Administrative Information
Provenance
Gift, Fitzgerald 1989 Trust, 1997
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Processing History
Mark Eden Horowitz processed the Ella Fitzgerald Collection in 2005. George Kipper coded the finding aid in 2010, and Christopher Hartten updated the finding aid in 2020.
Transfers
Betamax and VHS tapes have been transferred to the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.
Other Repositories
The collection is a shared acquisition with the Smithsonian Institution, which holds the following materials: twenty-six boxes of photographs, scripts, correspondence (mostly fan mail), business papers, song lists, honorary degrees and awards, concert programs and announcements, audiovisual materials, and costumes. For more information, contact the Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Some items from this collection have been loaned to and are on exhibit at their affiliated institution, the American Jazz Museum, in Kansas City, Missouri.
In 1996, a portion of Fitzgerald's papers were given to the University of California, Los Angeles. The Ella Fitzgerald Sheet Music Collection (collection 135) is available through the Music Library Special Collections at UCLA, but is stored off-site and advance notice is required for access. The collection includes about 4,600 music sheets, some accompanying correspondence to Fitzgerald, and fourteen photographs.
In addition, Ella Fitzgerald gave a small collection to Boston University in 1965. This material includes seventy scores arranged by Buddy Bregman, twenty-five scores arranged by Nelson Riddle, twenty-four scores arranged by Billy May, and fifteen photographs.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container number], Ella Fitzgerald Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.