archives.nypl.org -- Eddie Condon papers (original) (raw)

The Eddie Condon papers document the multi-faceted career and life of the guitarist, bandleader, and impresario through photographs, letters, writings, professional files, and art. Dating from the late 1800s to 2010, the collection mainly documents Condon's life from 1935 to 1973. Papers dating from after Condon's death were compiled by Phyllis and Maggie Condon.

Series I: Photographs comprises the heart of the collection. Many are the work of the noted jazz photographer Charles Peterson. This rich collection of imagery depicts Condon and the musical colleagues with whom he performed regularly, such as Pee Wee Russell, Bud Freeman, Wild Bill Davison, and George Wettling. In addition, there are photos of such musicians as Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, and many others, mostly in performance. Many of these photographs show Condon's nightclubs, as well as Nick's Tavern and, later, Condon and his bands at Town Hall or on tour. The photographs also reveal Condon's home and family life with his wife and children, and informal images with friends such as Johnny Mercer and Bing Crosby.

Series II: Letters contains items mostly to or from Condon, and includes missives from John Steinbeck, Bing Crosby, and Gene Krupa. Condon's letters discuss musicians, touring life, and his family. Also present are letters from friends or fans to Phyllis and Maggie Condon, most dating from after Eddie Condon's death. One letter to Maggie Condon includes a transcribed 1945 letter from Louis Armstrong to a fan.

Series III: Writings consists of Condon's column "Pro and Condon," and essays published in newspapers, magazines, or his books; some manuscripts may be unpublished. Condon wrote about popular music, the nightclub scene in New York City, and events in his career. Writings by Phyllis Condon, the producer George Avakian, and Richard Gehman are present as well.

Series IV: Professional Files illustrates the many aspects of Condon's career through programs, phonebooks, publicity literature, itineraries, clippings, awards, and memorabilia from Condon's clubs. They also include a file of scripts and proposals regarding television programs on which he appeared.

Series V: Funeral Files includes photos and clippings from Condon's memorial service, as well as letters of condolence to his family.

Series VI: Art contains sketches of Condon by cartoonists such as Ham Fisher, James Montgomery Flagg, and Paul Smith, as well as drawings by Condon's friend, the lyricist John De Vries.

The Eddie Condon papers are arranged in six series:

• The photographs offer a rich and detailed view of Condon's work and the musicians and friends he performed with regularly for decades. To a lesser extent, they also show his family life.
  Musicians recurring throughout the photographs include Pee Wee Russell, Bud Freeman, Wild Bill Davison, George Wettling, Joe Bushkin, Joe Marsala, Bobby Hackett, Brad Gowans, Miff Mole, Max Kaminsky, and Cutty Cutshall. Other musicians who appear with lesser frequency include Louis Armstrong, James P. Johnson, Hot Lips Page, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Sidney Bechet, Henry "Red" Allen, Lee Wiley, Edmond Hall, and Jack Teagarden.
  The photographs are in two divisions: those taken by Charles Peterson, and those taken by other photographers.
  Charles Peterson's son, Don, gave this collection of his father's prints to Condon's daughter, Maggie, in 2010. Most feature Condon in performance or informal settings. They document a 1939 jam session at the studio of Burris Jenkins, a cartoonist for Hearst Newspapers; Nick's Tavern and Condon's first club, both in Greenwich Village; and recording sessions for Commodore Records, as well as the Commodore Record Shop. Also present are photos from jam sessions held at the Park Lane Hotel.
  Some of Peterson's most famous images were shot at the Jenkins jam session; these feature Condon, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway, Ivie Anderson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Rex Stewart, Johnny Hodges, Cozy Cole, and other musicians. A list of the Peterson photographs, with notes by Don Peterson, is in box 2, folder 1.
  The other photographs in this series are mostly uncredited, but include work by William Gottlieb, Lisette Model, Martha Holmes, and Tony Rollo. They are in five divisions: Musicians and Friends; Eddie Condon's (club); the television program Eddie Condon's Floor Show; Portraits of Condon; and Family.
  Photographs of Musicians and Friends include pianist James P. Johnson performing with Condon; Condon with the lyricist Johnny Mercer; images of Condon and friends performing at Nick's Tavern; and a 1956 Columbia Records recording session with producer George Avakian. Also present in this set (in folders dated 1912 to the late 1960s) are images of Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, John Steinbeck, violinist Joseph Szigeti, artist Misha Reznikoff, and conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos. See notes in the container list for more detailed descriptions of these photographs.
  The photographs of Condon's clubs are arranged in sections for each of its two locations during Condon's life: 47 West Third Street and 330 West 56th Street, in addition to one set of prints for which the location is undetermined. These were mainly produced by an uncredited club photographer and feature both musicians and patrons. Those taken at the Third Street location feature Sidney Bechet and Art Hodes, among other musicians, and document the actor Kirk Douglas's visit to the club during the production of the film Young Man With A Horn (1950).
  The photographs from the set of Eddie Condon's Floor Show include Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet.
  Portraits of Condon date from his teens to late in his life. They include both formal publicity shots and informal performance images.
  The family photographs are in two sections: one of Condon with his immediate family (wife Phyllis and daughters Maggie and Eliza), and his extended family, some of which dates to the late 19th century. Some photographs of Phyllis Condon date from after her husband's death, and include informal shots of her visit to the jazz party held on the lawn of the White House in 1978.
• 1937-1983, 2008
  These letters are primarily to or from Condon, but also include letters to Phyllis Condon, and a few letters between other parties. There is no ongoing correspondence present.
  Condon's outgoing letters are primarily to his wife and children; they include handwritten notes left for his wife in his home. Condon's letters were often written while on tour and usually concern family matters, though there is also discussion of musicians and touring life. Also present are notes to Johnny Mercer and others, including Henry Steig (a writer, and the brother of William Steig) and Richard Nixon (following Condon's performance at the White House).
  The incoming letters to Condon include two from John Steinbeck, a fan and friend of Condon. Both letters are reproductions of the originals. One is written to the entire Condon family, and one to Condon alone. They discuss Steinbeck's thoughts on music and jazz musicians, and his reactions to Condon's book We Called It Music. Other letters to Condon are from Bing Crosby (the godfather of Condon's children), Gene Krupa, and pianist Squirrel Ashcraft.
  Letters to Phyllis Condon date up to 1983. They are from Bing Crosby and film director Jack O'Connell, among others.
  Letters between others include one dated 2008 to Maggie Condon from a fan named Robert H. Nutt, in which a transcribed 1945 letter from Louis Armstrong is enclosed. Also present are letters from producer Hank O'Neal to record companies regarding Eddie Condon recordings.
• 1942-1973, 1998
  Condon's writings, in the form of typed manuscripts and clippings, comprise the majority of this series. They include his "Pro and Condon" columns for The New York Journal American, which discussed the music and nightclub scene in New York City; and articles or essays written for publication in magazines, or in his books. Some may be unpublished. Topics include the state of jazz; recordings; John Steinbeck; musicians such as Red Norvo and Pee Wee Russell; a review of a book by Mezz Mezzrow; Elvis Presley; and Condon's experience performing with symphony orchestras. Some essays appeared in various newspapers and exist only as clippings. Several unfinished or fragmentary manuscripts are present as well.
  The series also holds writings by George Avakian, Phyllis Condon, and Richard Gehman, who edited Eddie Condon's Treasury of Jazz. Avakian's writing includes typed program notes and essays, including an account of the production of Chicago Jazz for Decca Records (1940), which featured Condon. The Phyllis Condon essays describe the life of their family, as well as the Condon club. Gehman's single essay is a memoir of Condon, written in the late 1960s.
• 1935-1975
  This series documents Condon's professional life through programs, publicity literature, itineraries, clippings, awards, and memorabilia from Condon's clubs. In addition, there are files regarding television programs on which Condon appeared; two of Condon's phone books, which provide a deep look at his personal and professional network; published sheet music for two songs, one co-written by Condon; and a partial script for an unproduced stage adaptation of Dorothy Baker's novel Young Man With A Horn.
  The files for Condon's clubs hold menus, cards describing upcoming events, matchbooks, and stationary. The programs date from the mid-1930s to the end of Condon's life, and document appearances at Town Hall in New York and on tour around the world. Publicity material dates mainly from 1946. The television programs file contains scripts or proposals for Eddie Condon's Floorshow, as well as for unproduced programs. The clippings contain articles about Condon, his club, or his family.
• 1958, 1973
  Contains photographs of the funeral (featuring Gene Krupa, Earl Hines, Marian McPartland, and Buck Clayton), the guest register, letters of condolence to the Condon family, Condon's will, and obituaries.
• 1903, 1944-1973
  The art consists mainly of informal sketches of Condon by artists or cartoonists, some of whom were friends of the Condons. These include Ham Fisher, James Montgomery Flagg, Paul Smith, and Otto Soglow. Also present are ink drawings by lyricist John De Vries, a reproduction of Al Hirschfeld's caricature of Condon, and reproductions of abstract paintings by drummer George Wettling.