5–6 Bristol’s involvement: March 4, Nov. 13, 1923, MLB. Rue to Bristol: DPT 470 (typos corrected). Turlington: http://www.scribd.com/doc/45752619/Rhodes-Scholars-Roster [1911]; TT. Brist asked colleague: DF.
7–8 vacillation on prohibition: Vp, Oct. 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, 24, 25, 1923, 3; Hoover, Fisher, Oct. 30, 1923, 3-4; Ravndal to World League Against Alcoholism, Dec. 1, 1923, CPI 370; S, March 19, 1924, 1; May 25, 1925, 2; March 6, 1926, 2; Jan. 11, 1927, 2. epochal historical changes: Shaw, IV, 1963–1964; Lewis, 261–62; American present: Hoover, Fisher, Oct. 7, 1923, 3–4. crowds on streets: Hoover, Fisher, Oct. 30, 1923, 4. shop signs: Vp, Oct. 9, 1923, 3. Mikhail leaves for Prague: Interview, Nov. 8, 2006; Andreyev and Savický, 41, 53, 65; Keeny.
9–10 Frederick’s boasting: Sackett. Krotkov, Frederick’s “broad” Russian nature: Argus (a band’s percussion instruments are more likely than Krotkov’s “pots and pans”). Fourth of July: “Gallant Yanks Organize a Klan to Rescue Pearl,” CDT, July 27, 1924, 16.
11–12 Bebek, downpours and destruction: S, June 14, 15, 22, 24, 26–28, 1924; Jan. 20, 1925, 2. La Rose Noire: S, June 26, 1924, 3; July 19, 1925, 3; Le Moscovite: S, April 30, May 7, 1925, 3.
13–14 tourism increases: S, March 2, 5, 10, 1925, 2; July 3, 1926, 2; Hoover, Fisher, March 20, 1925. the most audacious plan: S, Aug. 25, Nov. 27, 1925, 2; S, July 2, 1926, 2. Serra’s financial deal: S, April 29, 1927, 2; Yildiz; DPT 539. Hagia Sophia: Interview, June 16, 2009. American companies write to consulate general: CPI 398. “American Association of Jazz Bands”: “Would Jazz in St. Sophia,” NYT, Jan. 12, 1927, 6; “Sophia Mosque for Dances,” NYT, Dec. 16, 1926, 10. Maxim’s entertainments: S, July 2; Aug. 5, 25, 31; Nov. 7, 11, 13; Dec. 24, 1925, 3; Jan. 28, 1926, 3; Feb. 11, March 10, 1926, 2; La République, Nov. 26, 1925, 3.
15–16 caliph leaves: Shaw, IV, 1965; S, March 10, 1924, 2. fez abandoned, Soviet Union takes over embassy: Hoover, Fisher, Sept. 26, 1925; Lewis, 253, 283–84. new laws: S, March 12, May 25, 1924; May 25, 1925; Feb. 28, March 6, 11, 1926, 2; Hoover, Fisher, Feb. 1, 1924; Vp, Feb. 2, 1925, 3. restrictions on foreign workers: Hoover, Anna V. S. Mitchell Papers, Stokes to Bouimistrow, Feb. 18, 1926, box 1. Turkish language mandatory: S, Jan. 18, 1926, 2. Nansen: Nansen, 36.
17–18 “Villa Tom”: S, May 6; June 24; July 14, 21, 27, 1926, 2; June 10, July 1, 1926, 4; Aug. 19, 1926, 3. Olga: CPI 393. waiter at Maxim, flower merchant: CPI 403.
19–20 Yildiz Municipal Casino: DPT 539; Greer, 318–20. Frederick tries to continue: S, Dec. 18, 1926; Jan. 2, 10, 11, 1927; Feb. 17, 1927, 2. Englishman: “Finds Trade Dull in Constantinople,” NYT, July 31, 1927, E2. new restrictions: S, Jan. 2, 11, 19, 1927, 2. Greer: Greer, 319–20.
21–22 Frederick flees to Angora, city character and population, “Villa Djan”: S, May 5, 1927, 2; Ahmad, 91. competition: Argus; “Angora Made into a City of Jazz Bands,” CDM, Oct. 6, 1926, 14; “Life Is Less Hectic in Constantinople,” NYT, July 8, 1928, 50. French consul general: French Consul to American Consul, June 18, 1927, DPT 660. creditors seize Maxim: S, May 18, 19, 21; Dec. 19, 1927, 2; June 17, 1927, 3. “ex-Villa Tom”: S, June 17, 1927, 3. job in Angora: “Mr. Thomas de Maxim invite ses créanciers à Angora,” P’st, April 26, 1928, 3; the note is dated April 1 and mentions that the report of Frederick’s sighting in Angora was “delayed”; other evidence also suggests that the encounter was during the last half of 1927.
23–24 in Angora prison: “Dancing Negro in Angora Jail for Old Debts,” Milwaukee Journal (The Green Sheet), Monday, Jan. 16, 1928, n. p.; Allen to USSS, Nov. 1, 1928, CPI 409; Elvira to Allen, March 8, 1933, CPI 443; Argus. demise of Yildiz Casino: Crosby to USSS, Sept. 28, 1927, DPT 539; Grew to USSS, Oct. 24, 1927, DPT 539.
25–26 Constantinople prison: “Sultan of Jazz Dies in Poverty,” Boston Post, July 9, 1928, 10. prison conditions: Constantinople To-Day, 336–43; S, Nov. 20, Dec. 22, 1927, 2; “Prison Life Is Easy in Constantinople,” NYT, Feb. 2, 1930, 53. illness: Allen to West, July 20, 1928, CPI 409. death and funeral: S, June 13, 1928, 3; Sperco, 144; SE; FC. “Sultan of Jazz”: W. G. Tinckom-Fernandez, “Life Is Less Hectic in Constantinople,” NYT, July 8, 1928, 50.
Epilogue
1–2 Elvira in Czechoslovakia, restrictions on employment, legal problems, journey to Germany, return to Constantinople: Elvira to Allen, March 8, 1933, CPI 443.
3–4 brothers’ difficulties, Fred’s passport applications, U. S. government changes mind: DPT 423, 430, 629.
5–6 Elvira’s appeal: DPT 629; USSS to Consul General, Sept. 17, 1935, Central Decimal File, box 577, 367.1115, Thomas, Bruce, and Frederick/2, RG 59. SS Excello: Bruce Thomas, Application for Passport Renewal, June 20, 1938, box 16, General Records, U.S. Consulate General, Istanbul, RG 84. Fred’s work in Manhattan: Frederick Thomas Jr.’s application for Social Security Number, Sept. 1, 1938. Bruce tries to enlist: Central Name Index, 1940–1944, box 1219, RG 59. African-American newspapers: New York Amsterdam News, February 7, 1948, 2; a garbled variant appeared in CDe, February 14, 1948, 7. Fred asks for State Department’s help: Central Name Index, 1945–1949, box 456; 1950–1954, box 463, RG 59.
7–8 Bruce travels to United States: Central Name Index, 1950–1954, box 463, RG 59. meeting with Mikhail: Interview, Nov. 8, 2006. Bruce’s death: Bruce Thomas Certificate of Death, State of California, County of Los Angeles, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Fred’s death: Death Notice, February 12, 1970, Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY), 7B; e-mail from Younglove-Smith & Ryan Funeral Home, Rochester, NY, October 30, 2008. Olga’s traces: Interview, Nov. 8, 2006. Irma’s fate: CPI 383; interviews, Nov. 8, 2006; June 16 and 18, 2009. Mikhail’s life, Chantal Thomass: Interview, Nov. 8, 2006; http://www. chantalthomass.fr.
Index
Abdülmecid II, 1
Adel, Stepan Osipovich, 1, 2
Adil, Fikret, 1, 2
Adrianov, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich, 1, 2, 3
African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, 1
alcohol consumption, 1, 2, 3, 4
alcohol laws, 1, 2
Alexandra, Tsaritsa, 1, 2, 3
Alexis, Tsarevich, 1
Alhambra Theater, 1
Allen, Charles E., 1, 2, 3, 4
background and overview, 1
Fred and Bruce Thomas’s passport applications approved by, 1
on Frederick, 1
Frederick’s interview with, 1
Frederick’s passport application sabotaged by, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Karp Chernov and, 1
Larry Rue on, 1
Ravndal and, 1
Robert Skinner and, 1
Wilbur Carr and, 1
American Civil War, 1
Anglais, Hôtel des, 1
Anglo-American Garden Villa (“Stella Club”), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
finances, 1
in the media, 1
name of, 1
opening weeks, 1
popularity and success, 1, 2
shows, 1, 2, 3
Angora, 1
Angora (Ankara), Frederick’s escape to, 1
anti-Semitism, 1
Apollo, 1
Aquarium, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
advertisements, 1
antiforeign riots and, 1
benefit evening at, 1
boxing matches at, 1
Bruce Lockhart and, 1
Charles Aumont and, 1, 2, 3, 4
description and overview, 1
finances, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Frederick began working at, 1
Grand Duke Sergey at, 1
Grigory Konsky and, 1, 2
living quarters at, 1
Maxim, Apollo, and, 1, 2
in the media, 1, 2
military officers at, 1
nationalization of, 1, 2
Odessa and, 1
performers at, 1, 2, 3
drafted into army, 1
foreign, 1
parade led by, 1
popularity and success, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
reopening, 1
rivals, 1,
2, 3
shows at, 1, 2, 3, 4
ballet, 1
operettas and farces, 1, 2
sexuality in, 1
“siege” of, 1
“Skating-Palace” at, 1
“soldiers’ theater” at, 1
staff of, 1, 2
control of Aquarium transferred to, 1, 2
drafted into army, 1
Arkansas, 1
Armstrong, Harold, 1
Auditorium Hotel, 1
Aumont, Charles, 1, 2
Austria-Hungary, 1, 2
Bagge, Picton, 1
Berlin
Frederick Thomas in, 1
Irma Thomas in, 1, 2
Valli Thomas in, 1
Berry, Burton Y., 1
“Bertha and Thomas” partnership, 1, 2, 3
See also Anglo-American Garden Villa
Berthet, Mr., 1, 2
biracial people, 1
Bloody Sunday, 1
boardinghouse, Frederick’s, 1
Bolshevik Revolution. See October Revolution
bourgeoisie, terror against. See terror
Bowen, George, 1
boxing, 1, 2
Brest-Litovsk, Treaty of, 1, 2, 3
Brist, George L., 1
Bristol, Mark L., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Britain, 1
Brooks, Billy, 1, 2
Bruce, Blanche K., 1
Brusilov Offensive, 1
Burri, Alfred, 1, 2
Cameron, Lucille, 1
Cantacuzene, Mikhail Mikhaylovich, 1
Carr, Wilbur J., 1, 2
Carter, Harry A., 1, 2
Catholicism, 1
Chaliapin, Fyodor, 1, 2
“Champion Osman, the Tambura-Player,” 1
Chanticleer (Maxim), 1. See also Maxim
Cheka, 1, 2, 3
Chernov, Karp, 1
Cherry Hill Methodist Church, 1
Chicago, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
churches, 1
Russian, 1, 2, 3
U.S. southern, 1
Ciniselli Circus, auctioning of, 1
Çiragan Palace, 1
Civil War, Russian. See Russian Civil War
Civil War, U.S. See American Civil War
Clarendon Hotel, 1
Coahoma County, Mississippi, 1, 2, 3, 4.
See also specific topics
cocaine, 1
cockroach races, 1
Codolban, Nitza, 1
Conservatory of Music, 1
Constantinople.
See also specific topics
Allies’ occupation of and British martial law in, 1
arrival in, 1, 2
description and overview, 1
Elvira Thomas in, 1, 2, 3
foreigners and increasing xenophobia, 1, 2
racial attitudes in, 1, 2
Russian refugees in, 1
tourism and entertainment, 1, 2.
See also Maxim
World War I and, 1, 2
Cooke, Henry, 1, 2
Cutrer, John W. “Jack,” 1, 2, 3
Cutrer, Will D., 1
d’Anselme, Philippe, 1
Dickerson, Levin, 1
Dickerson, Oliver, 1
Dickerson, Peter, 1, 2, 3
Dickerson, Susan, 1
Dickerson, William
attempt to swindle the Thomases’ out of their farm and property, 1
background and overview, 1, 2
death, 1
Lewis Thomas’s lawsuit against, 1
relationship with Lewis and India Thomas, 1
Douglass, Frederick, 1
drug use, 1
See also alcohol consumption
Drysdale, William, 1, 2
Duncan, George, 1, 2
Dunn, Robert, 1
Easley, G. Gilmer, 1
Eastbrook, Joseph, 1
England, 1
Eustis, J. B., 1
Evelinov, Boris, 1
Excello, SS, 1
Farson, Negley, 1
“First Russian Theatrical Stock Company,” 1
“For the Russian Army, from the Artists of Moscow” campaign, 1
France, 1, 2.
See also Paris and French society and culture, 1
Francis Ferdinand, Archduke, 1
French Army’s occupation of Odessa, 1, 2
Friars Point, Mississippi, 1
Gaisberg, Fred, 1
Gallagher, Michael F., 1
“Gamma” (journalist), 1
Garden Bar, 1
Germany, 1, 2, 3.
See also Berlin
Elvira Thomas in, 1
Moscow’s “anti-German” pogrom, 1
Valli Thomas in, 1, 2, 3, 4
Giselle (ballet), 1
Golitzine, Olga Thomas (daughter), 1, 2
birth, 1
disappearance, 1, 2, 3, 4
finances, 1, 2
Frederick and, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
later life, 1, 2
marriage, 1
in Romania, 1
Grand Hôtel Fontaine, 1
“Great Festival of Charity,” 1
Greer, Carl, 1
Hagia Sophia, 1, 2
Hähn, Hedwig Antonia. See Thomas, Hedwig Antonia Hähn
Harper, Lila Edwards, 1
Harris, Emma, 1
Hermitage Garden, 1, 2
Hospital Pasteur, 1
Hôtel de Paris, 1, 2
Hôtel des Anglais, 1
Howe, Peter, 1
Howe Institute, 1
Imperator Nikolay (passenger ship), 1
interracial marriage, 1, 2
Istanbul, 1, 2
jazz, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Jeffries, James J., 1
Jenkins, William, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Johnson, James Weldon, 1
Johnson, John Arthur “Jack,” 1, 2
Jungmann, Elvira. See Thomas, Elvira Jungmann
Kemal, Mustafa, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Kerensky, Alexander, 1, 2
Kitchen, Karl K., 1
Klegin, Richard, 1, 2
Konsky, Grigory Grigoryevich, 1
Kremer, Isa, 1
Kremlin, 1
Krotkov, Sergey, 1, 2
La Potinière (“The Gossip”), 1
labor strikes, 1
Lahn, SS, 1
Lausanne, Treaty of, 1, 2
Le Moscovite, 1
Leicester Square, 1
Lenin, Vladimir, 1
Lobanov-Rostovsky, Andrey, 1, 2, 3
Lockhart, R. H. Bruce, 1
London, 1
London Hotel, 1
Louisville, Kentucky, 1, 2, 3
Mannix, Daniel, 1
Martynov, Matvey Filippovich, 1, 2
Maxim (in Constantinople), 1, 2, 3, 4
alcoholic beverages at, 1, 2
“Champion Osman” at, 1
description and overview, 1
employees, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
failure of
Carl Greer and, 1
seized by creditors, 1
Yildiz Casino and, 1, 2
famous patrons, 1
finances, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Fourth of July celebration at, 1
opening, 1
popularity and success, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
reopened as “Yeni Maxim”/“New Maxim,” 1
restrictions aimed at enterprises like, 1
shows, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
violent incidents at, 1, 2
Maxim (in Moscow), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
advertisements, 1, 2, 3
alcoholic beverages at, 1, 2
and the authorities, 1, 2
finances, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
foreign performers at, 1
Frederick took over, 1
Frederick’s loss of, 1, 2
interior, 1
Karl Kitchen and, 1
location, 1
in the media, 1, 2, 3
nationalization of, 1, 2
opening, 1, 2
politics and, 1
popularity and success, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
renaming of, 1
shows at, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
shut down in 1915, 1
as “The Favorite Place of Muscovites,” 1
World War I and, 1
Maynard, George F., 1
McKay, Claude, 1
McVey, Sam, 1
Mehmet VI, 1, 2
Memphis, Tennessee, 1, 2
Mendelino, Ermano, 1
Methodist churches, 1
Mississippi Delta, 1, 2
mixed-race people, 1
Morel, Monsieur G., 1
Morfessi, Yury, 1
Moscow, 1
See also specific topics
alcohol laws, 1, 2
bribery of public officials in, 1, 2
changes in, 1, 2
See also World War I
compared with Constantinople, 1
Frederick’s escape from, 1
Frederick’s first several years in, 1
Frederick’s possible leave from (1904-1906), 1
as heart of Russia, 1
nightlife, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
See also Aquarium; Maxim
schools in, 1
Moscow Soviet of Soldiers’ Deputies, 1
multiracial people, 1
Murat, Lucien, 1
Nansen, Fridtjof, 1
Natruskin, Aleksey Fyodorovich, 1
New York City
Bruce Thomas in, 1, 2
Frederick Thomas in, 1
Nicholas II, Tsar, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
See also specific topics
alcohol consumption, 1
Duma and, 1, 2
Frederick asked to become subject of, 1
Frederick’s “love” for, 1
Frederick’s petition for citizenship and, 1, 2
as leader, 1, 2, 3
downfall of, 1, 2, 3, 4
opposition to, 1
Rasputin and, 1
striking workers and, 1
World War I and, 1, 2
Norton, Roy, 1
October Manifesto, 1
October Revolution, 1, 2
Odessa, 1, 2
Bolshevik occupation of, 1
description and overview, 1
Frederick trapped in, 1
Frederick’s citizenship and, 1
Frederick’s escape from, 1
See also Imperator Nikolay 1, 2
Frederick’s first two trips to, 1
French occupation of, 1, 2, 3
Osman. See “Champion Osman, the Tambura-Player”
Ostend, Belgium, 1
The Black Russian Page 33
