NEW YORK CITY CAB DRIVER MARY JANE MUDD AUTOGRAPH ALBUM WITH JACKIE ROBINSON, DUKE ELLINGTON, JOE LOUIS & MANY OTHERS.
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Item Description
Mary Jane Mudd was among the first African American cab drivers in New York City, driving throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s. Throughout her driving career, she picked up a variety of New York fares, including some celebrities. Thinking ahead, Mudd kept an autograph album in her cab, asking her famous fares for their signature. The 4.5x6" album includes 27 signatures in total, some key names include - baseball greats Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella, Big Bandleader Duke Ellington, boxing legends Joe Louis, Henry Armstrong and Beau Jack, actresses Butterfly McQueen and Lucille Ball, actor Jack LaRue as well as boxer/actor Canada Lee, singer/actor/football player/activist Paul Robeson as well as Democratic National Committee chairman James A. Farley. Other names of note include - dancing team The Nicholas Brothers, jazz vocalist Maxine Sullivan, actress Amanda Randolph (the first African-American performer to star in a regularly scheduled network TV show), child actress Margaret O'Brien, aviation pioneer Hubert Julian (aka "Black Eagle" as signed), Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1931) star Frederic March, boxer Bob Montgomery. Loose included sheet from 1950s meeting has been signed by NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins. Worn and just comes along. Majority have signed in pencil, some in ink and a few signatures were signed on separate sheets that Mudd has applied to album pages. Last four pages have names of notable fares written by Mudd w/each pages representing the years spanning 1944-1947. Album cover shows heavy and obvious wear, w/loose front cover (w/Mudd's name, address, telephone number and "This Is Mudds" notation handwritten on inside front cover). Good/VG, but majority of pages remain clean w/just lt. edge wear. Aged tape repair to Campanella page. Pages average Fine overall. Comes w/JSA LOA. Lot also includes some of Mudd's personal effects, including her laminated 3-5/8x4-7/8" New York City Public Hack Driver license (w/Mudd's photo applied as issued) and metal cab badge. Both bear March 31, 1950 expiration date. Expected aging and patina to badge, VF. License is aged but VF overall. Also comes w/heavily worn original 4-5/8x7" studio photo showing Mudd and another woman dressed up in front of a 1930 Dodge DC8. Photo shows obvious wear and has archival tape repair on back. Good/VG. This photo was used for the included Pittsburgh Courier "Society Rallys To Roosevelt" newspaper clipping covering Mudd and her companion's efforts to rally friends and social sets in Boston, New York and Chicago in support of Franklin D. Roosevelt for president in 1932. Clipping is aged w/tape repairs and just comes along. A historic and one-of-a-kind collection, both from an autograph standpoint and as a document to Mudd's life/profession.
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