Manufacturer: Kramer, New York, Serial No. 174260Size: Baby Grand (Height: 38" Width: 54" Depth: 60")Color: WhiteIn the 1920s, during the heyday of the Cotton Club and just as Duke's star began to rise, he purchased this piano- manufactured by Kramer- and had it delivered to his home at 381 Edgecombe Avenue in Harlem. Duke used the piano extensively through the late 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, one of the most creative and productive periods of his life. Songs he composed during this time include "Sophisticated Lady," "Mood Indigo," "In a Sentimental Mood," and "It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing." In the late 1940s, Duke moved the piano to the home of his only sibling Ruth Ellington. At Ruth's home, the piano became the focal point of her regular Sunday jazz soirees, attended by the artistic elite of New York City. In 1957, Edward R. Murrow filmed Duke for his show, "Person-to-Person," and for a portion of the interview, Duke can be seen seated at this piano. The piano has been in the possession of Ruth Ellington and her son Stephen James since the 1940s. The piano was refinished in the 1990s. According to the Pierce Piano Atlas, the serial numbers on Duke's piano would place its manufacture around 1918.