Harlem on my Mind: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Sheet music for the song "Harlem on my Mind" from the production "As Thousands Cheer." The front cover is red with an illustration in black of a group of partiers, seen along the bottom third. The group is largely in the lower left quadrant with arms raised and faces raised upward. Hats and confetti float above the crowd. Over top of the crowd, in red text is the music publisher information "Irving Berlin, Inc./ MUSIC PUBLISHERS/ 1607 Broadway New York/ MADE IN/ USA." In the lower right corner, in the background, is a car with the front portion facing left. Two people are on the hood of the car. Over top of the car, in a rectangle is a song list "LONELY HEART/ HEAT WAVE/ SUPPER TIME/ EASTER PARADE/ HOW'S CHANCES/ THE FUNNIES/ NOT FOR ALL THE RICE/ IN CHINA/HARLEM ON MY MIND." At the top is the song title, centered and underlined "HARLEM ON MY MIND." In a slight diagonal from the middle left to the upper right is the production name and additional information, all in black text "SAM H. HARRIS PRESENTS/ "AS/ THOUSANDS/ CHEER"/ A NEW REVUE/ LYRICS AND MUSIC BY/ IRVING BERLIN/ SKETCHES BY/ MOSS HART/ STAGED BY/ HASSARD SHORT/ SCENERY DESIGNED BY/ ALBERT JOHNSTON/ DANCES CREATED AND ARRANGED BY/ CHARLES WEIDMAN." Between the production title and the production information, on the right side, above center, is a large stamp, cropped off at the right edge "CAUFIELD, S." Underneath the stamp is an illegible signature.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1933
• Written by: Irving Berlin, American, 1888 - 1989
• Illustrated by: Unidentified
• Published by: Irving Berlin, Inc., American, founded 1919
• Subject of: Sam Harris, American, born 1961
• Subject of: Moss Hart, American, 1904 - 1961
• Subject of: Hassard Short, British American, 1877 - 1956
• Subject of: Albert Johnston, American
• Subject of: Charles Weidman, American, 1901 - 1975
• Type: sheet music
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 11 3/8 × 8 3/4 in. (28.9 × 22.2 cm)
• Place printed: New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Musical Theatre
• Topic: Popular music
• Object number: 2013.223.19
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Vicki Gold Levi
• 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: © The Estate of Irving Berlin Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.