Cat. #00132231211: VERNON DUKE

Highly scarce and one-of-a-kind handwritten letter with great career-related content written in blue ballpoint pen on opposite sides of a sheet of light blue stationery, signed "Vernon" at the close. The legendary musician writes to theatrical producer Louis MacMillan in 1958, regarding plans for a stage production of "Cabin in the Sky." In good condition, with a horizontal mailing fold, and accompanied by the original transmittal envelope. At the onset of his musical career, Vernon Duke composed ballet and symphonic works, but, in the late 1920s, he shifted his focus to songwriting for the London and New York stages, and eventually Hollywood, collaborating with such lyricists as Ira Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, E.Y. Harburg, and John Latouche, with whom he scored Cabin in the Sky (1940). Among his best-known songs are "Autumn in New York", "April in Paris," and "Taking a Chance on Love." This is an especially nice example of a highly uncommon autograph.