Underneath the Harlem Moon: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This sheet music for "Underneath the Harlem Moon" depicts a woman dancing under the stars on the front cover. Wearing a yellow spaghetti strap dress with a plunging neckline and a high- low hem that is short in front and long in back, she balances on her left leg while kicking her right leg across her left. Her arms are waving above her head which in thrown back. She has bright red lips and shoulder length wavy hair. She is surrounded by five large stars and one small one. In the background is the silhouette of an urban skyline. Across the top of the page are the words "Underneath the Harlem Moon." At the top left corner and the bottom right corner are small squares with the words "Price/ 25¢." Halfway down the page on the left side are the words "words by/ Mack Gordon/ music by/ Harry Revel." Along the bottom margin on the left are the words “Made in U.S.A" while in the center are the words "DE SYLVA, BROWN and HENDERSON, INC./ Music Publishers/ De Sylva, Brown and Henderson Building 745 Seventh Avenue, New York."

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1932
• Written by: Mack Gordon, American, 1904 - 1959
• Written by: Harry Revel, English, 1905 - 1958
• Illustrated by: Sydney Lefkowitz, American
• Published by: De Sylva, Brown, and Henderson Inc., American, founded 1925
• Type: sheet music
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 12 × 9 in. (30.5 × 22.9 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Minstrel (Music)
• Topic: Minstrel shows
• Topic: Musical Theatre
• Topic: Popular music
• Topic: Stereotypes
• Object number: 2013.223.3
• 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.