File of hit songs and artists (not Kirkeby clients), Index cards, undated

Sub-series 1A - Legal and Financial: Boxes 1, 22, 30 and 31. Library of Congress copyright documents and correspondence, in addition to contracts, cover Ed Kirkeby's associations with seminal African American artists such as Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and Clara Smith beginning in the mid 1920s, as well as royalty statements extending into the 1970s for some of their early important works. Lyrics by Kirkeby and Kirkeby with others are included as the intellectual property of C.R. Publishing Company.

Sub-series 1B - Business Correspondence and Professional Associations: Boxes 1-2, and 23. Along with business correspondence and other artifacts found in California Ramblers Scrapbook 1, this series shows Kirkeby reaching out in many directions to extend his enterprises from the time he began managing the Ramblers while providing a few examples from the 1940s through the 1970s.

Sub-series 1C - Music Manuscripts, Published Sheet Music, Lyrics, and Hit Song Titles: Boxes 2, 22, and 30. Included are what appear to be among the earliest known original versions of songs performed and recorded by Bessie Smith, Clara Smith and Ethel Water, and featuring the work of composers Paul Carter, Jack Gee, Fred Longshaw, Irving Johns and Sidney Easton, as well as five compositions attributed to Kirkeby, one under his pseudonym Ted Wallace, with others. Lyrics by known and unknown writers complete this series. Note that some of the manuscripts contain scratched out names which are replaced with others, leading to questions of authorship.