Request for source of Locke's supposed 1919 mention of Harlem as "the big apple"--(2nd try)

[Cohen, Gerald Leonard]

Dear Mr. Miller,
        Might I request the source of the statement as reported in the 1/17/2007 Wall Street Journal that A. Locke said in 1919: "Harlem is the precious fruit of the Garden of Eden, the big apple." If there is a charge for this service I will very willingly pay  it. The statement reportedly appears on a map of the Harlem Renaissance in your possession, but is there any source cited?

        I have been working on the origin of "The Big Apple" for nearly twenty years and have never encountered the above 1919 quote from Locke, and none of the 1920s attestations of "the big apple" that other scholars and I have located pertain to Harlem. The Harlem references come no sooner than the 1930s, and almost all the 1920s attestations are in a horseracing context.

       I will soon start preparing a second edition of my book _Origin of New York City's Nickname, "The Big Apple"_ , this time
co-authored with independent scholar Barry Popik.  If, by chance, Locke really did make the above 1919 quote, that would be  significant, and I would give you full credit for the discovery.   Mr. Popik doubts that Locke made that statement at all and in any case asserts firmly  that Locke had no influence on  the nickname.

       I join Mr. Popik in suspecting that the statement about Locke's 1919 alleged quote is in error, but I will certainly keep an open mind on the subject and would be very grateful for your reply to this query. Also,  if  I can reciprocate with information about what is already known and published on the origin of NYC's sobriquet "The Big Apple," I'd be happy to provide it.

With best wishes,

Sincerely,
Gerald Cohen
Professor of German and Russian
(research specialty: Etymology, especially of British and American slang)
Editor, Comments on Etymology
Department of Arts, Languages, and Philosophy
University of Missouri-Rolla
Rolla, MO 65409
e-mail: gcohen at umr.edu

Re:
JAZZ'S HISTORY IS LIVING IN QUEENS
by Nat Hentoff
Wall Street Journal, January 17, 2007, pg. D12, col. 4:
"The Queens Jazz Trails tour takes place the first Saturday of every month.
Copies of the accompanying map can be obtained from Mr. Miller at Ephemera
Press  (ephemerapress.com). There, too, is his celebrated illustrated map of the
Harlem  Renaissance that cites cultural historian Alaine Locke's 1919 first
chorus to  the abiding importance of Harlem: 'Harlem is the precious fruit of
the Garden of  Eden, the big apple.'"
...

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