I've Got the World on a String: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Sheet music for the song "I've Got the World on a String" Cotton Club Parade 21st edition. The front cover is divided into four triangular fields of alternating red and blue that fan outwards from a point towards the bottom right margin. A white rectangle at the top margin contains words "I've Got the World on a String" in blue letters. Beneath the title, in white letters, are the words "The COTTON CLUB/ presents/ COTTON CLUB PARADE/ OF 1932/ 21st Edition." At center bottom are the words "Lyrics and Music by/ TED KOEHLER/ and/ HAROLD ARLEN." Beneath are the words "staged by/ DAN HEALY." To the left of this phrase is a rectangle with the words "Mills Music/ Inc. / Music Publishers/ 1619 Broadway - New York, N.Y." and an image of two windmills. In a white rectangle in the lower left corner that contains four song titles. Throughout the blue and red fields are cartoon figures in various poses. At the top right quarter are two figures in tuxedos playing trumpets, and the legs of a female dancer. Below them are a music staph and a dancing figure with a top hat and cane. Below this figure is a partial figure of a man in a tuxedo playing the saxophone. In the adjacent blue field is a dancing female figure in a thigh-length dress with a plunging neckline. She has a large fluffy bustle behind her. She is surrounded by music staphs, stars, piano keys, and high rise buildings.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1932
• Written by: Ted L. Koehler, American, 1894 - 1973
• Written by: Harold Arlen, American, 1905 - 1986
• Illustrated by: Sydney Lefkowitz, American
• Published by: Mills Music Incorporated, 1919 - 1965
• Subject of: Dan Healy, American, 1888 - 1969
• Subject of: Cotton Club, American, 1923 - 1940
• Type: sheet music
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 12 × 9 in. (30.5 × 22.9 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Musical Theatre
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Popular music
• Topic: Segregation
• Topic: Stereotypes
• Object number: 2013.223.9
• 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: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.