Popular Entertainment

This Museum's popular entertainment collections hold some of the Smithsonian's most beloved artifacts. The ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz reside here, along with the Muppet character Kermit the Frog, and props from popular television series such as M*A*S*H and All in the Family. But as in many of the Museum's collections, the best-known objects are a small part of the story.

The collection also encompasses many other artifacts of 19th- and 20th-century commercial theater, film, radio, and TV—some 50,000 sound recordings dating back to 1903; posters, publicity stills, and programs from films and performances; puppets; numerous items from World's Fairs from 1851 to 1992; and audiovisual materials on Groucho Marx, to name only a few.

In "The Wizard of Oz", Dorothy's journey from Kansas to Oz is symbolized by a shift from black and white to Technicolor.
Description
In "The Wizard of Oz", Dorothy's journey from Kansas to Oz is symbolized by a shift from black and white to Technicolor. This camera was one of several used to film the Oz scenes.
Invented in 1932, the Technicolor camera recorded on three separate negatives--red, blue and green--which were then combined to develop a full-color positive print. The box encasing the camera, a "blimp," muffled the machine's sound during filming.
The Early Color Cinema Equipment Collection [COLL.PHOTOS.000039] includes equipment, media and ephemera related to color motion pictures from the birth of the cinema to the mid twentieth century. This collection is comprised of 5 motion picture cameras, 3 movie projectors, more than 34 pieces of editing and other apparatus, more than 60 pieces of early color film and two notebooks illustrating the Technicolor process.
Reproducing natural color on film had been an industry goal since the earliest days of motion picture production, but it took several decades to perfect a technology for making movies in color. Motion picture directors often toned or hand-tinted monochromatic film in the industry’s early days to add life and emotion to their productions. Though movie producers continued to use toning and tinting, these costly and inefficient processes could never produce the full range of color that movie cameras failed to record. Therefore, innovators increasingly focused on the use of color filters during capture and projection to reproduce color detail.
Danish-American inventor August Plahn built and patented a camera and projector that split motion picture images through three color lenses using 70mm film. When the film, with three images printed across its width, was projected through the same colored filters, movies’ natural color was restored. The collection includes forty five short lengths of processed film and documents related to Plahn’s work as well as one camera, three projector heads and over seventy-five pieces of apparatus used by the engineer.
While Plahn had little success marketing his inventions, the Boston-based Technicolor Corporation effectively marketed their similar technology to become the industry standard. The color cinema collection includes four Technicolor cameras as well as over twenty-five pieces of equipment related to the Technicolor process and a book of photographs illustrating Technicolor film processing in a train car.
The Society of Motion Picture Engineers, the industry’s leading trade group, donated examples of a number of other early color film technologies, including Prizma, Kelley-line screen, Krayn Screen, Naturalcolor, Multicolor and Morgana color processes.
This finding aid is one in a series documenting the PHC’s Early Cinema Collection [COLL.PHOTOS.000018]. The cinema-related objects cover the range of technological innovation and popular appeal that defined the motion picture industry during a period in which it became the premier form of mass communication in American life, roughly 1885-1930. See also finding aids for Early Sound Cinema [COLL.PHOTOS.000040], Early Cinema Equipment [COLL.PHOTOS.000037], Early Cinema Film and Ephemera [COLL.PHOTOS.000038] and the Gatewood Dunston Collection [COLL.PHOTOS.000021].
Location
Currently not on view (running boards)
date made
1937
maker
Technicolor Corporation
ID Number
PG.008166
catalog number
8166
maker number
Patent No: 2,000,058
accession number
260112
Benny Goodman's Quintet. side 1: Pick-a-Rib [part 1]; side 2: Pick-a-Rib [part 2] (Blue Ace 224).78 rpm. These tracks were originally recorded in 1938 and released on Victor 26166.Blue Ace was a bootleg record label, founded around the late 1940s.
Description (Brief)

Benny Goodman's Quintet. side 1: Pick-a-Rib [part 1]; side 2: Pick-a-Rib [part 2] (Blue Ace 224).
78 rpm. These tracks were originally recorded in 1938 and released on Victor 26166.

Blue Ace was a bootleg record label, founded around the late 1940s. The label was dedicated to the unauthorized reissue of jazz recordings from the 1935-1942 period. Brooklyn record store owner Sam Meltzer is allegedly to have produced the recordings, who was also associated with the bootleg Hot Jazz Club of America [HJCA] recordings, which focused on jazz recordings of the 1920s.

Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1938
recording artist
Benny Goodman's Quintet
manufacturer
Blue Ace
ID Number
1988.0698.1109
catalog number
1988.0698.1109
accession number
1988.0698
collector/donor number
G80
maker number
224
This sheet music is for the song “I ‘Wanna’ Sing About You,” by Cliff Friend and Dave Dreyer. It was published by Irving Berlin, Inc. in New York, New York in 1931. The cover features an image of Husk O’Hare and his band, a popular East Coast territory band.
Description
This sheet music is for the song “I ‘Wanna’ Sing About You,” by Cliff Friend and Dave Dreyer. It was published by Irving Berlin, Inc. in New York, New York in 1931. The cover features an image of Husk O’Hare and his band, a popular East Coast territory band. Husk O’Hare (1896-1970) was an American jazz bandleader active during the 1920s and 1930s.
Location
Currently not on view
publishing date
1931
publisher
Irving Berlin, Inc.
ID Number
1983.0694.07
accession number
1983.0694
catalog number
1983.0694.07
Frank and James McCravy. side 1: The Dollar and the Devil; side 2: The Great Judgment Morning (Columbia 15544-D).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Frank and James McCravy. side 1: The Dollar and the Devil; side 2: The Great Judgment Morning (Columbia 15544-D).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1930
recording artist
McCravy, James
McCravy, Frank
manufacturer
Columbia
ID Number
1996.0320.20844
catalog number
1996.0320.20844
accession number
1996.0320
label number
15544-D
Herb Cook. side 1: I Wonder Why; side 2: Just a Little Happiness (Columbia 15778-D).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Herb Cook. side 1: I Wonder Why; side 2: Just a Little Happiness (Columbia 15778-D).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1931
recording artist
Cook, Herb
manufacturer
Columbia
ID Number
1996.0320.13828
collector/donor number
10137
maker number
15778-D
accession number
1996.0320
catalog number
1996.0320.13828
Bush Brothers. side 1: I'll Make It My Home; side 2: A Look Inside the Glory Gate (Columbia 15649-D).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Bush Brothers. side 1: I'll Make It My Home; side 2: A Look Inside the Glory Gate (Columbia 15649-D).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1930
recording artist
Bush Brothers
manufacturer
Columbia
ID Number
1996.0320.12592
collector/donor number
3108
maker number
15649-D
accession number
1996.0320
catalog number
1996.0320.12592
Charles Brooks. side 1: Baby; side 2: My Mammy's Cabin (Columbia 15733-D).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Charles Brooks. side 1: Baby; side 2: My Mammy's Cabin (Columbia 15733-D).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1931
recording artist
Brooks, Charles
manufacturer
Columbia
ID Number
1996.0320.12273
collector/donor number
8788
maker number
15733-D
accession number
1996.0320
catalog number
1996.0320.12273
This sheet music is for the song “Hong Kong Blues,” with words and music by Hoagy Carmichael. It was published by Larry Spier, Inc. in New York, New York in 1939. There is an inset image of Hoagy Carmichael on the cover.”Hong Kong Blues” was featured in the 1944 Warner Bros.
Description

This sheet music is for the song “Hong Kong Blues,” with words and music by Hoagy Carmichael. It was published by Larry Spier, Inc. in New York, New York in 1939. There is an inset image of Hoagy Carmichael on the cover.

”Hong Kong Blues” was featured in the 1944 Warner Bros. romance-war-adventure film, To Have and Have Not, directed by Howard Hawks and starred Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan, Lauren Bacall, Dolores Moran, and Hoagy Carmichael.

Location
Currently not on view
publishing date
1939
referenced
Bogart, Humphrey
Bacall, Lauren
depicted (sitter)
Carmichael, Hoagy
publisher
Larry Spier, Inc.
ID Number
1987.0423.03
accession number
1987.0423
catalog number
1987.0423.03
This player harmonica was made by the PlaRola Corporation in Easton, Maryland, around 1931. It is a player harmonica with a painted metal body with picture of organ pipes and keyboard, 16 single holes and 32 reeds, metal sprocket, metal handle, and a metal mouth piece.
Description (Brief)

This player harmonica was made by the PlaRola Corporation in Easton, Maryland, around 1931. It is a player harmonica with a painted metal body with picture of organ pipes and keyboard, 16 single holes and 32 reeds, metal sprocket, metal handle, and a metal mouth piece. The instruments is marked:

PlaRola
ORGAN
If you can breathe, you can Pla Rola

This instrument features U. S. Patent #1813337, dated July 7, 1931 by Martin D. Zimmerman and Henry Pullen.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1931
maker
Plarola Corp.
ID Number
1988.0783.562
accession number
1988.0783
catalog number
1988.0783.562
Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra. side 1: Drop Me Off at Harlem; side 2: Merry-Go-Round (Columbia 35837), from the album, Hot Jazz Classics - Duke Ellington (Columbia C-38).78 rpm. Side 1 was originally recorded in 1933 and released on Brunswick 6527.
Description
Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra. side 1: Drop Me Off at Harlem; side 2: Merry-Go-Round (Columbia 35837), from the album, Hot Jazz Classics - Duke Ellington (Columbia C-38).
78 rpm. Side 1 was originally recorded in 1933 and released on Brunswick 6527. Side 2 was dubbed from the original 1933 recording. The album was released in 1940.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1933
release date
1940
recording artist
Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra
manufacturer
Columbia
ID Number
1978.0670.490
maker number
35837
C-38
accession number
1978.0670
catalog number
1978.0670.490
Bunny Berigan and his Blue Boys. side 1: You Took Advantage of Me; side 2: Chicken and Waffles (Decca 18117), from the album, Gemsof Jazz, Vol. 2 (Decca A-201).78 rpm. Both tracks were recorded in 1935. This album was released in 1941.Currently not on view
Description
Bunny Berigan and his Blue Boys. side 1: You Took Advantage of Me; side 2: Chicken and Waffles (Decca 18117), from the album, Gemsof Jazz, Vol. 2 (Decca A-201).
78 rpm. Both tracks were recorded in 1935. This album was released in 1941.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1935
release date
1941
recording artist
Bunny Berigan and his Blue Boys
manufacturer
Decca
ID Number
1978.0670.548
accession number
1978.0670
maker number
18117
A-201
catalog number
1978.0670.548
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1937
composer
Romberg, Sigmund
maker
Chappell and Co.
ID Number
2017.3021.327
nonaccession number
2017.3021
catalog number
2017.3021.327
This sheet music is for the composition, “Ciribiribin,” by Alberto Pestalozza. It was published by Belwin, Inc. in New York, New York in 1931. This sheet music is No. 495 from the Belwin series Edition Beautiful, published from 1920s-1930s.
Description

This sheet music is for the composition, “Ciribiribin,” by Alberto Pestalozza. It was published by Belwin, Inc. in New York, New York in 1931. This sheet music is No. 495 from the Belwin series Edition Beautiful, published from 1920s-1930s.

Belwin was formed in 1918 by music publishing employee Max Winkler (1888-1965), film-maker Max Winkler (1875-1961), and publisher of original composition and arrangements for silent cinema S.M. Berg. The name Belwin was created by combining the surnames of Berg and Winkler.

Location
Currently not on view
publishing date
1931
publisher
Belwin Inc.
ID Number
1984.0568.43
accession number
1984.0568
catalog number
1984.0568.43
This is the 1st Anniversary issue of Ballyhoo Magazine, published in August 1932.
Description
This is the 1st Anniversary issue of Ballyhoo Magazine, published in August 1932. The colorful cover which features a drawing of a well-dressed man next to an elaborate cake that reads, “America’s Oldest Humor Magazine, Established in 1931” is almost as satirical as the content inside.
date made
1932-08
ID Number
2015.3079.04
catalog number
2015.3079.04
nonaccession number
2015.3079
Original artwork, of page 24, for the book, Gaston and Josephine, written by Georges Duplaix with illustrations by Feodor Rojankovsky, and published by Simon & Schuster in New York, New York, in 1949.At an early age, Latvian-born Feodor Rojankovsky (1891-1970) discovered his pass
Description (Brief)

Original artwork, of page 24, for the book, Gaston and Josephine, written by Georges Duplaix with illustrations by Feodor Rojankovsky, and published by Simon & Schuster in New York, New York, in 1949.

At an early age, Latvian-born Feodor Rojankovsky (1891-1970) discovered his passion for drawing and was captivated with animals an d the natural world. He entered the Moscow Academy of Fine Arts but was drafted into the Russian Army during World War I, where he worked as a sketch artist documenting the war. In 1927, he moved to Paris to continue his study of art and became interested in fashion, theatrical set design and illustrating children’s books.

Rojankovsky’s keen sense of observation and his vivid imagination, coupled with his love for nature, was a major source of inspiration for his artwork. Flat, richly detailed, colorful illustrations evoked the fanciful drawings of the folklore tradition of European fairy tales. When the Nazi influence spread through Europe, Rojankovsky fled to the United States. His talents were quickly recognized and, like many of the other Golden Book illustrators, he was hired to work for the Artists and Writers Guild in New York. He created illustrations for numerous Little Golden Books, including The Three Bears and Farm Favorites.

Most of Feodor Rojankovsky’s characters were animals who took on human traits and characteristics. Gaston and Josephine are two French pigs who decide to run away from their home in the French countryside. The story follows their escapades as they make their way to the docks to board an ocean liner and embark on their journey to the United States.

Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1933
maker
Rojankvosky, Feodor
ID Number
1992.0634.071.18
accession number
1992.0634
catalog number
1992.0634.071.18
This revolving stand was made to display Hohner harmonicas. It has stained wood obelisk-shaped top, matching finish base, and metal handle. The stand has metal clips to support 36 harmonicas of varying sizes and prices.
Description (Brief)
This revolving stand was made to display Hohner harmonicas. It has stained wood obelisk-shaped top, matching finish base, and metal handle. The stand has metal clips to support 36 harmonicas of varying sizes and prices. This appears in a 1932 catalog for Belknap Hardware & Manufacturing Company in Louisville, Kentucky. As indicated in this catalog, the base contains a wind-up mechanism that can revolve for 3-1/2 hours.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1935
maker
Hohner
ID Number
1988.0783.640
accession number
1988.0783
catalog number
1988.0783.640
The Southernaires. side 1: Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray; side 2: Steal Away to Jesus (Decca 2856), from the album, The Southernaires in a Recital of Spirituals (Decca 83).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
The Southernaires. side 1: Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray; side 2: Steal Away to Jesus (Decca 2856), from the album, The Southernaires in a Recital of Spirituals (Decca 83).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1939
recording artist
Southernaires
manufacturer
Decca
ID Number
1996.0320.05286
maker number
2856
83
accession number
1996.0320
catalog number
1996.0320.05286
side 1: Benny Goodman and his Orchestra. side 1: St. Louis Blues; side 2: Nick La Rocca and the Original Dixieland Band. Clarinet Marmalade (Victor 25411).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
side 1: Benny Goodman and his Orchestra. side 1: St. Louis Blues; side 2: Nick La Rocca and the Original Dixieland Band. Clarinet Marmalade (Victor 25411).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1936
recording artist
Benny Goodman and his Orchestra
La Rocca, Nick
Original Dixieland Band
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0698.1063
catalog number
1988.0698.1063
accession number
1988.0698
collector/donor number
G35
maker number
25411
side 1: Benny Goodman and his Orchestra. St. Louis Blues; side 2: Nick La Rocca and The Original Dixieland Band. Clarinet Marmalade (Victor 25411).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
side 1: Benny Goodman and his Orchestra. St. Louis Blues; side 2: Nick La Rocca and The Original Dixieland Band. Clarinet Marmalade (Victor 25411).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1936
recording artist
Benny Goodman and his Orchestra
La Rocca, Nick
Original Dixieland Band
composer
Handy, W. C.
Ragas, H. W.
Shields, Larry
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1993.0102.087
catalog number
1993.0102.087
accession number
1993.0102
maker number
25411
Frank Luther and Zora Layman.
Description
Frank Luther and Zora Layman. side 1: Christmas Day in the Morning [track 1] They Come with Blissful Sing [track 2] Baby's Night [track 3]; side 2: Gos Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen [track 1] Old Christmas [track 2] Cradle Song of the Virgin [track 3] (Decca 2863), from the album, Christmas in Song, Volume 1 (Decca 94).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1939
recording artist
Luther, Frank
Layman, Zora
manufacturer
Decca
ID Number
1996.0320.05175
maker number
2863
94
accession number
1996.0320
catalog number
1996.0320.05175
Benny Goodman Quartet. side 1: Stompin' at the Savoy; side 2: Vibraphone Blues (Victor 25521).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Benny Goodman Quartet. side 1: Stompin' at the Savoy; side 2: Vibraphone Blues (Victor 25521).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1936
recording artist
Benny Goodman Quartet
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0698.1095
catalog number
1988.0698.1095
accession number
1988.0698
collector/donor number
G67
maker number
25521
Jelly Roll Morton. side 1: Honky Tonk Blues I; side 2: Honky Tonk Blues II (Circle 87/88), from the album, Jelly Roll Morton, Volume 12: I'm the Winin' Boy (Circle Limited Edition #306).78 rpm.This recording is part of a limited edition 45 twelve-inch record set, The Saga of Mr.
Description

Jelly Roll Morton. side 1: Honky Tonk Blues I; side 2: Honky Tonk Blues II (Circle 87/88), from the album, Jelly Roll Morton, Volume 12: I'm the Winin' Boy (Circle Limited Edition #306).
78 rpm.

This recording is part of a limited edition 45 twelve-inch record set, The Saga of Mr. Jelly Lord. The set is comprised of interviews and musical performances of musician Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton (1890-1941) recorded by American ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax (1915-2002) at the Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, from May 23, 1938 to December 14, 1938. In the interviews, Morton recounts his experiences, both in New Orleans and on the road, as a popular musician of the early twentieth century.

The Saga of Mr. Jelly Lord limited edition record set was issued by Circle Sound Inc., incrementally with two albums every three months, beginning in late 1947. The recordings were pressed on red vinylite. Album design and typography for this set was by Jimmy Ernst (born Hans-Ulrich Ernst, 1920-1984), a German-born American painter.

Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1938
recording artist
Morton, Jelly Roll
manufacturer
Circle
ID Number
1988.0698.2607
catalog number
1988.0698.2607
accession number
1988.0698
maker number
JM-87
JM-88
serial number
306
This sheet music is for the song “The Way You Look Tonight,” with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. It was published by Chappell and Co., Inc.
Description

This sheet music is for the song “The Way You Look Tonight,” with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. It was published by Chappell and Co., Inc. in New York, New York in 1936.

"The Wat You Look Tonight" was featured in the 1936 RKO Radio Pictures musical comedy film Swing Time, directed by George Stevens and starred Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The cover features a still from the film of stars Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Location
Currently not on view
publishing date
1936
publisher
Chappell & Co. Inc.
ID Number
1985.0392.19
accession number
1985.0392
catalog number
1985.0392.19
White on black lithograph of American opera singer, Marian Anderson (1897-1993).
Description

White on black lithograph of American opera singer, Marian Anderson (1897-1993). The print is marked:

[in script along bottom]

MARIAN ANDERSON

[in script]

Charles Delaunay
34

This print is from a set of 15 lithographs of jazz musicians by Charles Delauney, entitled Hot Iconography, first printed in 1939.

Charles Delaunay (1911–1988) was a French author and jazz expert. Delaunay was the co-founder and long-term leader of the Hot Club de France, a French organization of jazz fans dedicated to the promotion of "traditional" jazz, swing, and blues. In 1931, the Jazz Club Universitaire was founded, and later became the Hot Club de France in 1932.

Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1939
depicted
Anderson, Marian
maker
Delaunay, Charles
ID Number
2001.0182.02
accession number
2001.0182
catalog number
2001.0182.02

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.