Administrative Information
Provenance
From 1962 to 1965, Frederick Loewe gave many of his most well-known music manuscripts to the Library of Congress. This gift was comprised of his manuscripts for songs from Brigadoon (given in 1962), songs from My Fair Lady (given in 1964), and songs written for Camelot, in addition to four additional songs written for My Fair Lady (given in 1965). These items were formerly cataloged as ML96.L62, though the contents were not fully described.
In November 1999, a significant collection of Frederick Loewe materials was offered at auction by Christie’s, Los Angeles. At that auction, the Library purchased five of the more important lots offered, with funds from the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Fund for the Benefit of the Library of Congress. Those lots contained additional songs written for Brigadoon, songs and sketches written for The Day Before Spring, songs and sketches written for Great Lady, songs written for, but not used in My Fair Lady, and songs written for Paint Your Wagon. The provenance of these materials was described in the catalog as a bequest from Loewe to “John Morris, artist and friend,” and a subsequent bequest by Morris to “the present owner” who is left unnamed. There were other lots offered for sale that the Library did not acquire, notably additional music written for Camelot, and music written for Gigi.
The remainder of the items in this collection were the gift of Stuart Warren of Palm Springs, California, and were received by the Library in December 1999. All non-music materials in the collection are also part of this gift.
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Processing History
The Frederick Loewe Collection was processed by Mark Horowitz in 2004. Janet McKinney coded the finding aid for EAD format in 2011 and revised the EAD in 2019.
Transfers
Audiovisual materials were transferred to the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division where they are identified as part of the Frederick Loewe Collection (MAVIS collection no. 7776). An inventory of this material is available in the Music Division's collection file. Some of the audio recordings have been cataloged and can be found in the Library of Congress online catalog where they are identified as part of the "Frederick Loewe Collection (Library of Congress)."
Related Material
The Library of Congress Music Division holds additional Loewe material. The division’s general collections contain the following items: a typescript libretto for Great Lady (ML50.L8256G6), full scores for Brigadoon and My Fair Lady, and parts for My Fair Lady and Paint Your Wagon. In addition, the Warner-Chappell Collection contains parts and full scores for My Fair Lady, full scores for Paint Your Wagon, and piano-vocal scores for Camelot and Gigi. Robert Russell Bennett’s arrangement of themes from Camelot resides with the Robert Russell Bennett materials (ML96.B4673).
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container number], Frederick Loewe Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.