A few years ago, while working on the first iteration of
I Went Down to St. James Infirmary (which I had titled
A Rake's Progress and of which perhaps a dozen copies are still in existence), I created an illustration that brought together some of the principal characters in the SJI story. Albert Gleizes' 1913 painting "
Women Sewing" was the inspiration for the underlying art work; onto this I layered photographs of various SJI personalities, and included myself and my wife (
the book's designer) as, I guess, observers of the drama.
So here, in no particular order (the illustration should enlarge if you click on it), you can find Jimmie Rodgers, Porter Grainger, Dan Emmett, Mamie Smith, Irving Mills, Don Redman, Phil Baxter, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Carl "The Deacon" Moore, Bob Dylan, Bessie Smith, Emmett Miller, and Blind Willie McTell.
Speaking of Blind Willie McTell, he will be (part of) the subject of our next entry.
