Scope and Content Note
The George Antheil Correspondence with Mary Louise Curtis Bok spans the period 1921-1940. The primary series consists chiefly of letters and telegrams between the composer and his patron. Correspondence between Bok and others regarding Antheil, namely Ezra Pound, Donald S. Friede, and Constantin von Sternberg, is arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Clippings and other enclosures are scattered among these materials. Additional items of note include a letter from Pound to Antheil and a telegram from Igor Stravinsky to the composer.
"Writings" contains two substantive, titled works by Antheil. Antheilcized Notation, or, Music for everybody who can tell one from two and two from three provides an explanation of the composer's intriguing "See-Note" method of piano pedagogy. This subject is described at great length in the George and Böske Antheil Papers, as well. The second work, Many Thoughts to M.L.B. and a Key to My Music (To Be Remembered While Listening to It), is a reproduction of a lengthy piece enclosed in Antheil's February 1926 letter to Bok. "Miscellany" comprises assorted newspaper clippings, promotional materials, and photographs of the Transatlantic sets by Ludwig Sievert. These items are arranged alphabetically by subject.