Dr. Theodore Shell Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera
name: label: Creator
content: Shell, Theodore, Dr. (dentist)
label: Names
content: Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974
topic: label: Topic
content: Jazz musicians -- 1940-1980 -- United States
label: Topic
content: Jazz
label: Topic
content: Music -- 20th century
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Dr. Theodore Shell donated his collection of Duke Ellington ephemera to the National Museum of American History on November 17, 1993.
creator: label: Creator
content: Shell, Theodore, Dr. (dentist)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Dr. Theodore Shell Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera
abstract: label: Summary
content: Periodical articles, news clippings, concert programs, radio transcripts, personal correspondence, broadsides, photographs, and pencil sketches collected by Dr. Shell. The material documents part of Duke Ellington's music career, especially ca. 1940-1974.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Dr. Theodore Shell (1915- ), dentist, "amateur" photographer and Ellington enthusiast, was born in Rahweh, New Jersey. He graduated from Shaw University in 1937 with a degree in science and chemistry, and he served five years in the U.S. Army's chemical warfare service during World War II in the European Theatre. In 1950 he received his dentistry degree from Howard University and began a practice in Washington D.C. Dr. Shell also held the position of Clinical Professor of Dentistry for 43 years at Howard. He retired in 1993.

Dr. Shell first became interested in Ellington's music in 1952. He and Maurice Lawrence, a fellow member of the Omega Psi Phi National Fraternity, founded a Duke Ellington Club in 1956, and it eventually became Chapter 90 of the Ellington Society by 1962. Other founding members of this chapter include Grant Wright, Terrell Allen, and Juanita Jackson. Over the course of his activities with the Ellington Society, Dr. Shell had the privilege of meeting with Duke Ellington on numerous occasions, the first time being in 1964, and in 1971 he hosted Ellington's 72nd birthday party in his own home. Currently, Dr. Shell is serving as president of the organization.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.75 Cubic feet (5 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1933-1990
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: According to Dr. Shell, many of the materials found in this collection were originally found in the garage of a house purchased by a friend of his, circa 1980-1981. It was suggested to Dr. Shell by Melvin Smith, another friend, that the materials were originally compiled by the Ellington's bus driver. In addition eighty-three copy photographs, taken by Smithsonian Institution's Photographic Services, were made from two photographic montages created by Dr. Shell of his original photographs taken of performances of the Ellington Orchestra in the Baltimore and Washington area during the late 1960s and early 1970s. These copy prints were added to the collection on May 15, 1996.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0502
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Broadsides
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Radio scripts
label: Type
content: Articles
label: Type
content: Programs
label: Type
content: Clippings
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Jeremy Nordmoe, Scott Schwartz, and Evelyn Kramer, July 23, 1996 (revised March 16, 1998).
label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Jeremy Nordmoe, Scott Schwartz, and Evelyn Kramer, July 23 1996.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Broadsides -- 1940-1980
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 1940-2000
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches -- 1940-2000
label: Genre/Form
content: Radio scripts -- 1940-1980
label: Genre/Form
content: Articles -- 1940-1980
label: Genre/Form
content: Programs -- 1940-1990
label: Genre/Form
content: Clippings -- 20th century
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Dr. Theodore Shell Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera contains autographs, concert programs, publicity booklets, conference materials, correspondence, periodicals, news clippings, photographs, play lists, transcripts of radio broadcasts and a variety of other ephemeral materials that document the life, career, and legacy of Duke Ellington, as well as the early history of Jazz. The collection is arranged alphabetically. Oversized materials are located at the end of the collection but are listed alphabetically within the container list.

Items of particular interest include: a collection of programs, napkins, and menus autographed by Duke Ellington and other members of his orchestra including Johnny Hodges; concert programs spanning forty years of Ellington's career (1933-1973); a pencil-sketched portrait of Duke Ellington; and photographs of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, "Peg leg" Bates, Cat Anderson, Harry Carney, Paul Gonsalves, Harold Ashby, Russell Procope and many other Ellington band members taken or collected by Dr. Shell. There are radio broadcast transcripts that contain the scripts, play lists, and promotional spots from various Ellington radio performances between 1943 and 1946. Biographical notes document the life of one of Ellington's public relations agents, Jerome O. Rhea, and there are also some photographs that might possibly be of Rhea's family. Also of interest are a transcript of a meeting related to the organization of a Negro Baseball League and several hand-illustrated poems by African American poets, both of which are found in the Miscellaneous folder.