Sheet Music: Tell Me Little Gypsy, Irving Berlin, Ziegfeld Follies of 1920, Operatic Edition, New York, Antique 1920

An Art Deco dancer in a black-and-white striped gown sweeps across the cover of this Irving Berlin song from the Ziegfeld Follies of 1920. Its black, cream, and soft lilac palette makes it a stylish piece of Halloween masquerade décor.

• Maker: Irving Berlin, Inc.
• Words / Music: Irving Berlin
• Materials: Paper
• Dimensions: 12 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches
• Origin: New York, New York, USA
• Era: Antique, 1920
• Condition: Good. Paper toning and yellowing throughout, small tears along all four edges, paper loss at the upper right corner of the cover, and some creasing. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.

The cover is signed with the artist's initials, "R.S." It shows a long-limbed dancer with a butterfly at her back, a beaded bodice, a lacy overskirt, and a sheer scarf trailing from her arms, posed before a striped lavender disc. A scalloped border across the top is labeled "Operatic Edition." Along the right, a scroll-shaped panel lists eight songs from the show at sixty cents each and the full selection at one dollar net. Inside the front cover is a photograph of Irving Berlin seated at his piano. The back cover advertises "The Girls of My Dreams," with a photo of its cover and the chorus in music notation.

Framed, the cover suits a masquerade buffet or dessert table, with its Art Deco figure and black-and-white striping. It also belongs in a music room, a Broadway or theater collection, and a gallery wall of Jazz Age art. It's a good gift for collectors of Irving Berlin and Ziegfeld memorabilia.

"Tell Me Little Gypsy" was among the songs Irving Berlin wrote for the Ziegfeld Follies of 1920, the annual Broadway revue produced by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. Edward Royce staged the number. Irving Berlin, Inc. published the sheet music in New York in 1920, at a time when Follies songs sold in music shops across the country. The back-cover advertisement calls the show a "$200,000.00" production. The song was recorded within months, and Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra cut a Victor fox trot medley including it in August 1920, while tenor John Steel, who sings "The Girls of My Dreams" in the show, also recorded it. Ziegfeld's revues made stars of their performers and set the style for glamorous stage design, and the covers of their sheet music are prized for capturing that look.

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