Morton autographed the photo "Ferd (Jelly Roll) Morton", Chicago, 1920s. Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (October 20, 1890 - July 10, 1941) was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer. He took the nickname, Jelly Roll, which was black slang for female genitalia. Around 1904, Morton also started touring in the American South, working with minstrel shows, gambling and composing. In 1915 his "Jelly Roll Blues" was arguably the first jazz composition ever published, recording as sheet music the New Orleans traditions that had been jealously guarded by the musicians. In 1926, he got a contract to record for the largest and most prestigious company in the United States, Victor. These recordings by Jelly Roll Morton & His Red Hot Peppers are regarded as classics of 1920s jazz. His compositions were recorded by the musicians Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman and others, but he received no royalties. In 1938 Morton was stabbed by a friend and suffered wounds to the head and chest. After this incident his wife Mabel demanded that they leave Washington. His recovery from his wounds was incomplete, and thereafter he was often ill. Morton died in 1941, at the age of 50.