11x14 print of the Illustrated blue and white poster for The mysterious Axman's jazz : don't scare me papa, 1919 by Joseph John Davilla from the collection of The Historic New Orleans Collection.
This piece of sheet music is a reminder of the reign of terror that gripped New Orleans from May 1918 through October 1919, when reports of a series of grisly murders filled local newspapers. The victims, mostly Italian grocers, were attacked at night by a mysterious ax-wielding intruder who escaped, leaving almost no clues. At least six people were killed, and those who were wounded but recovered could describe their attacker only as a heavyset dark man. The axman usually broke through the doors of his victims’ homes with a chisel, and he often perpetrated the crime with an ax found on premises.
On March 16, 1919, the Times-Picayune published a letter to the editor from an individual claiming to be the axman. The writer boasts, “They have never caught me and they never will. . . . I am not a human being, but a spirit and a fell demon from the hottest hell.” He announces a plan to attack again at 12:15 a.m. on Saint Joseph’s Day—but notes that he is fond of jazz music and will spare anyone playing jazz music or with a jazz band in full swing that night.
Jazz parties were quickly organized, and cafés and bars all over town were crowded that evening. On Wednesday, March 19, the Times-Picayune ran a cartoon showing a frenzied attempt to accede to the axman’s request and an article describing the after-midnight jazz soirees. It was noted that the axman did not strike that evening.
Inspired by the axman’s letter, Joseph John Davilla, a local composer of popular music, wrote this piece “while he waited for the axman” and had it published, using the Times-Picayune cartoon on the cover. Although a suspect emerged—a man subsequently murdered in broad daylight, in Los Angeles, by the widow of his last New Orleans victim—no one was ever arrested for these crimes.
11x14 print of the Illustrated blue and white poster for The mysterious Axman's jazz : don't scare me papa, 1919 by Joseph John Davilla from the collection of The Historic New Orleans Collection.
This piece of sheet music is a reminder of the reign of terror that gripped New Orleans from May 1918 through October 1919, when reports of a series of grisly murders filled local newspapers. The victims, mostly Italian grocers, were attacked at night by a mysterious ax-wielding intruder who escaped, leaving almost no clues. At least six people were killed, and those who were wounded but recovered could describe their attacker only as a heavyset dark man. The axman usually broke through the doors of his victims’ homes with a chisel, and he often perpetrated the crime with an ax found on premises.
On March 16, 1919, the Times-Picayune published a letter to the editor from an individual claiming to be the axman. The writer boasts, “They have never caught me and they never will. . . . I am not a human being, but a spirit and a fell demon from the hottest hell.” He announces a plan to attack again at 12:15 a.m. on Saint Joseph’s Day—but notes that he is fond of jazz music and will spare anyone playing jazz music or with a jazz band in full swing that night.
Jazz parties were quickly organized, and cafés and bars all over town were crowded that evening. On Wednesday, March 19, the Times-Picayune ran a cartoon showing a frenzied attempt to accede to the axman’s request and an article describing the after-midnight jazz soirees. It was noted that the axman did not strike that evening.
Inspired by the axman’s letter, Joseph John Davilla, a local composer of popular music, wrote this piece “while he waited for the axman” and had it published, using the Times-Picayune cartoon on the cover. Although a suspect emerged—a man subsequently murdered in broad daylight, in Los Angeles, by the widow of his last New Orleans victim—no one was ever arrested for these crimes.