Two Travelling Cards - photo 1
Two Travelling Cards - photo 2
Two Travelling Cards - photo 3
Two Travelling Cards - photo 4
Two Travelling Cards - photo 5
Two Travelling Cards - photo 6

Two Travelling Cards

Lot 466
29.09.2023 11:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 630
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1029117
Lot 466 | Two Travelling Cards
Estimate value
£ 1 000 – 1 500
William J. “Count” BASIE (1904-1984).

Retained copies of two American Federation of Musicians Travelling Cards for Count Basie and vocalist Jimmy Rushing to tour with Bennie Moten in 1930, the small printed forms completed in black ink in an unknown hand for ‘William Bassie’ [sic] and ‘James Rushing’, dated 31 December 1930, with embossed authorisation stamps of Local #627, each 100 x 162 mm.

The AFM Travelling Card was a vital document required for an American musician to play outside of their own member local, showing that their dues were fully paid up to the union. Basie and Rushing had been playing together since 1928 as members of leading territorial band the Oklahoma City Blue Devils. When Basie became the pianist of the Bennie Moten band the following year, Rushing was soon brought on as primary vocalist, and the ambitious Moten proceeded to tour the new line-up beyond the Southwest territory. In his autobiography Good Morning Blues, Basie recalls this key period at the beginning of his celebrated career: ‘We brought in Jimmy Rushing to be our featured singer… old Rush and I were a pretty tight pair of old running buddies… [Bennie] really wanted to see if we could work our way east and try to break into some of that big-time action that you had to have if you were going to get national recognition… he and Maceo Birch had lined up a series of one-nighters that took us across Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and by the end of February [1931] we were working our way into Pennsylvania, and from there we were going to try to make it into New York City. That was our ultimate destination.’ Basie played the Savoy Ballroom for the first time on this trip: ‘Not many people around New York knew anything about that band when we went into the Savoy. But we were a big hit in there… Everybody wanted to know where we had been and where we were going.’ Following the untimely death of Bennie Moten in 1935, Basie put together his own band, with Rushing and other Moten members on board. Basie, 156-168.

[With:] a menu card for the Hotel Lincoln, New York, dated 30 December 1943, noting that Count Basie and his Orchestra were playing nightly, signed in pencil by Count Basie on the back cover, additionally inscribed and dated by the recipient on the front cover, 295 x 229 mm. The Basie band began a landmark eight-week engagement at the midtown Manhattan hotel on 5 November 1943, the first African American band to play the Lincoln. Provenance: The Norman R. Saks Collection (Vail, pl.301).

[With:] a concert programme for the French leg of the Count Basie Orchestra’s 1954 European Tour, signed in blue ballpoint pen by Count Basie above his biography portrait, additionally signed by eleven members of the Basie orchestra, wire-stitched in the original pictorial wraps, 271 x 210 mm.

[And:] HORRICKS, Raymond. Count Basie and His Orchestra: Its Music and Musicians. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1957. First edition, first impression. Signed in blue ink by Basie on the half-title, with ticket stub for Count Basie and His Orchestra at Colston Hall, Bristol, on 22 April 1960. Octavo. Original red cloth gilt, with dust-jacket.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
20.09.2023 13:00 – 17:00
21.09.2023 09:00 – 17:00
22.09.2023 09:00 – 17:00
23.09.2023 12:00 – 17:00
24.09.2023 12:00 – 17:00
25.09.2023 09:00 – 17:00
26.09.2023 09:00 – 17:00
27.09.2023 09:00 – 17:00
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

More from Creator

Album signed
Album signed
£100

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.