Leadbelly & Josh White at Village Vanguard, 1941

Another box of photos had arrived at the auction house. Like the others, they were in a flat box that also contained documents pertaining to African Americans. The photo on top of the batch was a sepia studio portrait of a good-looking man with a part down the center of his slick hair.

One of the best photos in the box showed a white-haired singer playing his guitar in a nightclub with a huge mural, and I instantly recognized him but drew a blank on his name. It later came to me: Leadbelly. I also recognized the club because it was the same venue I had seen in photos of jazz singer Ann Robinson.

Leadbelly was performing at the famed Village Vanguard nightclub in New York. His name and the year 1941 were printed on the back of one of five photos, along with the name of the nightclub – in the same handwriting as Robinson’s. The photographer’s name was not listed, but I knew it was the work of Hans Knopf.

The box contained photos of black soldiers, black people, letters and postcards, dedication programs, a Floyd Patterson ink drawing by Alan Maver, white men in black face, one-page newsletters from the Philadelphia Black Panther Party and two Rhythm and Blues magazines from 1955.

Both the Robinson and Leadbelly photos joined a collection that I’d picked up at this auction house, brought in by a consignor whom I’ve never had the opportunity to meet. I’d love to know where they originally came from. The other boxes included stylish people, dancer Ruth St. Denis, Chubby Checkers, the Dance Carnival at Madison Square Garden, choreographer/dancers Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, a lobby card for actor Eddie Jones’ “One Round Jones” and newspaper photos.

Leadbelly first played at the Village Vanguard in Nov. 25, 1941, along with guitarist Josh White. They were said to be the first folk act to entertain at a New York City nightclub. The Vanguard is an international legend and is still pumping, now as a jazz venue. It is a basement club, described during its early years as “something like an air-raid shelter, except for Huddie Ledbetter singing folk songs.”

Leadbelly and White were an unlikely pair: Leadbelly with his 12-string guitar, his countrified demeanor and what some saw as his deference to whites, and the more urbane and sexy White, who played a six-string guitar on stage – sometimes with the first few buttons of his shirt open – and who had starred in radio dramas and musicals.

Eleanor Roosevelt became godmother to White’s son after he was invited to the White House to sing a song he wrote about poor housing for black World War II soldiers titled “Uncle Sam Says.” Both of the Roosevelts were said to be folk-music enthusiasts.

Among music lovers, Leadbelly had the name, though, and the more checkered past. He was born Huddie Ledbetter in rural Louisiana around 1889 or thereabouts; spent several stints in prison, one for killing a man and another for attempting to do so; teamed up with Dallas, TX, street musician/singer Blind Lemon Jefferson, and emerged from it all as one of the greatest folk-blues singers/guitarists of his day. His singing literally got him out of prison, where he was heard by folklorists recording Southern music for the Library of Congress.

He moved to New York where he performed, appeared on radio, did some recordings and became friends with folk singers Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger (both of whom attended his  debut at the Vanguard). Leadbelly is best known for the songs “Goodnight, Irene,” “Rock Island Line,” “The Midnight Special” and “Cotton Fields.” He also recorded such children songs as “Skip to My Lou” and “Sally Walker.”

Leadbelly and White’s shows were sold out at the Vanguard, and they got great reviews. “The greatest conversations ever heard at the Vanguard was the carving out of the guitars between Leadbelly and Josh White,” Max Gordon, owner of the club, wrote in 1980.

There is some ambiguity about how long they stayed there. Some stories say they were there for three months, and others say for six months. One story mentioned that Leadbelly played there until 1944.

On stage, the two sang their own solo tunes and some duets. In the auction photo, Leadbelly sits in a chair in front of the stage, and White sits on the stage near the microphone. The Vanguard had only one microphone, and it was felt that Leadbelly’s voice was loud enough to be heard without one.

Leadbelly eventually moved to California, hoping to get work in Hollywood. He recorded for Capitol Records and played some nightclubs before returning to New York. He was on a European tour when he was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He died of the disease in 1949. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.