Description:
Folio. 400 pp. ruled ledger, perhaps half blank, mainly written on both rectos and versos. Original reversed leather, spine present but detached, else very good condition.This massive manuscript ledger charts formative years of the show business partnership of George M. Cohan, the "father of American musical comedy," and Sam H. Harris, the famed Broadway producer and theater owner.
Cohan was "the greatest single figure the American theater ever produced – as a player, playwright, actor, composer and producer" (New York Times
obituary). Born in the Lower East Side to poor Jewish parents, Harris was a small-time producer and boxing promoter when he met George M. Cohan. The men hit it off and formed a partnership beginning with Cohan's first full-length musical, Little Johnny Jones (featuring "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "(I'm a) Yankee Doodle Dandy"). Together the two revolutionized Broadway while creating dozens of shows and revues. They are buried side-by-side at Woodlawn… Read More