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This music box disc was made by Mermod Freres, in St. Croix, Switzerland, around 1896-1898. It is Stella Disc #142 - Il trovatore - "Cord di Zingari," by Giuseppe Verdi. This disc is playable in Mermod Freres music box models, #63, #84, #126, #168, and #268, which can accommodate 17-1/4” diameter discs.

According to the accession correspondence, the music box and accompanying discs were purchased by the donor in Worcester, Massachusetts, July 25. 1901

This sheet music is for the song, “I’m Tellin’ the Birds – Tellin’the Bees (How I Love You),” by Cliff Friend and Lew Brown. It was published by Irving Berlin, Inc. in New York, New York in 1926. There is an inset image of pianist Franz Rath on the cover.

The cover art for this sheet music was made by American artist and illustrator Sydney Lefkowitz (Leff) (1901-2005). Leff began his career as a commercial artist while he was still in high school. He would produce sheet music covers through the 1940s and subsequently moved on to generating advertising for Madison Avenue clients.

This sheet music is for the composition, “Remember Me,” by Minna Brinkmann. It was published by Belwin, Inc. in New York, New York in 1929. This sheet music is No. 61 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.

This harmonica was made by an undetermined maker in Japan, undetermined date. It is a Swing Band model, with 12 double holes and 24 reeds. This harmonica has a red stained wooden comb with metal cover plates attached to top and bottom with screws and nuts. Accessioned with original cardboard box. The harmonica is engraved:

SWING BAND
MADE IN JAPAN

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.

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

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.

This music strip was made by an undetermined maker in France, around 1888-1892. It is a Melotrope perforated paper music strip for a mechanical piano player that is placed on top of a keyboard that depresses the keys. It is strip [no number] - Gamme, with a range of 37 notes. This strip is accessioned with Melotrope piano player (Cat. MI.30409.01).

This instrument features U. S. Patent #371422, dated October 11, 1887, by Jules Carpentier for a mechanical keyboard player.

This glockenspiel, also known as school bells, was made in the United States, around 1900 to 1910. It is made of 30 metal bells, two and a half octaves, with a wood frame.

his set of school bells was used by William T. Armstrong (1879-1965), orchestra leader and musician in vaudeville and silent film theaters. Armstrong grew up in South River, New Jersey and began playing drums at the age of 14. He continued his musical career through the mid-1910s, after which, Armstrong began work in banking and finance. This artifact is part of a collection of drums, sound effect instruments, and other percussion instruments used by Armstrong.

This button is from the New Year’s Jazz at Indian Wells event in Palm Springs, California. It is a round button with a green background with black printing, covered with a clear film, on a two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:

NEW YEAR'S JAZZ
[image of trumpet and bass players]
AT INDIAN WELLS
3 DAY PASS
Traditional
Jazz Party

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

This clock was made by Self Winding Clock Co., Inc. in New York, New York, late 1940s. It is a wall clock made of brown metal frame with white dial, black and red markings, black hour and minute hands, and red second hand. It has a clear plastic front. There is a dial at the bottom of the clock. Used by WANN (1190) radio station.

WANN (1190 AM) was a radio station based out of Annapolis, Maryland that primarily served the area's growing African American community. Morris Blum founded it in 1946, and it broadcast to the entire mid-Atlantic region. The station was home to disc jockey Charles "Hoppy" Adams starting in the early 1950s. Adams hosted weekly events at a local African American only beach, Carr's Beach, which were popular with the area's youth population.

WANN continued to program gospel, rhythm and blues, and public affairs features until 1992 when the station changed to a mainstream country format with the catchphrase “Bay Country 1190.” Around 1998, the station changed ownership and became WBIS, broadcasting a News Talk Information format.

This award was presented to Ramon "Mongo" Santamaría by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), in 1980. It is comprised of a gold toned record, miniature album cover, and engraved metal plate in a gold frame with plexiglass. The metal plate is engraved:

PRESENTED TO
MONGO SANTAMARIA
TO COMMEMORATE THE SALES OF MORE THAN
500,000 COPIES OF THE
COLUMBIA / TAPPAN ZEE RECORDS
LONG PLAYING RECORD ALBUM
”TOUCHDOWN”
CERTIFIED RIAA SALES AWARD

This RIAA gold record was presented to Mongo Santamaría for his work on the album by Bob James, Touchdown, released in 1978.

Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (1917–2003) was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga and boogaloo dance crazes of the 1960s. From the 1970s, he recorded mainly salsa and Latin jazz, before retiring in the late 1990s. Santamaria made several recordings as a leader of his own group, as well as a sideman with Fania All-Stars, Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, and Ray Charles.

This original artwork was used for the book Bugs Bunny by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc., with illustrations adapted by Tom McKimson and Al Dempster. Published by Simon and Schuster in New York, New York, in 1949, pg. 26-27.

Many of the stories published in the early years of Little Golden Books included classics such as Mother Goose, fables and fairy tales. After the war, a new era of prosperity emerged in America. This optimism coupled with the baby boom encouraged Americans to create an idealized world, where family and home were fundamental attributes and life was full of opportunities. The introduction of TV into the home had great impact on American society and culture, and its impact on Little Golden Books was no exception.

In the 19th century, consumer products such as toys, books and games were already used as a tie into historical events, sports and famous people, and this phenomenon was expanded with the introduction of radio, movies and television. These new means of communication generated a whole new cast of characters and the impact on Golden Books was significant. A license with Walt Disney granted Little Golden Books the right to publish stories about some of Disney’s earliest creations, including favorites such as Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo and Sleeping Beauty. Moreover, the books began to feature television personalities like Howdy Doody, Roy Rogers and Captain Kangaroo, as well as popular Saturday morning cartoon characters like Woody Woodpecker, Bugs Bunny and Huckleberry Hound. These new agreements with Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barbera significantly reduced the development of original stories as the books featured stories taken from children’s television shows. This opened the flood gates to create consumer products associated with popular movie and cartoon personalities. This practice continues today and proves to be a very lucrative endeavor.

Born in 1911 in Atlantic City New Jersey, Al Dempster moved to California and studied at the Art Center school in LA. He joined the staff of Disney in 1939 as a layout trainee and shortly after was promoted to the Background department. His early works included Fantasia and Dumbo. He left Disney in 1945 but returned to Disney studio by 1952 where he worked on such renowned movies as Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, Santa's Toy Shoppe, Jungle Book and the Rescuers and Winnie the Pooh. He worked on more than a dozen Disney golden books. He died in 2001 and posthumously received the coveted Disney Legends Award in 2006 for his outstanding achievements and contribution to the Disney legacy.

Tom Mckimson (1907-1998) was best known for his work as an animator at Warner Bros. Studio. He joined Disney in 1928 but left in 1932 and moved over to work with Warner Bros., where he was credited with the original design for Tweety Bird. While working with Warner Bros. he also illustrated comic books for Dell Comics, including Bugs Bunny and Road Runner. He left Warner Bros. in 1947 and became the Art Director for Western Publishing, the original publishing company for Golden Books.