Cafe Zanzibar souvenir program
New York: s.i., 1943. Very Good+. Item #49786
New York: 1943 or later. Unsent bifolium handbill program postcard, illustrated and printed in black, brown, and red (27 cm). Front panel depicts the Cafe Zanzibar's "Home of the Stars" scandalous logo of a woman in a long skirt, pasties, and a flowered headdress with her similarly-dressed friends framing the interior listing of performers. The rear panel includes the (not exhaustive) history of the cafe. Rubbed and toned overall with mild soiling and smudging, especially at the fold. Otherwise, Very Good or better overall.
The Cafe Zanzibar on Broadway opened its doors in 1943 and was known for showcasing almost exclusively Black artists, filling their stage with comedians, bands, and dancers, like aptly nicknamed tap dancer Bunny Briggs. Cab Calloway was a popular name on the playbill, as were the King Cole Trio and Marie Ellington, who appear on this program. Nat King Cole, the Trio's bandleader, and Marie met while playing at the Zanzibar (maybe during this particular evening show?) and eventually married in 1948. Their daughter, Natalie Cole, and her siblings described their mother as "in a class all by herself" upon her death in 2012.
We locate only one example of this program in OCLC at the Wolfsonian-Florida International University..
Price: $150.00