Promotional mailer from the Elk's Rendezvous Nite Club: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A promotional mailer from the Elk's Rendezvous Nite Club. The mailer is a single sheet of paper which folds in half to form the mailer. The first page features a reproduced letter to Ralph Cooper, Elk's Rendezvous Nite Club, to Mr. Richard Campbell, U.S.O., thanking the U.S.O. for allowing their orchestra to perform. The text is printed in red on a white background. The letter is surrounded by a white and red border featuring illustrations of a tank, soldiers, a crowd of men and women, and a banner. It also has the phrase [We Mean it!] printed in white along the top right edge of the border. The interior pages fold out to form a full-page red and white spread. It features a collage of photographic images with [ELK'S RENDEZVOUS / FLOOR /SHOW] printed at the top and information about the club and the performers, printed at the bottom. Ralph Cooper is depicted in the top left corner and Sam Theard in the bottom right corner. The top half of the back of the mailer includes blank space for an address and stamp surrounded by illustrations of music notes and female dancers in front of a building with [Elk's Rendezvous] printed on a sign above the dancers. The bottom half features red and white text against an illustrated background decorated with a star spangled curtain, music notes, and female dancers.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1941-1945
• Written by: Ralph Cooper, American, 1908 - 1992
• Printed by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Richard Campbell
• Subject of: Sam Theard, American, 1904 - 1982
• Subject of: Elks Rendezvous, American, ca. 1930 - 1945
• Subject of: United Service Organizations, American, founded 1941
• Type: advertisements
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 10 15/16 × 8 9/16 in. (27.8 × 21.7 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Military
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: World War II
• Object number: 2013.46.25.18
• 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: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.