The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Scope and Contents note:
This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 1985 Festival of American Folklife. Materials may include photographs, audio recordings, motion picture film and video recordings, notes, production drawings, contracts, memoranda, correspondence, informational materials, publications, and ephemera. Such materials were created during the Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as well as in the featured communities, before or after the Festival itself.
Arrangement note:
Arranged in 5 series.
Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera
Series 2: Cultural Conservation
Series 3: Louisiana
Series 4: Mela! An Indian Fair
Series 5: Special Events
Historical note:
The Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998.
The 1985 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Office of Folklife Programs and cosponsored by the National Park Service.
For more information, see Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Introduction:
From the first Festival of American Folklife in 1967 through the 1984 Festival, more than 10,000 participants traveled to Washington to share their wisdom and talent with visitors, Festival Director Diana Parker recalled in the 1985 Program Book. In explaining and demonstrating their skills as singers, dancers, musicians, cooks, artisans, storytellers, and workers, they represented legions more in their home communities. Because of the time and knowledge they shared, lives had been enriched, while the cultural understanding of the aesthetic variety in this and other nations had broadened. Meanwhile, the Smithsonian's archive of folklife research and programming experience had grown incrementally each year. There remained much still to be learned, and each participant's story added to our understanding of the mosaic of folk culture.
Festival participants often spoke of their struggle to maintain traditions in the face of overwhelming odds. Each year brought another person to inform visitors, "I am the last who knows how to do this the old way." For this reason the Folklife Programs viewed conservation of culture as an issue equal in urgency to the conservation of natural resources, for the pluralism reflected at each year's Festival would be terrible to lose. The Smithsonian was not, of course, the only organization concerned with cultural conservation. The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress consistently contributed on a national scale to research and preservation of traditional culture. Numerous state and local programs were also hard at work in similar efforts and have made notable contributions. As the National Endowment for the Arts celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1985, the Smithsonian was especially aware of the immense contributions of its Folk Arts Program.
The 1985 Festival took place for two five-day weeks (June 26-30 and July 3-7) between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive and between 10th Street and 14th Street, south of the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History (see site plan).
For the 1985 Festival, more than two hundred participants came to Washington to share in a great celebration of cultural diversity. Three thematic programs were presented, complemented by a number of special events. The 1985 Program Book provides information on each of the programs.
The 1985 Festival was co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service and organized by the Office of Folklife Programs. In addition to specific support (acknowledged below) for the Louisiana and Mela! programs, the recording industry provided support in part for the instrumental music in performances at the Festival through the Music Performance Trust Funds (Martin A. Paulson, Trustee).
Office of Folklife Programs
Peter Seitel, Director; Diana Parker, Festival Director; Thomas Vennum, Jr., Senior Ethnomusicologist; Marjorie Hunt, Folklorist; Alicia María González, Folklorist and Program Developer; Kazadi wa Mukuna, Ethnomusicologist; Richard Derbyshire, Archivist; Laurie Kalb, Foodways Coordinator
National Park Service
William Penn Mott, Jr., Director; Manus J. Fish, Jr., Regional Director, National Capital Region
Forms Part Of:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1985 Festival of American Folklife forms part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival records .
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: Papers
1967 Festival of American Folklife records - [Ongoing]
Related Archival Materials note:
Within the Rinzler Archives, related materials may be found in various collections such as the Ralph Rinzler papers and recordings, the Lily Spandorf drawings, the Diana Davies photographs, the Robert Yellin photographs, and the Curatorial Research, Programs, and Projects collection. Additional relevant materials may also be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives concerning the Division of Performing Arts (1966-1983), Folklife Program (1977-1980), Office of Folklife Programs (1980-1991), Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies (1991-1999), Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present), and collaborating Smithsonian units, as well as in the administrative papers of key figures such as the Secretary and respective deputies. Users are encouraged to consult relevant finding aids and to contact Archives staff for further information.
Restrictions:
Access by appointment only. Where a listening copy or viewing copy has been created, this is indicated in the respective inventory; additional materials may be accessible with sufficient advance notice and, in some cases, payment of a processing fee. Older papers are housed at a remote location and may require a minimum of three weeks' advance notice and payment of a retrieval fee. Certain formats such as multi-track audio recordings and EIAJ-1 videoreels (1/2 inch) may not be accessible. Contact the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections at 202-633-7322 or rinzlerarchives@si.edu for additional information.
Rights:
Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Generally, materials created during a Festival are covered by a release signed by each participant permitting their use for personal and educational purposes; materials created as part of the fieldwork leading to a Festival may be more restricted. We permit and encourage such personal and educational use of those materials provided digitally here, without special permissions. Use of any materials for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires a license from the Archives. Licensing fees may apply in addition to any processing fees.
One of the most comprehensive collections of material relating to musical stage and film productions, the collection consists of an assortment of material including sheet music written specifically for or included in stage and screen musicals, television programs, Big Band performances, and radio. Some productions may have been produced under more than one title, especially if the production was presented internationally.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by title of production or personality using proper name. Folders for each entry may include sheet music, ephemeral items related to that specific production or personality such as theater programs, reviews, and posters. There are a number of costume design drawings. Folders will rarely include full printed scores. Published scores were separated from this collection before donation.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into six series.
Series 1, Stage Musicals and Vaudeville, 1866-2007, undated
Subseries 1.1, United States Stage Musicals, 1866-2007, undated
Series 6, Ephemera and Single Sheet Music, 1908-2005, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Donald J. Stubblebine was born on February 4, 1925 in Reading, Pennsylvania, to Edgar W. and Emma Stubblebine. He had an older brother Edgar W. Stubblebine, Jr. His father was a sheet metal worker employed by the railroad in Reading. Stubblebine was first exposed to musicals through motion pictures. His mother attended "dish night" with her son twice a week. During the Great Depression, in order to draw an audience, theaters would give out dishes with each admission. He credited this with beginning his love of musicals. By the 1940 United States Census his mother is listed as a widow. Stubblebine attended the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. After graduation he was employed for forty years as controller by the Chilton Publishing Company. He retired in 1994.
As a lifelong film and theater fan, Stubblebine began collecting sheet music, programs, and ephemera from stage and film musicals in the early 1970s. As his collection grew, so did his expertise in the history of musical theatre and film. He eventually authored four reference books dealing with United States and British stage and film musicals as well as films from Canada and Australia. He became an often sought-after expert in stage and film music. His obsession with collecting eventually filled his Philadelphia apartment with one of the largest collections of material centered on music in the United States. He collected not only the sheet music and scores from musicals but often collected copies of reviews, programs, photographs, and costume sketches.
Stubblebine died on May 1, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smitsonian Institution by Joseph Regis Hauber in memory of Donald J. Stubblebine, in 2010.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research but is stored offsite. Arrangements must be made with the Archives Center staff two weeks prior to a scheduled research visit.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark.
Donald J. Stubblebine Collection of Musical Theater and Motion Picture Music and Ephemera, 1866-2009, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection is open for research but is stored offsite. Arrangements must be made with the Archives Center staff two weeks prior to a scheduled research visit.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Stubblebine Collection of Musical Theater and Motion Picture Music and Ephemera, 1866-2009, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
The Great Migration is a unique, ongoing digitization service program that partners the National Museum of African American History and Culture with individuals across the United States to preserve their important analog audiovisual media.
While major motion picture film and television historically lacked diverse representation, black history was instinctively being preserved in everyday home movies. Today, these personal narratives serve as an invaluable tool for understanding and re-framing black moving image history, and provide a much needed visualization of African American history and culture.
Scope and Contents:
The collection contains 825 digitized audiovisual media objects. However, as an ongoing project the scope of the collection will continue to increase over time. The scope will be updated as is appropriate.
The content of the collection consists predominantly of amateur recordings created by families to document their lives. This includes major life events, such as birthdays, as well as family vacations and holidays. Additionally, the collection includes footage produced by professionals for broadcast on television. This particular footage entered the collection through partnerships with other memory institutions.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into series,file, and item-level records. Each series corresponds to the year of digitization. Each file corresponds to a family that has participated in the Great Migration program. Each item within a file corresponds to a single piece of audiovisual media, such as a film or videotape, digitized by NMAAHC staff.
Provenance:
NMAAHC creates and retains digital copies, 2016-[ongoing]. Original analog materials are not retained by the museum.
Restrictions:
Collection is available online for open research.
Rights:
The Great Migration Home Movie Study Collection, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution.
Copyright for all works are retained by the creators of the original analog materials. Permissions for any use of the material may be requested from National Museum of African American History and Culture Right and Reproductions 202-633-3846.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Supported by the Robert Frederick Smith Fund of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Sponsor:
This project received support from the Robert Frederick Smith Fund of the National Museum of African American History and Culture Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.) Search this
Type:
Archival materials
16mm motion picture film
Place:
Washington (D.C.)
Date:
circa 1940 -1970
Scope and Contents:
The Church of God series features footage of church services, large events in Washington D.C.'s Griffith Stadium, church-related travel, and church-organized parades.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is available online for open research.
Collection Rights:
The Great Migration Home Movie Study Collection, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution.
Copyright for all works are retained by the creators of the original analog materials. Permissions for any use of the material may be requested from National Museum of African American History and Culture Right and Reproductions 202-633-3846.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Supported by the Robert Frederick Smith Fund of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Sponsor:
This project received support from the Robert Frederick Smith Fund of the National Museum of African American History and Culture Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
