Museum Collections

The Louis Armstrong House Museum holds several Collections of photographs, recordings, documents, and artifacts.
The Louis Armstrong Collection is Louis and Lucille’s vast personal collection of 1,600 recordings, 650 home recorded reel-to-reel tapes in hand-decorated boxes, 86 scrapbooks, 5,000 photographs, 270 sets of band parts, 12 linear feet of papers, letters and manuscripts, five trumpets, 14 mouthpieces, 120 awards and plaques, and much more.
The Satchmo Collection is a steadily growing collection of Armstrong-related materials donated to the Museum by Armstrong friends, fans and collectors. Highlights include a 1934 Selmer trumpet and mouthpiece given to Louis by King George V of England, a cornet case autographed by Louis and donated by trumpet player Randy Sandke, and two scrapbooks compiled by longtime Armstrong bassist Arvell Shaw.
The Jack Bradley Collection is the world’s foremost private collection of Armstrong memorabilia, and was acquired thanks to a grant from the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation. Compiled over many decades by Jack Bradley, Armstrong’s friend and photographer, the collection contains almost every commercially released Armstrong recording and thousands of photographs, as well as films, periodicals, personal items, letters, and much more.
The Phoebe Jacobs Collection contains ten cubic feet of personal papers, correspondence, photographs and ephemera related to Ms. Jacobs’ work with Lucille Armstrong in the 1970s and 1980s, and to her role as Executive Vice President of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation after Lucille’s death in 1983.

HOW TO DO RESEARCH

The collections of the Louis Armstrong House Museum are accessible to the public, and we welcome many researchers every year from all over the world. We ask that you 1) first make an appointment, and 2) bring a photo ID when visiting.

Please note that our collections are currently located in the Archives at the Rosenthal Library on the Queens College campus, located about 5 miles (8 km) from the Museum.

Hours: By appointment only (Monday – Friday)

Admission: Free

Directions to Queens College

By Car:
Take the Long Island Expressway to Exit 24. Turn south onto Kissena Blvd (a right turn, if you are heading east). The entrance to the Queens College campus will be immediately on your right. Get parking pass from Security. The Archives is located in the Rosenthal Library, room 332. Enter the lobby of the Library (underneath the clock tower). The Archives is to your left in the lobby, before you enter the rotunda.

By Public Transportation (2 options):

  1. (Recommended from Manhattan) Take the E or F train (which run express in Queens) to Forest Hills-71 Ave. Exit on the north side of Queens Blvd. Take bus Q64 to the corner of Jewel Avenue and 150th Street. Walk one (long and curved) block on 150th Street. The Queens College campus will be in front of you. The Archives is located in the Rosenthal Library, room 332. Enter the lobby of the Library (underneath the clock tower). The Archives is to your left in the lobby, before you enter the rotunda.
  2. Take the LIRR or the 7 train to Flushing-Main Street. Then take either bus Q17, Q25, or Q34 to Queens College. The Archives is located in the Rosenthal Library, room 332. Enter the lobby of the Library (underneath the clock tower). The Archives is to your left in the lobby, before you enter the rotunda.