Scope and arrangement
The Jules Bledsoe papers consist of correspondence, contracts, musical compositions, legal documents, financial records, programs, broadsides, and news clippings documenting Bledsoe's professional career, particularly in Europe. Items of significance include legal correspondence and court documents generated by his lawsuit against Lew Leslie of Blackbirds fame; a manuscript score of Shirley Graham's opera Tom Tom; and a large number of manuscript compositions by Bledsoe. Additionally, there are several letters from composer Clarence Cameron White about his opera, Ouanga!. Also included are personal correspondence with friends and family members, and papers relating to a resort that he owned in Roxbury, New York, called Jessie's Farms. Of special interest is a substantial number of musical manuscripts of art songs, spirituals, and instrumental pieces composed and arranged by Bledsoe.