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Special Collections and Archives
FATS WALLER
researched by Music Librarian Christopher Popa
Materials which document the career of Fats Waller, once held by Ed Kirkeby, who was his manager from 1938 until Waller's death in 1943, are now at the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University in Newark, NJ.
According to Professor Paul S. Machlin, who teaches jazz history at Colby College in Waterville, ME, "He [ Kirkeby ] apparently saved every document, letter, program, contract, published article, photograph, newsletter, and scrap of publicity that came across his path that had even a tangential bearing on Fats Waller's career."
see http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/ijs/fw/kirkeby.htm
Other memorabilia, such as a 1956 His Master's Voice advertisement promoting "The 'Fats' Waller Memorial Week" from May 16-23 that year, is in the hands of private collectors.
