Exceedingly rare vintage 8x10-inch double-weight black and white publicity portrait, signed and inscribed in black fountain pen in the 1930s. In fine condition, with faint writing in the bottom border in another hand, and somewhat uneven ink adhesion, with her first name just readable, but a bit scratchy. Jazz great Ivie Anderson was the lead singer with the Duke Ellington orchestra from 1931 through 1942, creating timeless recordings of "It Don't Mean A Thing," "I've Got the World on a String," "My Old Flame", and other standards. Growing respiratory problems forced her to abandon her singing career in 1942, and she died in 1949 at the age of 45. This is just the second signed portrait of the tragic songbird we have ever encountered.

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