irving Mills, American, 1894 - 1985
• Subject of: Tommy Dorsey, American, 1905 - 1956
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 3 × 4 1/2 in. (7.6 × 11.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 3 5/16 × 4 3/4 in. (8.4 × 12.1 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Nightlife
• Object number: 2013.46.25.256
• 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.