Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1241

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.2 linear feet (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Mary Navis collection, 1933-1949, Ms. Coll. 1241, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1933-1949 (inclusive)

Creator:

Navis, Mary

Form:

Correspondence, Photographs, Printed ephemera, and Clippings (information artifacts)

Abstract:

Mary Navis, known as "the duchess of swing," was a female big band leader and trumpeter. She once performed in Ina Ray Hutton's all-female group, but left to head her own group with an all-male backing. This collection consists of correspondence, memorabilia, newspaper clippings, and photographs, spanning from 1933 to 1942 and all related to Navis's career.

Mary Navis was a female big band leader and trumpeter. She once performed as first trumpet player in Ina Ray Hutton's all-female group the Melodears, active from 1933 to 1939, but left to head her own all-male swing band. She was known as the "duchess of swing" and often played at The Yacht Club in West Philly, Lexington Casino on Roosevelt Boulevard, and Benny the Bum's at 311 South Broad Street in Philadelphia.

Despite her renown as a musician during her lifetime, there is remarkably little information on Mary Navis's personal life. Records within the collection indicate that she was known as both Mary Navis and Mary Novis. While she appears to have been married (one newspaper clipping indicates that her husband was a trumpeter in her band), all her professional activities were conducted under her maiden name. She was probably born around 1920. According to a newspaper clipping in the collection, Navis was "the only girl who play[ed] an instrument in front of a man's band. Her father [was] a celloist, and she began giving concerts at the age of five, playing her violin. Although she never took a trumpet lesson in her life, she [wa]s considered one of the foremost woman trumpeters in the country. She ... also play[ed] the violin, guitar and drums as well as several other musical instruments," (box 1, folder 3).

The name of her group seems to have changed over the years, with documents indicating that her group was billed as: Mary Navis's Troubadour Band, Mary Navis and Her Man-Band, Mary Navis and Her Men of Rhythm, and Mary Navis and her Orchestra. She was active from the late 1930s through the 1950s.

This collection consists of correspondence, memorabilia, newspaper clippings, and photographs, all related to Mary Navis's musical career. The correspondence contains letters about publicity work for Selmer instruments, now known as Conn-Selmer, as well as other correspondence concerning her management. The memorabilia include several publicity fliers for her performances, including two for "Retail Clerks" in which her name was spelled "Novis." The newspaper clippings primarily concern her performance announcements which were mostly at The Yacht Club, Benny the Bum's, and the Lexington Casino, all in Philadelphia. These clippings also include reviews and praise for her performances. In addition to this, there in a clipping of a photograph in a newspaper that shows Navis with Hal Le Roy, an American singer, dancer and actor, and Ina Ray Hutton. The photographs are a mix of formal and candid and mostly solo-shots of Navis, but also include photographs of her and other women playing their instruments (possibly the Melodears).