ContentsContainer List "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup, but there's lots of work to do," circa 1944 September Parrot listening to a phonograph, circa 1910 "So they'll speak correctly," 1910 "My how that takes me back," undated "Send the boys some records," 1943 "And the music comes out here," circa 1942 "And now, in response to the requests of thousands of music lovers...," 1949 January 19 "A New Jersey man is giving afternoon musical programs," [between 1930 and 1939?] A farmer plays a phonograph to make chickens lay eggs, 1910 or 1911 "He wants to call the tune," between 1942 and 1950 Mickey Mouse. "Magic melody" and "An unwelcome gigolo," undated Toonerville folks. "The Terrible-Tempered Mr. Bang," 1940 Minister with a "choir" of phonographs behind him, undated "Government by request -- not by law," 1944 October 11 "Can't they shut that thing off?" 1943 "We've changed our tune," 1945 February 8 They'll do it every time. "He not only heard it in A minor...," 1947 January 31 Room and board. "And the judge is looking over the lost and found column on rewards," 1942 May 20 "You say you've been working on it with utter absorption for 40 years," undated "His master's voice!" 1913 January 25 "Lets not be too hasty about swapping our ivory for that...," undated Grin and bear it. "Psst -- Joe sent us -- said we could make a recording here!" 1948 Bringing up father, 1946 April 1 "Marines listen to recorded jive on way to assault Guam," 1944 "For pity's sake -- all the latest song hits," 1948 "Salome Petrillo" with the "heads" of Colombia and Victor Records, circa 1944 James C. Petrillo running on a turntable, circa 1946 "Here, Frankie -- see if Beethoven's '5th' fits any better," undated "The missing link supplied," 1908 "His master's voice," circa 1918 "Due to conditions beyond our control, we now present Harry Harris," undated "Well I followed your advice. I turned the lights down low and played romantic music!" undated "Shyness compels Mr. Winterbottom to deliver his speech from a home recording," 1948 January 26 A cobra transfixed by music from a record player, undated "Open this package, Jack," circa 1947 January 29 "Nothing like this in Nazi Germany," 1942 November 4 David and Goliath, 1948 January 3 "I can't figger it out at all -- no tubes or batteries!" undated "Don't bother Junior now. He's listening to his homework," undated "Swelling the chorus!" circa 1948 "The music goes round and round -- but it don't come out here!" between 1940 and 1950 A man looks through a pile of records as guests wait, undated Jelly Bean Jones. "Look, Pop -- I've just invented a new game," 1948 January 14 "The timid soul," 1946 September 2 "The thrill that comes once in a lifetime," 1944 October 25 Two fairies near a bell-shaped flower, undated Woman reading album notes, 1942 A woman listens to her husband singing "Pistol Packin' Mama" in the shower, undated "Maestro Petrillo versus the law," undated The Goodrich Rubber Man's vacation, circa 1900 "In full bloom," 1907 February 6 |
Jack Kapp CollectionAuthor: Karen Fishman, with contributions from Samuel Brylawski and Marsha Maguire2008
Biographical NoteBorn in Chicago in 1901, Jack Kapp began his phonograph industry career at the age of fourteen by working as a part-time shipping clerk for Columbia Records. Later he oversaw artists and repertoire for Brunswick, and in 1934, backed by the owner of British Decca, Ltd., he founded the American Decca Records Company. By substantially lowering the price of popular records on his Decca label and selecting artists and repertoire to maximize sales, Kapp made American Decca the second largest record company in the U.S. by 1938 and helped the industry pull out of a slump attributed to radio broadcasting and the Great Depression. Decca artists included immensely popular performers such as Bing Crosby, the Boswell Sisters, the Andrews Sisters, the Ink Spots, Ted Lewis, and the Guy Lombardo Orchestra. Decca innovations included the first mass marketed American "original cast recording" (for Oklahoma!) and the "album" record package containing notes and promotional information. During the 1940s, American recording companies, including Kapp's label, struggled against new challenges, such as the 1942-1944 recording ban of the American Federation of Musicians. The ban was rooted in the concern of professional musicians that they lost jobs due to sound films and did not benefit economically from the growth of the recording and broadcasting industries. In 1940, they elected as president of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) a trumpeter named James Caesar Petrillo. His aggressive actions to counter the loss of musicians' jobs due to the prevalence of the jukebox and the recorded motion picture soundtrack made Petrillo one of the most famous and highly paid union leaders in American history and led to depictions of him in the press as a Mussolini-like character often called "Little Caesar." In 1942, led by Petrillo, the AFM banned its members from performing for the record industry. Petrillo was undeterred by the efforts of such government agencies as the Office of War Information and the National War Labor Board to end the ban; he even refused President Franklin Roosevelt's request to order the musicians back to work. Jack Kapp's Decca Records, followed by most other American record and radio transcription companies, agreed to pay royalties to the AFM in 1943, but for Columbia and RCA Records, which refused to settle, the ban continued. In late 1944, those two companies also came to an agreement with the union and the ban ended completely; however, the 1946 passage of the Lea Act (often called the "Anti-Petrillo Act") and the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act severely weakened the terms of the agreement between the musicians union and the recording industry. A new recording ban was put into effect in early 1948, but toward the end of the year it was lifted. During the following decade, the industry grew both financially and technologically. Petrillo's retirement from the AFM in 1958 brought an end to the publicity the union had received during the 1940s. Jack Kapp died in 1949. His brother Dave succeeded him at Decca. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Content NoteAssembled by American Decca Records founder and president Jack Kapp, the collection consists of mostly original drawings by various magazine and newspaper cartoonists, such as Rube Goldberg, H. T. Webster, Gluyas Williams, L. M. Glackens, Burt Thomas, Fred Packer, Clifford Berryman, James Berryman, Jack Markow, and David Breger. The drawings, chiefly editorial cartoons, reflect the role of the phonograph in American life and offer historical commentary on the internal issues of the American phonograph industry, particularly the American Federation of Musicians recording ban of 1942-1944. The collection also features a framed album cover for the 1943 Decca Records cast recording of the musical, Oklahoma! The cast recording became a standard product category for record companies due to the immense success of this album. Some Jack Kapp correspondence is included in the collection; it is stored in the Recorded Sound Reference Center subject files. For more information or to view the correspondence, contact a reference librarian in the Recorded Sound Reference Center, Library of Congress. Return to the Table of Contents Selected Search TermsPeople
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Return to the Table of Contents Collection ArrangementThe collection is arranged in a single series. Return to the Table of Contents Container ListCartoon #1Sally's sallies. "I'll take the smaller record. We live in such a cute little apartment," 1945 November 3 1 drawing : pen and inkThe cartoon shows a woman purchasing records. Cartoon #2"Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup, but there's lots of work to do," circa 1944 September 1 drawing : pen and ink with green washDomestic employees, including a maid dancing by a record player, ignore their work. Cartoon #3Parrot listening to a phonograph, circa 1910 1 drawing : pen and inkThe words "Blankety ... D--n!" float out of the horn. Cartoon #4"So they'll speak correctly," 1910 1 drawing : pen and ink, pencil, white paintCaption continues: "More work by the Society for Improving the Condition of Animals in Captivity." A parrot listens to a phonograph labeled "S.I.C.A. Lessons in Grammar" while a bespectacled man looks on. Out of the horn comes the sentence, "A verb must agree with its subject in number and person." The original handwritten caption is crossed out: "The Society for the Improvement of Animals in Captivity, 'Phonographs for Parrots.'" Cartoon #5"My how that takes me back," undated 1 drawing : pen and inkTwo children listening to a record player. Cartoon #6"Send the boys some records," 1943 1 drawing : marker, pen and inkA soldier stands in front of a record player. Cartoon #7Uncle Sam and Franklin Delano Roosevelt discuss James C. Petrillo, who is eating a record, 1944 October 12 1 drawing : pen and inkIn this cartoon, Petrillo is depicted as Julius Caesar, who has apparently taken a bite out of a record. Uncle Sam asks, "Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed, that he is grown so great?" FDR replies, "Must be phonograph records." Cartoon #8"And the music comes out here," circa 1942 1 drawing : pen and ink, blue pencilA man representing the recording industry blows money from a tuba towards James C. Petrillo, who catches it in a sack labeled "American Federation of Musicians." Cartoon #9"And now, in response to the requests of thousands of music lovers...," 1949 January 19 1 drawing : pen and inkA WZZX disc jockey throws records out the window. Cartoon #10"A New Jersey man is giving afternoon musical programs," [between 1930 and 1939?] 1 drawing : pen and inkA chicken farmer plays a phonograph for his chickens. A partially obscured sign to his right states "... O-Day Special. ... Hero Girl's Dream. [Ca]rmen. Devil's Dream. [Blue] Danube Waltz." Other words are hidden by the farmer's leg. Cartoon #11A farmer plays a phonograph to make chickens lay eggs, 1910 or 1911 1 drawing : pen and ink, white paintA chicken farmer happily shows a full basket of eggs to a gentleman while a phonograph "clucks" in the hen house behind him. Cartoon #12"He wants to call the tune," between 1942 and 1950 1 drawing : pen and inkA man holds a giant record bearing a "Petrillo Records" label that is illustrated with a picture of James C. Petrillo. The song on the record is called "Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie." Cartoon #13Mickey Mouse. "Magic melody" and "An unwelcome gigolo," undated 2 prints on 1 mat board : lithograph on newsprintThe first strip, entitled "Magic Melody," dated "8-26," pictures Mickey Mouse and Horace Horsecollar attempting to soothe some bears that have appeared near Clarabelle Cow's tent with the music of a phonograph. In the second strip, entitled "An Unwelcome Gigolo," dated "8-27," the bears, who turn out to be trained, are dancing to the music, but when one of them grabs Clarabelle as his dancing partner, she slaps him. Cartoon #14Toonerville folks. "The Terrible-Tempered Mr. Bang," 1940 1 drawing : pen and inkAs regular Toonerville Folks character Mr. Bang throws a record into the street, an onlooker says to his friend, "Wanna bet even money it ain't that 'Oh! Johnny, Oh!' record?" Cartoon #15Minister with a "choir" of phonographs behind him, undated 1 drawing : pen and inkCartoon #16A dog labeled "Tariff made monopolies" standing over a phonograph labeled "Taft's providence speech," circa 1911 June 26 1 drawing : pen and inkThe dog scowls while listening to "Taft's providence speech," spoken by the head of William Howard Taft as it spins on the turntable: "Before an industry receives protection, now it must demonstrate the need of that protection, and it must not ask for more protection than it needs." Cartoon #17"Government by request -- not by law," 1944 October 11 1 drawing : pen and inkThe cartoon shows President Franklin D. Roosevelt sitting on top of a prostrate businessman and pleading with "King" James C. Petrillo: "Please, Petrillo, lift your ban on recordings." Cartoon #18"Can't they shut that thing off?" 1943 1 drawing : pen and ink, [with crayon?]A broken record with the face of labor leader John L. Lewis repeats the word, "Threat," as it spins on the turntable. Cartoon #19"We've changed our tune," 1945 February 8 1 drawing : pen and ink, charcoalA broken record labeled "Over Optimism" sits on a table near a playing record with "Patience" engraved in the grooves. "War Outlook" is printed on the label of the playing record. Cartoon #20Our Bill, 1944 April 2 1 drawing : pen and inkIn this Our Bill strip, teenage Bill and his girlfriend reminisce while playing "old" records ("This one is nearly two years old!"). His girlfriend, who has happy memories, sighs, "There's nothing like the old songs to bring back memories!" Bill, however, is reminded of only bad experiences and replies, "Yeah! Thank creepers for that!" Cartoon #21They'll do it every time. "He not only heard it in A minor...," 1947 January 31 1 drawing : pen and inkIn the first frame, a man at the "Records" desk [in a library?] asks to hear "Popoffski's 'Prelude to the Afternoon of a Penguin' in A minor." The second frame shows him in his listening booth covering his ears as the young couple in the next booth dances to the loud strains of the "Boogie-Woogey Blim-blam Blues." The text states: "He not only heard it in A minor, he heard a couple of other minors as well--" Cartoon #22Room and board. "And the judge is looking over the lost and found column on rewards," 1942 May 20 1 drawing : pen and inkIn this drawing from Gene Ahern's syndicated single-panel daily, Room and Board, Judge Puffle refuses to help another boarder collect old phonograph records for the government during World War II. Holding a stack of records, the boarder thinks to himself, "Glad now I didn't tell him I'll get 5 cents a pound for old records so they can reclaim the shellac!" Federal rationing of shellac during the war curtailed record production but probably increased the value of the discs that were not sold to the government. Cartoon #23"You say you've been working on it with utter absorption for 40 years," undated 1 drawing : pen and ink, blue washTwo men, one holding a phonograph, sit in a patent attorney's office. Cartoon #24"His master's voice!" 1913 January 25 1 drawing : pen and ink, white paintA phonograph labeled "From the people" proclaims, "Land thief, unfaithful servant, you must go!" to a dog identified as Sen. [Francis E.?] Warren of Wyoming. Cartoon #25 "Lets not be too hasty about swapping our ivory for that...," undated 1 drawing : pen and inkExplorers play a record for two natives, one of whom whispers, "Lets not be too hasty about swapping our ivory for that -- I think first we should hear what's on the other side." Cartoon #26"You'll love this. 'Bye Baby Bunting' done by Stokowski, Nelson Eddy and the Westminster Choir," circa 1946 1 drawing : pen and ink, blue washA child plays a record for his friends. Cartoon #27"Professional jealousy : what happened when a Mary Garden record met a Tetrazzini record on the library table," 1910 March 30 1 drawing : pen and inkTwo records representing opera singers Luisa Tetrazzini and Mary Garden fight next to a phonograph on a library table . Cartoon #28"No talking machines! No moving pictures! No electric lights! Do you want to put people out of work?" 1948 1 drawing : pen and inkJames C. Petrillo with an axe, standing over Thomas Edison. Cartoon #29Grin and bear it. "Psst -- Joe sent us -- said we could make a recording here!" 1948 1 drawing : pen and ink, charcoalMusicians, disregarding the recording ban of 1948, knock on a basement door. Cartoon #30"You've seen our laundry machine that washes dishes, but wait 'til you see what our new record changer can do!" undated 1 drawing : pen and ink, blue pencilA man holding a baby in a diaper shows off his record player to his friend. Cartoon #31"-- and now Bing Crosby is coming into the studio -- coming into the studio -- coming into the studio," circa 1947 1 drawing : pen and inkIn a radio station, a man runs toward a skipping record as worried employees look on. Cartoon #32Bringing up father, 1946 April 1 1 drawing : pen and inkFour-frame strip in which Jiggs tries to prevent his wife, Maggie, from playing the piano by putting on a record. The music, however, reminds her that she needs to buy a new Easter hat, and she asks him for shopping money. Cartoon #33"Marines listen to recorded jive on way to assault Guam," 1944 1 drawing : pen and inkSoldiers listen to a record player. Cartoon #34"For pity's sake -- all the latest song hits," 1948 1 drawing : pen and inkA woman looks through a pile of records in the attic. Cartoon #35[ Life's like that?]. "Dry the dishes! Dry the dishes!! Do I ever ask you to dust off my records," 1945 November 21 1 drawing : pen and inkStanding by a record player, a teenage girl complains to her mother. Cartoon #36"Salome Petrillo" with the "heads" of Colombia and Victor Records, circa 1944 1 drawing : pen and ink, pencilJames C. Petrillo, dressed as Salome, spins a record on which rest the "heads" of Colombia and Victor Records. Cartoon #37James C. Petrillo running on a turntable, circa 1946 1 drawing : pen and ink, charcoal, white paintAs Petrillo runs on the turntable, a needle labeled "Congress" is poised to stick him in the rear. Cartoon #38"Here, Frankie -- see if Beethoven's '5th' fits any better," undated 1 drawing : pen and ink, with blue and red paintBoys attempt to replace a missing wagon wheel with records, breaking several of them. Cartoon #39"The missing link supplied," 1908 1 drawing : pen and inkMen stand before a phonograph to which a hand is attached. To one side are cylinders labeled "Bryan" and "Taft." Cartoon #40"His master's voice," circa 1918 1 drawing : pen and inkA phonograph horn in the shape of a cannon labeled "the Allies ... Foch" points at a sweating, quaking hound representing Kaiser Wilhelm. The words "unconditional surrender" come from the cannon. Cartoon #41"Due to conditions beyond our control, we now present Harry Harris," undated 1 drawing : pen and ink, blue washA man in a radio studio speaks into a microphone as another man apparently prepares to speak. Cartoon #42"Well I followed your advice. I turned the lights down low and played romantic music!" undated 1 drawing : pen and ink, blue washA young woman complains to her mother while a sailor snores on the couch, oblivious to the records she's been playing. Cartoon #43"Shyness compels Mr. Winterbottom to deliver his speech from a home recording," 1948 January 26 1 drawing : pen and inkAt a board meeting, the arms of a man hidden behind the table place a record on a turntable. Cartoon #44A cobra transfixed by music from a record player, undated 1 drawing : pen and ink, white paintCartoon #45"It's nice of you to contribute your phonograph records to the canteen, Ethel -- even if they are all nursery rhymes," 1943 February 6 1 drawing : pen and ink, charcoalThe image shows girl scouts carrying records. Cartoon #46 "Open this package, Jack," circa 1947 January 29 1 drawing : pen and ink on brown kraft paperOn paper used to wrap a package that was mailed in 1947 (at top right are canceled stamps dated January 29, 1947), Russell has drawn a record labeled "Decca Records," that includes the address of the record company owned by Jack Kapp. The "song" on the record is entitled "Open this package, Jack," and the "songwriter" is "Kapp." Along the bottom of the "record label" are musical notes surrounded by the words "Office of the president." At upper right is the return address: "From Bruce Russell, Los Angeles Times." Cartoon #47"Martial music," undated 1 drawing : pen and inkThe cartoon shows a broken record labeled "China peace." #48"Nothing like this in Nazi Germany," 1942 November 4 1 drawing : pen and inkA speaking head identified as "U.S. voters" rests on the turntable of a phonograph labeled "ballot box." Emanating from the horn are the words "voice of the people." Cartoon #49David and Goliath, 1948 January 3 1 drawing : pen and inkArmed with a sword and shielded by a record, a huge robot is nevertheless hit in the head with a rock flung from a slingshot by James C. Petrillo. The robot is labeled "machine age," and the words "Ban on recording" appear at the top of the cartoon. Cartoon #50"Acme Second Hand Phonograph Record Company, Good morning, good morning, good morning, good ...," undated 1 drawing : pen and inkA switchboard operator speaks into a receiver. Cartoon #51"I can't figger it out at all -- no tubes or batteries!" undated 1 drawing : pen and inkSeveral natives comment on a playing phonograph while a pipe-smoking man in a safari outfit stands by. Cartoon #52"Don't bother Junior now. He's listening to his homework," undated 1 drawing : pen and inkA boy listens to a record as his parents look on. Cartoon #53"Swelling the chorus!" circa 1948 1 drawing : pen and ink"John L." (probably John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers of America, 1920-1960) sings "Brother, can you spare a dime?" while a phonograph labeled "[James C.] Petrillo's royalty racket" plays. The musical notes floating from the phonograph have dollar signs on them, and Lewis holds a sign that states, "Demand of 10 cents a ton royalty for miner's union." Cartoon #54"The music goes round and round -- but it don't come out here!" between 1940 and 1950 1 print : lithograph, crayonWhile a record spins on the turntable, James C. Petrillo sits in the horn of a phonograph, blocking the sound. Cartoon #55"The super juke box," 1942 1 drawing : pen and inkUncle Sam stands in front of a jukebox on which sits James C. Petrillo's head (bearing a definite resemblance to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini). A hand reaches out from the jukebox, which is labeled, "Pay me." Cartoon #56A man looks through a pile of records as guests wait, undated 1 drawing : pen and inkOne of the guests says, "Really, Charley, I didn't mean for you to go to all that trouble. We can hear 'Sugar Blues' some other time." Cartoon #57Jelly Bean Jones. "Gee I never really appreciated symphonies before -- they scale better than anything," 1948 March 10 1 drawing : pen and inkTwo children are throwing records. Cartoon #58Jelly Bean Jones. "Look, Pop -- I've just invented a new game," 1948 January 14 1 drawing : pen and inkA child jumps onto a record player as his father walks in. Cartoon #59"The timid soul," 1946 September 2 1 drawing : pen and inkStanding near a record player and holding a record, Casper Milquetoast says, "Perhaps I'd better employ a couple of musicians to play this record for me. I don't want to offend the union and have them denounce me as a labor baiter, or a stooge for the capitalists, or a fascist." Cartoon #60"The thrill that comes once in a lifetime," 1944 October 25 1 drawing : pen and inkA mother listens to the voice of her son on a record from the U.S.O.: "A -- hem -- uh -- ah -- er -- Well, -- ah -- gosh! I don't know what to say -- uh...." The mother, smiling, says, "Now, isn't that cute?" Cartoon #61Two fairies near a bell-shaped flower, undated 1 drawing : pen and inkHandwritten caption under the first panel: "Adventuros [sic] fairy: 'Why this must be a phonograph! Doesn't that Bumble Bee's voice sound natural?'" Caption under the second panel: "Bee, appearing from within flower: 'Good morning ladies! This is my busy day. Aren't you out rather late?'" Cartoon #62Woman reading album notes, 1942 1 drawing : pen and ink, blue pencilA woman looks puzzled as she reads the pretentious program notes accompanying the record she holds. Cartoon #63A woman listens to her husband singing "Pistol Packin' Mama" in the shower, undated 1 drawing : pen and inkCartoon #64"Maestro Petrillo versus the law," undated 1 drawing : pen and ink, charcoalJames C. Petrillo on a phonograph; a hand is jutting into the picture holding an injunction. Cartoon #65The Goodrich Rubber Man's vacation, circa 1900 1 print (poster)This promotional poster, printed for the Buffalo-Pan American Exposition of 1900 and 1901, was intended for distribution to Goodrich's wholesalers. The photographs of the salesmen-musicians superimposed over the drawing are of actual Goodrich Rubber Company employees. Cartoon #66"Round 2," 1944 October 1 drawing : pen and inkUncle Sam, standing in the middle of a boxing ring, holds up a card that says “Round 2.” In one corner, Frank Sinatra sings into a microphone for sitting boxer FDR, and in the other, Bing Crosby croons into a microphone for Thomas Dewey. Cartoon #67"In full bloom," 1907 February 6 1 print : lithograph, color1 print : lithograph, black and whiteAn inebriated man ("Mr. Talksome") stands in front of a window display of phonographs and declares, "Hones' fact, itsh the finesht display er mornin' glories ever shaw in m'life!" A black and white print matted on the reverse of the color print is the same image but includes the hand-written caption and editorial markings. Cartoon #68"In the jungle," 1894 1 drawing : pen and inkA professor wearing a safari hat plays a phonograph from inside a zoo cage labeled "Prof. Monk, the scientist." Monkeys, some wearing human clothing, listen from outside the cage. Framed album cover of Oklahoma! 1946 1 photomechanical print : in wooden frameCover of the 1943 cast album, Selections from the Theatre Guild Musical Play Oklahoma!, featuring members of the original New York production. Decca album no. 359, 23M, Personality series. Return to the Table of Contents |
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