Scope and Content Note
The Belle Brown Collection spans the years 1865-1912 and includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, Miss Brown’s contract with the Court Theatre in Weimar, a program of Anton Rubinstein concerts, and iconography related to Miss Brown’s vocal training abroad as well as her brief opera career in Weimar. The collection also documents Miss Brown’s professional and personal associations with influential European artists.
The “Correspondence” series spans 1865 to 1912 and includes letters and cards from performers and pedagogues, most notably Désirée Artôt and Pauline Lucca. There are also eight letters to Miss Brown and Lucca from Bronsart von Schellendorf dated 1893-1894, reflecting the first years of Miss Brown’s contract with the Weimar Court Theatre. Other significant musicians whose correspondence appears in the collection include Frieda Hempel, Arnold Rosé, and Anton Rubinstein. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent and then by topic.
The second series, “Miscellaneous Documents,” is comprised of a small number of newspaper clippings and obituary notices concerning musicians, most significantly Lucca. In addition, there is a program of Anton Rubinstein concerts and the contract Bronsart von Schellendorf offered to Miss Brown in 1893. This series is organized alphabetically by the subject of the document.
Finally, the “Iconography” series, which is the largest series of the collection, offers 114 prints and photographs of influential figures in European musical society around the turn of the century. Nineteen photographs are autographed by the subject of the photograph or inscribed to Miss Brown; most impressive of these signatures are those of Lola Artôt de Padilla, Leschetizky, and Liszt. The majority of these photographs are also annotated by Miss Brown, often indicating the person and his/her relationship to Miss Brown’s music career. Iconography is arranged alphabetically by subject of the photograph.