Photograph of a cocktail party held by Irving Mills
date: label: Date
content: 1936
name: label: Photograph by
content: Al Brackman, American, 1912 - 1992
label: Subject of
content: Chick Webb, American, 1905 - 1939
label: Subject of
content: Helen Oakley, Canadian, 1913 - 2001
label: Subject of
content: Ad De Haas
label: Subject of
content: Duke Ellington, American, 1899 - 1974
label: Subject of
content: Irving Mills, American, 1894 - 1985
label: Subject of
content: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Man or Men
label: Subject of
content: Master Records, Inc.
label: Subject of
content: American Record Corporation, American, 1929 - 1934
notes: label: Description
content: A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of a cocktail party that launched Master Records, Inc., held by Irving Mills. The image shows mostly men, with one (1) woman, Helen Oakley, depicted in a floral dress, standing left of center. Duke Ellington and Irving Mills stand in the center of the image. Mills is wearing a dark pinstriped suit, a white shirt, and medium toned tie. Ellington is wearing a dark pinstriped suit, a light toned, striped collared shirt, and medium toned, patterned tie. Standing to right of Mills is Cab Calloway. He is depicted smiling and looking down toward the bottom left corner of the image. He is wearing a matching three-piece suit, woven in a black-and-white chevron pattern. On the wall above the attendees heads, are the initials for the American Record Company, [ARC], in stylized text within a circle. There is an inscription on the back of the photograph, written in pencil, that reads, [Irving Mills' Cocktail Party / which launched the now / Master Records Studios / L to R: Chick Webb (lower left); / Helen Oakley, Ad De Haas (closed / eyes); FRONT: Duke Ellington, / Irving Mills, Mr. .??, and / Cab Calloway]. A second inscription on the back in pencil identifies the photographer, [PHOTO: AL BRACKMAN]. There are also additional blue and red pencil notations written on the back of the photograph.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Business
label: Topic
content: Composers (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Dance
label: Topic
content: Entertainers
label: Topic
content: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Jazz (Music)
label: Topic
content: Nightlife
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Singers (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Social life and customs
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: The Laura Cathrell Show-Down Magazine Collection
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2013.46.25.63
objectType: label: Type
content: gelatin silver prints
label: Type
content: portraits
label: Type
content: portraits
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Unknown - Restrictions Possible
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Image): 3 1/16 × 4 1/2 in. (7.7 × 11.5 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Sheet): 3 3/8 × 4 13/16 in. (8.6 × 12.3 cm)