The Rosetta Reitz Papers at Duke University comprise 41 linear feet and 30,750 items contained in 63 acid-free cardboard boxes and in more than 45 additional digital files. The materials, spanning the years 1929-2008, include research notes, photographs, audio and visual recordings, and published writings as well as handwritten and… Read More »What can we learn from Sweet Petunias?
When I first looked at the Sweet Petunias album cover, Mae West’s name seemed to burst off of the page. It was exciting to see a familiar name, but I soon realized she was the only White singer featured on the album. Thus, my research primarily focused on why Rosetta… Read More »The Sexiest Petunia: The Significance of Mae West’s Inclusion on Sweet Petunias
Sweet Petunias Produced by Rosetta Reitz Cover by Erika Weihs and White Studio Vinyl Album United States 1986 Rosetta Records The cover of the album, Sweet Petunias (Figure 1), Volume 4 of Rosetta Reitz’s Independent Women’s Blues series, collages an un-credited photograph of performer Aida Overton Walker and an illustration… Read More »Aida Overton Walker & Sweet Petunias
While listening to the album Sweet Petunias, released by Rosetta Records in 1986, I was struck by the frequency in the references to different kinds of flowers. Indeed, the name of the album itself refers to a floral variety. Once I began digging through the material Rosetta Reitz collected regarding… Read More »Sweet Petunias and Sweet Pease: A Floriographical Reading
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