Summary

Creator:

Duke, Doris

Abstract:

Doris Duke was the only child of James Buchanan (J.B.) Duke, a founder of the American Tobacco Company and Duke Energy Company and a benefactor of Duke University, and Nanaline Holt Duke. Although Doris did her best to live a private life, she carried on the Duke family's pattern of philanthropy by contributing to a number of public causes such as the arts, historic preservation, and the environment. Doris Duke died in October 1993 at the age of 80. In her will she left the majority of her estate to the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The Doris Duke Audio Visual Collection was created by combining 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm film reels, vinyl recordings, audiocassettes, and associated manuscript materials relating to Doris Duke's travels, her various estates, and her interests in jazz and gospel music, dance, history, and culture. The collection covers the years 1899 to 2012 and is organized into three series: Moving Images, Audio, and Sheet Music and Index Cards.

Extent:

51 Linear Feet

Language:

Materials in English

Collection ID:

RL.10005

Background

Scope and Content:

The Doris Duke Audiovisual Collection was created by combining 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm film reels, vinyl recordings, audiocassettes, and associated manuscript materials relating to Doris Duke's travels, her various estates, and her interests in jazz and gospel music, dance, history, and culture. The collection covers the years 1899 to 2012 and is organized into three series: Moving Images, Audio, and Sheet Music and Index Cards.

Biographical / Historical:

Born on November 22, 1912, Doris Duke was the only child of James Buchanan (J.B.) Duke, a founder of the American Tobacco Company and Duke Energy Company and a benefactor of Duke University, and Nanaline Holt Duke. Inheriting a bulk of her father's estate in 1925, which included Duke Farms in New Jersey, Rough Point in Newport, R.I., and a mansion in New York City, Doris was soon dubbed by the press as "the richest girl in the world." Although Doris did her best to live a private life, she carried on the Duke family's pattern of philanthropy by contributing to a number of public causes such as the arts, historic preservation, and the environment. Doris Duke died in October 1993 at the age of 80. In her will she left the majority of her estate to the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Acquisition Information:

The Doris Duke Audiovisual Collection was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a donation from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation in June 2009.

Rules or Conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related

Related Material:

Doris Duke papers, 1798-2003 (bulk 1930-1999)

Doris Duke papers on the Duke Farms residence, 1859-2004 and undated

Doris Duke papers on the Shangri La residence, 1932-2003

Doris Duke Photograph Collection, 1870-2006

Duke Gardens Foundation records, 1912-2002

Subjects

Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.

Formats:

Home movies
Audiocassettes
Audiovisual materials
8mm (photographic film size)
35mm
16mm
Moving images

Names:

Cromwell, James H. R. (James Henry Roberts)
Duke, James Buchanan, 1856-1925
Duke, Nanaline Holt Inman
Duke, Doris