Search Results

1. Ethel Merman collection, 1908-1998

   262 items. 6 containers. 4 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Ethel Merman (1908-1984) was an American actress and singer. She was a legendary figure in the history of the American musical theater and during her career on Broadway, in Hollywood, and on television, and was known for her belting voice and strong stage presence. The collection chiefly consists of scripts, lyric sheets, photographs, and notes from the various productions in which Merman starred, but also includes correspondence, music, clippings, and programs.

2. Ray M. Lawless collection, 1952-1965

   6 boxes. 2.5 linear feet. 224 folders. -- American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Research materials including questionnaires, some correspondence, and photographs of approximately 200 folksingers and singers of folksong (a few of them are performers of art songs and classical music) collected by Ray M. Lawless to illustrate his book, Folksingers and Folksongs in America (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1960; second edition, 1965).

3. Sam Eskin collection, 1939-1969

   56.5 linear feet. 16,568 items (15,795 manuscripts, 716 sound recordings, and 57 graphic materials). -- American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Collection consists of manuscripts, field recordings, photographs, and ephemera documenting folk music and folk music revivals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico from 1938 to 1966; plus manuscripts and field recordings of mostly unidentified artists performing folk music in Jamaica, Cuba, England, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Morocco, Hong Kong, Philippines, India, and Thailand from 1953 to 1969 collected by Sam Eskin. Manuscript materials include correspondence, transcriptions of songs and lyrics, folk festival programs and flyers, a Japanese song book, Eskin's lecture notes, and his collection of bawdy songs and limericks.

   Please note:

   Access restrictions apply.

   Some or all content stored offsite.

4. Woody Guthrie manuscript collection, 1935-1950

   3 boxes. -- American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   The Woody Guthrie manuscript collection includes unpublished correspondence, most are letters from Guthrie to Alan Lomax, assistant in charge of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress, dated 1940-1942; plus drawings; essays; song lyrics; and a songbook, "Songs of Woody Guthrie."

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   Access restrictions apply.

5. Dorothea Dix Lawrence collection, 1856-1980

   350 items. 4 containers. 2 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Dorothea Dix Lawrence was a successful opera singer in the 1930s and 1940s who later became a recitalist and folklorist. The materials in the collection include correspondence, photographs, clippings and other items that document her career as a singer and interpreter of American folk music. In addition, the collection includes her articles on American folklore that were published in various journals, and two copies of her famous Folklore Music Map of the United States. The collection also includes piano-vocal opera scores and a large number of American folk songs.

6. Belle Brown collection, 1865-1912

   180 items. 3 containers. 1.75 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Belle Brown was an American soprano who had a brief operatic career abroad around the turn of the twentieth century. Although little biographical information exists about her, the contents of this collection document her relationships with prominent and respected European performers of the day. She studied with many celebrated performers and pedagogues, including Désirée Artôt, Pauline Lucca, and Jean and Edouard de Reszke. The collection contains correspondence with performers and pedagogues; photographs and prints of composers, performers, musicians, and other influential figures in European musical society around the turn of the century; and miscellaneous clippings and ephemeral materials.

7. Helen Traubel papers, 1910-1972

   approximately 3,500 items. 36 containers. 18.5 linear feet. -- Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

   Summary:

   Helen Traubel (1899-1972) was an American soprano and writer. Known for her Wagnerian opera roles, Traubel spent 16 years at the Metropolitan Opera before exploring work in television, musical theater, and nightclubs. This collection documents her career through correspondence, photographs, scripts, scrapbooks, and her annotated music scores and orchestra library.