ARCHIVES CENTER FINDING AIDS

Duke Ellington

DUKE ELLINGTON COLLECTION, 1927-1988, #301

Container List

Series 7: Photographs, 1924-1972
(5.6 cu. ft.; 8 DB, 1(.5)DB, 3 Flt.B, 4 F/O)

Scope and Content

This series contains black and white and color photographs, contact sheets, slides, and negatives documenting Duke Ellington's career as a musician and the evolution of the Duke Ellington Orchestra between 1924 and 1972.  The photos depict the Orchestra and its various band members and singers in domestic concerts and international tour, Ellington with presidents and heads of state, Ellington's family, the Sacred Concerts, and publicity shots of Ellington.

Images of particular interest include Duke Ellington with Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and prominent musicians including Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Leonard Bernstein, and Billy Strayhorn. The images also document places of interest where Ellington performed, such as Birdland, Westminster Cathedral, and the ancient theatre in Baghdad. Of particular interest are pictures of the original Cotton Club Orchestra and the Washingtonians, Duke Ellington's first band.

The original photographs are organized into twenty-two categories by the content of images. (For example, "Awards" is the category for all photographs that depict Ellington receiving awards from domestic and foreign dignitaries). All of the photographs have been supplied with captions that identify their primary subject content and whenever possible additional identification information may be included. Within each grouping photographs are arranged sequentially by a print number that was assigned to each image prior to the creation of a preservation photograph by the Smithsonian Institution's Office of Photographic Services (OPPS).

Most of the images included in series 7 have been copied OPPS and are available for viewing in the Archives Center Reading Room. Images were selected for photographic duplication based on content, research value, and image quality. Duplicates of photographs and images that were otherwise lacking extrinsic value were not copied. These are identified as "uncopied" in the box and folder listing. All photographs that have been copied have been assigned an OPPS negative number. This number is used to identify the appropriate negative(s) that must be used by the researcher when requesting copies of these images from OPPS. Photographs that have not been copied by OPPS and do not have an OPPS negative number assigned to them have been placed at the end of each subject grouping. Slides and unidentified negatives have been placed at the end of the series. There are twenty-two subject categories:  Awards: 1966-1972; Band Members: 1933-1971; Candid Shots: 1937-1973; Duke Ellington at the Piano: undated; Duke Ellington Composing: undated;  Duke Ellington Signing Autographs undated; Duke Ellington with Friends and Associates: 1939-1971; Duke Ellington with the Military: 1944-1945; Duke Ellington with Presidents and Heads of State: 1958-1969; Ellington Family: 1947; Friends and Associates: undated; In Concert: 1964-1972; International Tours: 1933-1971; Interviews: 1945-1950; Miscellaneous: undated; Orchestra: 1927-1972; Publicity: 1924-1970; Publicity Caricatures: undated; Publicity/ Fundraising: 1946; Sacred Concerts: 1968; TV Appearances: 1967-1968; Various Artists: undated.

Awards (1966-1972), copied

Box 1

Awards, uncopied (1966-1972)

7 California College of Arts and Crafts, 1966

Awards, (1966-1972) oversize

Box 9

Band Members (1933-1971), copied

Box 1

Band Members, uncopied

32 #197-198 Duke and unidentified female singer

    #199-200 Bobbi Gordon and Cootie Williams

    #201 Duke, Lena Horne, Billy Strayhorn, Patricia Willard at Fairmont Hotel San Francisco, 1960- contact prints of photos by Gordon Parks

    #202 Buster Cooper

    #203 Billy Strayhorn and unidentified people

    #204 John Lamb

    #205 Duke, Rufus Jones, Wild Bill Davis, Joe Benjamin

    #206 Harold Ashby

    #207 Duke and John Lamb

    #208 Johnny Hodges

    #209 Malcolm Taylor

    #210 Band on stage, including Wendell Marshal, Duke, Carney

    #211 Band on stage, including Wendell Marshall, Duke, Carney, unidentified male dancer

    #212 Paul Gonsalves on stage, out-of-doors

    #213 Gonsalves, with 2 unidentified males and 1 unidentified female

    #214-217 Johnny Hodges 

33 Miscellaneous

    #218 Harold Ashby, Duke at Claremont Hotel, Berkeley, California, September, 1970

    #219 Wild Bill Davis at Claremont Hotel, Berkeley, California, September, 1970

    #220 Norris Turney on alto sax at Claremont Hotel

    #221 Norris Turney on flute at Claremont Hotel

    #222 Tom Whaley

    #223 Cootie Williams

    #224 Harold Ashby, Harry Carney, Russell Procope

    #225 Duke, Booty Wood

    #226 Russell Procope, Paul Gonsalves

    #227 Jackson-Carney-Woodman, playing "Mood Indigo," Logan Utah, March, 1958 [Original photo by Ben Pubols]

    #228 Nanton-Tizol-Bigard - newspaper cut

    #229 Billy Strayhorn and five friends

    
34 #230 Eddie Preston, Money Johnson, Mercer Ellington

    #231 Ellington trombone and trumpet sections, including Mercer Ellington

    #232 Brown, Carney, Procope

    #233 Hodges, Procope, Hamilton, Carney, Duke- Paris 1950

    #234 Cat Anderson

    #235 Louie Bellson with Karin Jesseph and Jeanne Jesseph, Los Angeles, October 26, 1965

    #236 Duke on bandstand

    #237 Harry Carney holding clarinet and bass clarinet

         35 #238 Unidentified drummer

             #239 Unidentified male and female

            #240 Unidentified person, early 1930s

            #241 Bobbi Gordon and Cootie Williams

            #242 Williams, Jenkins, Whetsol, 1933

            #243 Bigard, Hardwick, Hodges, Carney - 1932 PR shot

            #244 Wellman Braud, with Hardwick and Bigard, 1933

            #245 Unidentified drummer

            #246 Cootie Williams

            #247-248 Paul Gonsalves

            #249 Unidentified alto man - Paris, France

            #250 Lawrence Brown - Paris, France

            #251 Unidentified trumpet player - Paris, France

Band Members (1933-1971), oversize

Box 9

4 Ernie Shepherd, Sam Woodyard, Rolf Erickson (undated)

Candid Shots (1937-1973), copied

Box 2

1 #1-10
2 #11-20
3 #21-30
4 #31-40
5 #41-50
6 #51-60
7 #61-70
8 #71-80
9 #81-90
10 #91-100
11 #101-110
12 #111-122

Candid Shots (1937-1973), uncopied

13 Rainbow Room, 1966, 1973

    #123 Duke at table with customers, 1966

    #124 Lena Horne at keyboard, 1966

    #125 Crowd scene, including Duke, 1966

    *#126 Duke and Cab Calloway at microphone, 1966

    #127 Duke at table with customers, 1966

    #128 Duke and Molly Moon, 1966

    #129 Duke at keyboard, 1966

    #130 Urban League Anniversary, 1966

    #131 Duke, Molly Moon, Mrs.Whitney Young, 1966

    #132 Duke with unidentified male and female, 1966

    #133-135 Duke at table with eleven customers, August, 1973

    #136 Duke with two happy customers

    #137 Duke and unidentified male at microphone

14 Candid Shots

    #138-147 Circus World Museum, Outdoors, 1966

    #148 Duke in recording studio, 1956

    #149 Duke, Procope, Carney - Outdoor bandstand

    #150 Duke dozing, USSR

    #151 Duke conducting, London, England

    #152 Duke in auto

    #153 Happy Duke at Winter Carnival Ball, Whitehall, New York, February 20, 1971

    #154-155 Duke at keyboard

    #156 Duke, Atlantic City, New Jersey

    #157 Duke's left hand

    #158 Duke holding photo of himself, signed "To Doctor Ellington...We, too, love you ma-a-adly...D. Suglander, 6-15-67"

    #159 Container for #158 - Message from Duke written on it

    #160 Duke with ponytail

15 #161 Smiling Duke

    #162 Pensive Duke at piano    

    #163 Smiling Duke, with flowers

    #164 "Doctored" photo of Duke

    #165 Duke in Milano

    #166-168 Pensive Duke

    #169 Finger snapping Duke, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    #170 Duke at piano with young bassist

    #171 Duke on stage, holding Cootie's trumpet

16 #172-174 Duke

    #175 Duke with coffee cup

    #176 Pensive Duke

    #177 Smiling Duke - London

    #178 Laughing Duke

    #179 No-tie Duke - Autographed

17 #180-184 Duke at keyboard

    #185 Duke with young girl

    #186 Duke with two males

    #187 Duke at keyboard

    #188 Duke with unidentified female

    #189 Duke with unidentified male, Europe, October 12- December 15, 1971

    #190 Duke with unidentified male, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, November 1973

    #191 Duke at U.N. with U THant, Edvard Hambro, Ralph J. Bunche, December 10, 1970

Box 3

Duke Ellington with Friends and Associates (1939-1971), uncopied

20 #132-134 Duke with faulty members, September 21, 1969
                      Rosary College, Lake Forest, Illinois

21 #135 Duke with unidentified female

#136 Duke with Marian McPartland and unidentified female

#137 Duke with Michael Landon and two unidentified males

#138 Duke, Strayhorn, Castro, unidentified female

22 #139 Duke with composer Ann Henry and Rev. Damian Jentges
              Mt. Angel Abbey, Mt. Angel, Oregon, May 30, 1970

#140 Duke clinking glasses with Margaret Russell, Paris, France

# 141 Duke with two unidentified males, 1944

#142 Duke with unidentified male, Manchester, England

23 #143-144 Duke with Bob Hale, two others, NBC-TV, Chicago, Illinois

#145 Envelope (no photo) from Jim Lowe, August 10, 1971

24 #146 Duke with Maurice A. Scarpaleggia and two other males Mount Royal, Quebec, Canada

#147 University of Wisconsin - twenty-one 35-mm contact prints

#148 Duke with Cary Grant

#149 Duke with Oscar Levant and two unidentified males

#150 Duke with fans at a restaurant table, Spokane, Washington

#151 Duke with Irving Mills, Henry Nemo

#152 Duke with unidentified male

25 #153-154 Duke with assorted friends, February, 1968

#155 Duke with young boy, with adult female, March 9, 1969

#156 Duke with unidentified couple; Paul Emerson and Aaron Stem, March, 1969

26 #157-158 Duke with one unidentified female and two unidentified males

Duke Ellington with Friends and Associates (1939-1971), oversize

Box 9

Box 3

Box 4

Box 9

Box 4

Box 9

Box 10

Box 4

Box 5

Box 10

Box 6

Box 10

Box 6

Box 7

Publicity (1924-1970), uncopied, oversized

Box 10

Box 7

Publicity Caricatures, copied, undated

Box 8

Box 11

Oversize Photographs

1 #1 Fred Guy, Duke, Strayhorn

#2 Duke, holding baton

#3 Mercer and Duke

#4 Scowling Duke, USSR, 1971

#5 Duke, Lady Bird Johnson, others

#6 Duke, unidentified female

#7-8 Duke in a forest of microphones

#9 Artistic photo - Latter-day Duke with bass and tenor men

#10 PR photo of Duke

2 #1 Duke and Alice Babs at Westminster Abbey

#2 Duke at piano, with an unidentified orchestra - color

#3-6 Duke, Lyndon B. Johnson, First Lady - Lady Bird, King and Queen of Thailand; four copies, one signed by both Johnsons

#7 Duke and Billy at Milton College, 1964

#8-9 Duke at piano, February, 1973

#10 Drummer and bassist, February, 1973

#11 Duke at microphone, February, 1973

#12 Nat, Sarah, Duke - color

3 #1 Duke and the two LBJs

#2 Lady Bird Johnson, Duke and Orchestra - Autographed by Lady Bird

#3 Photograph of color painting of Duke

#4 Smiling Duke

#5 Duke with unidentified male

#6-7 Smiling Duke

#8 Smiling Duke - a different shot

#9 Serious Duke

#10-13 Spangled Duke at microphone

#14 Duke at piano, choir in background

#15 Duke conducting from keyboard

#16-22 Smiling Duke - seven copies

#23  Two unidentified males and two unidentified females - color

4 #1 Duke and Don Byas, 1950 - crumbling black and white 2x2 print

#2 Duke at microphone, facing audience 

#3 Two unidentified males (Tom Whaley?)

#4 Duke and one unidentified male

#5 Duke - William Morris Agency PR photo

#6 Classic photo of Duke at piano with band members looking on, 1928

#7 Duke signing autograph

#8 Duke at keyboard

5 White Cover Sheets 
6 MY PEOPLE - Many ageing, deteriorating panoramic photographs
7 Contact Sheet

Box 12

1 Album with red cover: "From the Editors and Photographers of LIFE"
Fifty mounted prints from the USSR trip

2 Five unmounted black and white photos from the USSR trip

Box 13

1 Public Relations Photographs

#1 Duke, LBJ, others

#2 Liberian Dinner at White House, 3/27/68; photo includes Duke, Rab, Carney, Brown, President and Mrs. Johnson, Vice-President and Mrs. Hubert Humphrey; signed by President Johnson 

#3 Smiling Duke - PR photo

#4 Negative print of Duke

#5 Duke being hooded

2 Photographs of Duke Ellington 

#1 Duke looking over his shoulder - color

#2 Duke in profile

#3 Duke smiling

#4-5 Duke at piano

#6 Duke in silhouette, grainy - European tour, 1971

#7 Eartha Kitt

#8 Duke with one unidentified male and two unidentified females

#9 Duke and Billy - two copies

#10 Oversize negative of smiling Duke

#11 Memorandum identifying a "complete" set of photos from Music Is My Mistress

Box 14

1 Album, black, Duke on cover: "Duke A Goutelas" - Souvenir album, with photographs, notices, reviews, 2/25/66

Box 15

1 Duke (at piano) and Ernie Shephard (on bass), 1963

2 #1 Photo-montage, B&W - Duke at piano and at microphone

#2 Eleven large black and white photos of Duke

3 Four color photographs of Duke and Orchestra, mounted on one page

4 #1 Duke and two male friends, Sutherland Hotel, Chicago

#2 Duke

#3 Duke at piano - Madison, Wisconsin, July 1972

#4 Duke at piano, "BB&B" lettered over photo

#5 Duke - Detroit, May 21, 1970

5 Tissue paper

6 #1 Flugelhorn player and Paul Gonsalves

Box 15

6 #2 Duke, bassist, Rufus Jones

#3 Duke amid microphone booms


7 #1 Duke with unidentified women (men in background), Ceylon, c.1963

Box 11

8 #1 Billy Strayhorn, undated 

#2 Billy Strayhorn and unidentified woman, undated

#3 Billy Strayhorn and unidentified man, undated

9 #1 Duke smoking a cigaretter

#2 Duke with unidentified male, c. May 1957

#3 Young Duke

10 Birthday Greetings Poster (reference photos)

11 #2 Duke posing, c. 1974

#3 Duke posing

#4 Duke posing

Box 16

Printing plate

Box 17

Photograph of Duke Ellington

 


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Revised: January 5, 2000