Duke Ellington Christmas card inserts, circa 1974

Correspondence, creative works, legal documents, and printed material, 1934-1939, 1951-1984, 1990-2009, document the career of author and songwriter Vern Hansen, especially his relationship with the songwriter Johnny Mercer, with whom he corresponded from 1955 until Mercer’s death in 1976. Included are nine Christmas Cards from the Mercer family, each with an annual poem written by Mercer. Hansen’s papers also include his writings on Mercer, correspondence with Mercer's widow, Ginger, and The Johnny Mercer Foundation, and legal records related to "Mistletoe Mountain," the song whose lyrics Mercer revised. Correspondence also shows Hansen's continuing efforts to interest music publishers and performers in the song. The papers include Hansen’s correspondence with singer Bing Crosby, from whom he also sought advice and assistance, and printed Christmas cards from and Hansen's writings about the composer and orchestra leader Duke Ellington. A file of photos, reminiscences, and clippings, 1934-1939, 1955, 1981, 2009, documents Hansen's musical career in the 1930s with banjoist Nick Wayne. Material related to Hansen’s other song compositions, as well as his spiritual writings, make up the rest of the papers.