Voulez-vous de la Canne à Sucre?: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A song sheet titled, "Voulez-vous de la Canne à Sucre?" performed by Josephine Baker and Joe Alex. The song sheet is framed in a silver frame with white matting. The sheet features and illustration of Josephine Baker in costume. She is depicted with her body towards the left of the frame and her head facing the right looking down at a cheetah perched on its hind legs behind her. The artist's mark [Zig / 30] is next to the cheetah's back. French text throughout the sheet reads: [MM. Dufrenne et Varna présentent “Paris Qui Remue” / Revue de MM. H. Varna, L. Lelièvre et Earl Leslie au Casino De Paris / Voulez -Vous de la Canne à Sucre? / (En voulez-vous de la canne !!!) / Fox One Step / chante par / Joséphine Baker et Joe Alex / Por Piano et Chat / 6 fr. / Parole de Léo Lelièvre et Henri Varna / Musique de Paddy / Éditions Francis Salabert / Vente en Gros : / 22, Rue Chauchat, 22 –Paris – 9e / 14, Rue de Loxum Bruxelles]. The back of the frame has an alphanumeric inscription.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1930
• Published by: Francis Salabert, French, 1884 - 1946
• Composed by: Léo Lelievre, French, 1872 - 1956
• Written by: Henri Varna, French, 1877 - 1969
• Illustrated by: Louis Gaudin, French, 1882 - 1936
• Subject of: Josephine Baker, American, 1906 - 1975
• Subject of: Joe Alex, Martinican, 1891 - 1948
• Type: sheet music
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 10 11/16 × 6 3/4 in. (27.1 × 17.1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 16 1/2 × 12 1/2 in. (41.9 × 31.8 cm)
• Place depicted: Paris, Île-de-France, France, Europe
• Place depicted: Brussels, Belgium, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2016.135.8
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from Jean-Claude Baker
• 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 displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.