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Michael & David Doucet, Mitchell Reed - "Parlez-Nous à Boire" [Live at Folklife Festival 2007]

Creator:
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this
Type:
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2009-07-28T16:02:06.000Z
YouTube Category:
Music  Search this
Topic:
Cultural property  Search this
See more by:
smithsonianfolkways
Data Source:
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
YouTube Channel:
smithsonianfolkways
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_xpct_HTgAaM

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Steamboats [Ships, Boats, and Vessels]

Creator:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this
Extent:
10.22 Cubic feet (consisting of 20 boxes, 2 folders, 9 oversize folders, 3 map case folders, 3 flat boxes (2 full, 1 partial.))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Menus
Bills
Ships' passenger lists
Patents
Legislative documents
Photographs
Advertisements
Advertising mail
Advertising
Illustrations
Contracts
Trademarks
Inspections
Programs
Advertising cards
Advertising fliers
Print advertising
Legal documents
Travelogs
Souvenir programs
Business cards
Concert programs
Publications
Commercial correspondence
Correspondence
Receipts
Theater programs
Business records
Legal records
Business ephemera
Invoices
Bills of sale
Ships' logs
Technical reports
Reports
Letterheads
Ephemera
Design patents
Travel brochures
Legislation (legal concepts)
Business letters
Timetables
Travel diaries
Printed ephemera
Place:
New York (N.Y.) -- Transportation
Hudson River
Date:
1777-1965
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Accounting and Bookkeeping forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
Minimally covers the terminus of the wind-powered (sail) era and more fully documents the peak of the engine (steam) era of commercial cargo and passenger vesselsk, including freight and dockage services, maintenance and provisioning, ferry service, navigation (tug and tow) assistance, plus leisure cruising and touring. There is not a significant amount of material on battle or war ships. Includes both short distance routes such as lakes, rivers, and islets, and longer trans-oceanic crossings.

Documents within the collection consist of handbills, broadsides, leaflets, books, business cards, advertisements, insurance forms, wreck reports, passenger lists, baggage tags, freight manifests, rate cards, correspondence on letterhead stationery, booklets, newspaper clippings, postcards, menus, periodicals, manuals, photographs, engravings, woodcuts, sketches, bills of lading, receipts, catalogues, ledgers, journals, purchase orders, broadsides, brochures, custom forms, schedules, shipping and receiving documents, early steam guides, timetables, lithographs, announcements, etc. There are no navigational nautical maps. There is very little in the way of international import/export records. However, domestic and North American freight services are well-covered through invoices, bills of lading, manifests, and receipts for goods and services.

Some materials cover the history and development of steamships, particularly in the latter half of the nineteenth century with the iron screw replacing the wooden paddle steamer in the 1850s. The late 1860s brought the compound engine, which led to the steamship, previously used for the conveyance of mails and passengers, to compete with the sailing vessel in the carriage of cargo for long voyages. The 1870s brought improvements in accommodation for the passenger, with the midship saloon, conveniences in state-rooms, and covered access to smoke rooms and ladies cabins.

Ownership of specific lines and vessels was very fluid throughout shipping history, including the renaming of vessels. Mergers, dissolution, and absorption of fleets were frequent. Thus, researchers should independently seek out a more detailed history for any entity of particular interest.

The general maritime business series focuses on good and services related to maritime operations such as repair, shipbuilding, parts, ticket agents, chandlers, groceries, coal supply, dockage, wharfs/marinas, etc.

Operation records of named vessels contains primarily bills of lading and similar receipts for the movement of material goods or in-water services such as tow and tug assistance.

The largest series covering shipping lines and conglomerates offers a wide assortment of miscellaneous, nonexhaustive operation records for cargo and passenger lines and corporations, typically those with multiple holdings. These documents may include receipts, bills of lading, correspondence, and financial ledgers, plus promotional material for services and routes offered. Passenger sailings and luxury cruise documentation may contain menus, passenger lists, itineraries, shore excursion information, souveniers such as luggage tags, ticket stubs, and postcards. See also the subject category Menus, for additional examples of passenger and cruise ship menus.

When not associated with any of the above, general examples of materials related to the industry have been by arranged by their material type such as images, reports, and serial publications. More formal documentation, especially legal and reports, can be found here.

Narrative type materials related to lore, history, and building and design specifications have been sorted by subject. A scarce amount of material covers ships used for military service. Likewise, there are a few examples of maritime related material from the art world, mostly in the form of catalogues for exhibits or auction of paintings and scale models.

A note on vessel names: those used as contract carriers of mail and when in service, were entitled to unique prefix designations such as Royal Mail Ship (RMS.), otherwise, the ship name may be preceded by the more generic S.S. for single-screw steamer or steamship, SV for sailing vessel, PS for paddle steamer, RV for research vessel or similar type prefix. USS is the standard for the United States Navy commissioned ships while in commission, with HMS used for His/Her Majesty's Ship of the British Royal Navy.

Some of the major lines/companies represented in the collection include: American Line, American Steamship Company, Anchor Line, Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, Cunard-Anchor Line, Cunard Line, Cunard Steam Ship Company, Limited, Cunard White Star Line, Eastern Steamship Lines, Furness, Withy & Company, Hamburg American Line (HAPAG) / Hamburg Amerika Linie, Holland America Line (N.A.S.M. / HAL), Inman Line, International Mercantile Marine Company (IMM), International Navigation Company, North German Lloyd (Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen), Panama Pacific Line, Peninsular and Oriental, Red Star Line, Royal Mail Steam Packet, U.S. Mail Steamship Company, United States Lines, White Star Line.
Arrangement:
Ships, Boats, and Vessels is arranged in three subseries.

Business Records and Marketing Material

General Maritime Businesses



Operation Records of Named Vessels



Shipping Lines/Conglomerates

Miscellaneous Business Records and Marketing Material

Genre

Keepsakes

Images

Ledger

Legal

News Clippings

Regulatory

Reports

Serial Publications

Stamps/Cigarette Cards

Associations and Societies

Images, Artwork, Racing, Technical Literature

Subject

Battleships, Warships

Destination Guides

Employment and Licensing

Insurance

Maritime History

Maritime Models and Art

Revue Generale Des Sciences

Warshaw Administrative Records
Related Materials:
Several other Warshaw Subject Categories may have closely related material such as Submarines and Transportation. For casual and recreational boating see Boats and Boating Equipment and Yachts. Other subject categories that may have related materials include: Canals, Dredging, Engines, Menus, Railroads (point of common transportation transfer), and Tours. .
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Missing Title

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Steamboats [Ships, Boats, and Vessels] is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
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.
Topic:
Passenger ships  Search this
Marine machinery  Search this
Ships  Search this
Shipbuilding industry  Search this
Ferries  Search this
Transportation -- Japan  Search this
River boats  Search this
Marine engines  Search this
Boats  Search this
Transportation -- Far Eastern  Search this
Ships -- Equipment and supplies  Search this
Merchant Marine -- Manning of vessels -- United States  Search this
Docks  Search this
Health  Search this
Ocean liners  Search this
Merchant Marine -- United States  Search this
Ships -- Far Eastern  Search this
Rivers  Search this
Transportation -- river boat  Search this
World War, 1939-1945 -- Merchant Marine  Search this
Harbors  Search this
Trade associations  Search this
Transportation -- 1900-1910  Search this
Boats and boating  Search this
Water transport -- 18th century  Search this
Boats -- Southeast Asia  Search this
Cargo  Search this
Local transit -- New York (N.Y.)  Search this
Sailboats  Search this
Waterways  Search this
Sailing  Search this
Transportation -- New York (N.Y.)  Search this
Local transit  Search this
Scientific expeditions  Search this
Water transfer  Search this
Transportation -- History  Search this
Wharves  Search this
Steamboats  Search this
Boats -- New York (N.Y.)  Search this
Transportation  Search this
Public health  Search this
Marine engineers  Search this
Ocean travel  Search this
Seamen -- 1910-1920  Search this
Musical performances  Search this
Transportation -- Law and legislation -- United States  Search this
Merchant seamen  Search this
Marine engineering  Search this
Models and modelmaking  Search this
Navigation  Search this
Seamen -- 1940-1950  Search this
Travel  Search this
Importers  Search this
Shipping  Search this
Cruise ships  Search this
Ships -- New York (N.Y.)  Search this
Flags  Search this
Exports -- 19th century  Search this
Genre/Form:
Menus -- Ships -- 1940-1950
Menus
Bills
Ships' passenger lists
Patents
Legislative documents
Photographs
Advertisements
Advertising mail
Advertising
Illustrations
Contracts
Trademarks
Inspections
Programs
Advertising cards
Advertising fliers
Print advertising
Legal documents
Travelogs
Souvenir programs
Business cards
Concert programs
Publications
Commercial correspondence
Correspondence
Receipts
Theater programs
Publications -- Business
Business records
Legal records
Business ephemera
Invoices
Bills of sale
Ships' logs
Technical reports
Reports
Letterheads
Ephemera
Design patents
Travel brochures
Legislation (legal concepts)
Business letters
Timetables
Travel diaries
Printed ephemera
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Ships, Boats, and Vessels, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Steamboats
See more items in:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Steamboats [Ships, Boats, and Vessels]
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8cc542278-2f59-4b3b-9008-a8b7679a46b5
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-steamboats
Online Media:

Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1995 Festival of American Folklife

Creator:
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this
Names:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival  Search this
Extent:
1 Cubic foot (approximate)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business records
Sound recordings
Negatives
Video recordings
Correspondence
Plans (drawings)
Memorandums
Photographic prints
Videotapes
Notes
Audiocassettes
Contracts
Slides (photographs)
Audiotapes
Digital images
Date:
June 23-July 4, 1995
Summary:
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 1995 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 6 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera

Series 2: The Cape Verdean Connection

Series 3: The Czech Republic: Tradition and Transformation

Series 4: Heartbeat: The Voices of First Nations Women

Series 5: Russian Roots, American Branches: Music in Two Worlds

Series 6: 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 1995 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies and cosponsored by the National Park Service.

For more information, see Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Introduction:
The 1995 Festival featured American Indian women's musical traditions, the heritage of the Czech Republic and Czech Americans, music of Russian and Russian American groups, and the cultural life of the Cape Verdean community. These programs testified to the vitality of the human spirit, and to how people, ideas, and forms of cultural expression increasingly cross boundaries of geography, politics, language, race, and gender. Special events included evening concerts devoted to African immigrant communities in the Washington, D.C. area and a memorial concert for Festival founding director, Ralph Rinzler.

Heartbeat: The Voices of First Nations Women presented the musical culture of American Indian women. The program examined how these women express their identity through the use of a variety of musical forms - from traditional songs of home to contemporary songs of Indian life, from the appropriation of men's music to the fusion of root music with country, folk, blues, and gospel.

The Czech Republic: Tradition and Transformation provided a broad survey of the ways national, regional, ethnic, and local traditions have been defined in a complex state located at the crossroads of Central Europe. The "Velvet Revolution" of 1989 and the separation of the Czech and Slovak Republics in 1993 have prompted further examinations of cultural identity, the relationship between the state and popular expression, creativity and tradition. Czech Americans, too, have looked at these changes and the reestablishment of relationships to their ancestral homeland.

A third program, Russian Roots, American Branches: Music in Two Worlds, explored the musical culture of Old Believers and Molokans, Russian religious communities created in the 17th and 18th centuries. The program united immigrant communities long established in the United States with those from Russia, and brought together people who, although separated by generations and different social environments, have nonetheless faced parallel issues with regard to cultural persistence and adaptation.

All these programs involved complex institutional arrangements, local-level research and documentation, and strong commitment to and pride in Festival representation. The Cape Verdean Connection program well demonstrated these processes. Cape Verde is an independent island nation and former Portuguese colony located off the west coast of Africa. Cape Verdean Americans, now numbering about 400,000, most born and raised here, historically settled in New England during the 18th century, playing instrumental roles in the whaling and cranberry industries. Cape Verdeans had an important story to tell about their role in American life, their immigrant and continuing transnational cultural experience, their multiracial heritage, and their enduring sense of community - a story with much to tell others as well. Cape Verdeans provided the impetus for the Festival program, carried out most of the research in concert with Smithsonian scholars, led the effort to raise funds from governments, foundations, corporations, and individuals through benefit dances, auctions, and other community events, and, as is fitting, joined with the Smithsonian to share their experiences with the American public.

The 1995 Festival took place during two five-day weeks (June 23-27 and June 30-July 4) between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive and between 10th Street and 13th Street, south of the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History (see site plan). It featured four programs and several special events.

The 1995 Program Book included schedules and participant lists for each program; essays provided background on the Festival and each of the four programs.

The Festival was co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service and organized by the Center for Folklife Programs & Cultural Studies.

Center for Folklife Programs & Cultural Studies

Richard Kurin, Director; Richard Kennedy, Deputy Director; Diana Parker, Festival Director; Anthony Seeger, Director, Smithsonian/Folkways Recordngs; Peter Seitel, Senior Folklorist; Thomas Vennum, Jr., Senior Ethnomusicologist; Betty Belanus, Olivia Cadaval, Amy Horowitz, Marjorie Hunt, Diana Baird N'Diaye, Curators, Folklorists, Educational and Cultural Specialists; Carla M. Borden, John W. Franklin, Charlene James-Duguid, Program Managers; Felicia Erickson, Arlene L. Reiniger, Mary Van Meter, Program Specialists; Jeffrey Place, Archivist; Kenneth M. Bilby, Roland Freeman, Ivan Karp, Corrine Kratz, Alan Lomax, Worth Long, Yook Jung Park, Kate Rinzler, Research Associates & Collaborators

Folklife Advisory Council and Folkways Advisory Council

Roger Abrahams, Jacinto Arias, Michael Asch, Jane Beck, Don DeVito, Pat Jasper, Ella Jenkins, Jon Kertzer, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, John Nixdorf, Bernice Reagon, John Roberts, Carol Robertson, Gilbert Sprauve, Jack Tchen, Ricardo Trimillos, Carlos Vélez-Ibáñez

National Park Service

Roger Kennedy, Director; Robert G. Stanton, Regional Director, National Capital Region
Shared Stewardship of Collections:
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
Forms Part Of:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1995 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 to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Topic:
Folk art  Search this
arts and crafts  Search this
Food habits  Search this
Folk music  Search this
Folklore  Search this
World music  Search this
Folk festivals  Search this
Genre/Form:
Business records
Sound recordings
Negatives
Video recordings
Correspondence
Plans (drawings)
Memorandums
Photographic prints
Videotapes
Notes
Audiocassettes
Contracts
Slides (photographs)
Audiotapes
Digital images
Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1995 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
CFCH.SFF.1995
See more items in:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1995 Festival of American Folklife
Archival Repository:
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/bk5d0f338f7-ff86-4399-82c5-39d8a73d9b35
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-cfch-sff-1995

Panel

Collector:
William A. Clark, (American, 1839–1925)  Search this
Medium:
Medium: linen, cotton Technique: needle lace, bobbin lace on top edge
Dimensions:
H x W: 42.2 × 348 cm (16 5/8 in. × 11 ft. 5 in.)
Type:
lace
Panel
Made in:
France
Date:
17th–18th century
Credit Line:
Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, William A. Clark Collection
Accession Number:
2018-50-9
Restrictions & Rights:
CC0
See more items in:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
Textiles Department
Data Source:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq40b5d16fa-961c-4061-bea1-aa4747ab3f2b
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:chndm_2018-50-9

L'HYVER

Medium:
Etching and engraving on paper
Object Name:
Print
Type:
Print
Made in:
France
Date:
18th century
Credit Line:
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number:
1921-6-273-4
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department
Data Source:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq44951ed53-9c77-42e4-8605-049f18143151
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:chndm_1921-6-273-4

Arabesque Design

Designer:
Michel, French, active 18th century  Search this
Print Maker:
Jacques Juillet, French, 1739- after 1784  Search this
Publisher:
Louis-Joseph Mondhare, French, 1734–1799  Search this
Medium:
Etching on laid paper
Dimensions:
36.5 x 19.7 cm (14 3/8 x 7 3/4 in. ) (plate)
40.0 x 25.4 cm (15 3/4 x 10 in.) (sheet)
Object Name:
Print
Type:
Print
Made in:
France
Published in:
Paris, France
Date:
1780-1784
Credit Line:
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number:
1921-6-362-5
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department
Data Source:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq406d005a9-55b3-4409-a895-c9bf5feb8d12
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:chndm_1921-6-362-5

Designs for a Console Table and Wall Brackets

Designer:
Nicolas Pineau, French, 1684-1754  Search this
Publisher:
Louis Crépy, French, 1680?–1760  Search this
Medium:
Etching and engraving on laid paper
Object Name:
Print
Type:
Print
Published in:
Paris, France
Date:
mid- 18th century
Credit Line:
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number:
1921-6-374-5
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department
Data Source:
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq492f01680-01a8-4b8d-9999-36306630695a
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:chndm_1921-6-374-5

Carolina Chocolate Drops play instruments in the Smithsonian collection

Creator:
National Museum of American History  Search this
Type:
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2013-05-29T21:45:02.000Z
YouTube Category:
Music  Search this
Topic:
American History  Search this
See more by:
SmithsonianAmHistory
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
YouTube Channel:
SmithsonianAmHistory
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_lr4XFRmm7C0

Moses and Frances Asch Collection

Creator:
Asch, Moses  Search this
Distler, Marian, 1919-1964  Search this
Folkways Records  Search this
Names:
Courlander, Harold, 1908-1996  Search this
Guthrie, Woody, 1912-1967  Search this
Jenkins, Ella  Search this
Leadbelly, 1885-1949  Search this
Ramsey, Frederic, 1915-1995  Search this
Seeger, Pete, 1919-2014  Search this
Extent:
841 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business records
Correspondence
Phonograph records
Photographic prints
Audiotapes
Date:
1926-1986
bulk 1948-1986
Summary:
This collection, which dates from 1926-1986, documents the output of Moses Asch through the various record labels he founded and co-founded, and includes some of his personal papers. The Asch collection includes published recordings, master tapes, outtakes, business records, correspondence, photographs, and film.
Scope and Contents:
The Moses and Frances Asch Collection measures 841 cubic feet and dates from 1926-1987, with some contemporary, relevant correspondence, clippings, and ephemera added after 1987.

Most of the collection consists of audio recordings (commercial 78 rpm and long-playing records, open reel tapes, acetate discs, and test pressings), correspondence with recording artists and producers, artwork, photographs, ephemera, clippings, record production materials, writings, and business papers relating to Folkways Records. Materials relating to Folkways Records can be found primarily in the Correspondence, Folkways Production, Business Records, Photographs, Artwork, Sound Recordings, and Film series.

The collection also contains some biographical materials and personal correspondence, including materials related to Asch's first business, Radio Laboratories, located in the Biographical Materials series. Correspondence, ephemera, photographs, record production materials, business papers, and recordings relating to Asch's record labels before Folkways Records (Asch Recordings, Disc Company of America, Cub Records) are located in the Early Label Materials series as well as the Audio Recordings and Photographs series.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged in 10 series:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1942-1987

Series 2: Folkways Production, 1946-1987

Series 3: Business Records, 1940-1987

Series 4: Woody Guthrie papers, 1927-1985

Series 5: Early Label Materials, 1940-1949

Series 6: Biographical Materials, 1926-1987

Series 7: Photographs

Series 8: Artwork

Series 9: Audio Recordings

Series 10: Film

At this time, the collection is partially processed. Please contact rinzlerarchives@si.edu for more information.
Biographical/Historical note:
The son of Yiddish writer Sholem Asch, Moses Asch was born in Poland in 1905. His childhood was spent in Poland, France, Germany, and New York. While young, Asch developed an interest in radio electronics, which ultimately lead him to his life's work, recording the music and sounds of the world. He established several record labels in succession, sometimes partnering with other record companies. Two of his fist record companies, Asch Recordings and DISC Co. of America, went bankrupt. They were followed by his best-known label, Folkways Records, which was founded in 1948 with Marian Distler (1919-1964). He was still working on Folkways recordings when he died in 1986.

Folkways Records sought to document the entire world of sound. The 2,168 titles Asch released on Folkways include traditional and contemporary music from around the world, spoken word in many languages, and documentary recordings of individuals, communities, and current events. Asch's business practices revolved around the commitment to keep every recording issued by Folkways in print, despite low sales. Asch stayed afloat by cutting costs where he could (such as color printing) and offering a high-quality product, meticulously recorded and accompanied by extensive liner notes. In doing this, he could charge a slightly higher price than other commercial outfits. Despite a tenuous relationship with financial solvency, Folkways grew to be not only one of the most important independent record companies in the United States in the 20th century, but also one of the largest and most influential record companies in the world.

Moses Asch's record labels featured famous and lesser known American writers, poets, documentarians, ethnographers, and grass roots musicians on commercial recordings. American folk icon Woody Guthrie recorded on the Asch, Disc, and Folkways labels, and the Asch Collection includes some of his correspondence, lyrics, drawings, and writings. The collection also includes correspondence with other notable musicians and artists such as John Cage, Langston Hughes, Margaret Walker, Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter, Pete Seeger, Peggy Seeger, Ewan MacColl, Alan Lomax, Henry Cowell, and Kenneth Patchen. Also in the collection are ethnographic field notes and photographs by as well as correspondence with Béla Barók, Sidney Robertson Cowell, Harold Courlander, Helen Creighton, Laura Boulton, and Samuel Charters. Asch hired various prominent artists and graphic designers including David Stone Martin, Ben Shahn, John Carlis, and Ronald Clyne to create album cover art for his recordings. Much of the original art and designs for these covers can be found in the Asch Collection.

Asch's output of recordings on various labels, including published recordings, open reel master tapes, outtakes, and acetate disks, in addition to his business papers, correspondence, photographs, and other files were acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987. The collection came to the Smithsonian with the understanding that all 2168 titles under the Folkways label would be kept available in perpetuity.
Shared Stewardship of Collections:
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
Provenance:
Ralph Rinzler arranged the Smithsonian's acquisition of the Moses and Frances Asch Collection in 1987, beginning with Asch before his death in 1986 and continuing with extensive discussions between Rinzler and the Asch family. Since its acquisition, archivist Jeff Place and others have added contemporary, relevant correspondence with Folkways artists and related individuals.
Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Topic:
Folk music  Search this
Folk dance music  Search this
Electronic music  Search this
Oral interpretation of poetry  Search this
Oral interpretation of fiction  Search this
Music -- 20th century  Search this
Music -- 19th century  Search this
Music -- 18th century  Search this
Jazz  Search this
Folk music -- United States  Search this
World music  Search this
Sounds  Search this
Vocal music  Search this
Popular music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Genre/Form:
Business records
Correspondence
Phonograph records
Photographic prints
Audiotapes
Citation:
Moses and Frances Asch Collection, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
CFCH.ASCH
See more items in:
Moses and Frances Asch Collection
Archival Repository:
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/bk533b8a927-559a-44ac-98d2-f32d871058b4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-cfch-asch
Online Media:

Woody Guthrie papers

Creator:
Guthrie, Woody, 1912-1967  Search this
Names:
Guthrie, Woody, 1912-1967  Search this
Extent:
2.93 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Business letters
Drawings
Business records
Date:
1912-1977
bulk 1940-1951
Summary:
Original song text, music, drawings, correspondence, and other writings by Woody Guthrie; news clippings, articles, correspondence, and business records related to Woody Guthrie. Date span: 1927-1985. Bulk dates: Guthrie song text, writings, and drawings, 1940-1948; correspondence by and to Woody Guthrie, 1944-1951; correspondence regarding Woody Guthrie, 1956-1977.
Arrangement note:
Arranged in boxes and map files by type of material. The major groupings are song texts, drawings, correspondence, and clippings.
Biographical/Historical note:
Woodrow (Woody) Wilson Guthrie (1912-1967) was one of the most important folk composers in American history. Born in Okemah, Oklahoma, Guthrie's name is associated with the common people and those displaced by the Great Dust Storms of the 1930's. He was a prolific songwriter, and his song "This Land is Your Land" is considered by many to be his best known. During the height of his short recording career Guthrie recorded with many of the best-known folk singers and players in the New York area. A one time member of the Almanac Singers with Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Bess Hawes and others, Woody also frequently performed with Lead Belly, Burl Ives, Cisco Houston and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Guthrie's earliest recordings were done for RCA and came out as a set entitled Dust Bowl Ballads, later reissued by Folkways.

It was Guthrie's association with Moses Asch of Folkways Records which yielded the bulk of Guthrie's recorded legacy. Guthrie was given a stipend by Asch to come by the studio when he felt like recording. A one day session in March 1944, yielded 75 recorded songs alone. His songs were recorded on glass discs which now reside in the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Much of this material was released by Asch on various Asch, Disc and Folkways recordings, including his classic children's material.

Although known for his music, Guthrie was also an artist. Among the materials that came with the Folkways Records Collection are watercolors and pen and ink drawings. He also was a writer of note, his most famous work being the novel "Bound for Glory". Historians have begun to consider Guthrie an important literary figure of the 20th century. The Woody Guthrie Papers, including typed song lyrics, correspondence, drawings, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous items, were left with Moses Asch, and came to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections as part of the Moses and Frances Asch Collection. Guthrie died of Huntington's Chorea in 1967 after a long hospitalization.
Shared Stewardship of Collections:
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
Related Archival Materials note:
The Woody Guthrie Archives, Mt. Kisco, NY

Woody Guthrie manuscript collection, Washington, D.C.

This collection is part of the Moses and Frances Asch Collection.
Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Topic:
Music -- 20th century  Search this
Folk music  Search this
Popular music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Vocal music  Search this
Music -- 18th century  Search this
Folk music -- United States  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographic prints
Business letters
Drawings
Business records
Identifier:
CFCH.GUTH
See more items in:
Woody Guthrie papers
Archival Repository:
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/bk5408524f7-8c18-4780-9e2d-3881b07050e2
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-cfch-guth

The Music Album

Collection Performer:
Basie, Count, 1904-1984  Search this
Webster, Ben  Search this
Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971  Search this
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974  Search this
Fitzgerald, Ella, 1917-1996  Search this
Goodman, Benny (Benjamin David), 1909-1986  Search this
Jamal, Ahmad, 1930-  Search this
Robinson, Bill, 1878-1949  Search this
Davis, Miles  Search this
Collection Collector:
Smith, Ernie  Search this
Extent:
1 Motion picture film
Container:
Reel AC0491-OF273
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Motion picture films
Scope and Contents note:
Descriptive Summary: [All Girl Melody Makers]

Copyright: 1946

Corporate Creator: Castle Films

Producer:

Director:

Performer(s): Dave Schooler and His Twenty-One Swinghearts

Song Title(s): a. "Tchaikowskiana" b. "Pavanne" c. "In an 18th Century Drawing Room"

Video reference copy available.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the films are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
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.
Collection Citation:
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
See more items in:
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection / Series 2: Additional Titles
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep843eb7037-b8a8-4337-b76c-6e94cdc7fc79
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0491-ref2117

Cook Labs records

Creator:
Cook Labs  Search this
Cook, Emory, 1913-2002  Search this
Names:
Cook Labs  Search this
Extent:
6.3 Cubic feet (Phonograph albums)
63.5 Cubic feet (Open-reel tapes)
8.75 Cubic feet (Business records)
78.55 Cubic feet
Culture:
Afro-Caribbean cults  Search this
10th Naval District Steel Band  Search this
Almerico, Tony, 1905-  Search this
American Indians  Search this
Audio Engineering Society  Search this
Ast, Anita  Search this
Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750  Search this
Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827  Search this
Big Shell Band  Search this
Boston Chorale  Search this
Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897  Search this
Brokenshire, Norman, 1898-1965  Search this
Brundage, Al (Alfred)  Search this
Brute Force Band  Search this
Camp, Red  Search this
Carroll, Jimmy  Search this
Crowley, Daniel J., 1921-  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Photographic prints
Business records
Artifacts
Contracts
Phonograph records
Correspondence
Christmas music
Place:
Cuba
West Indies -- Lesser Antilles
Caribbean Area
Antigua
Barbuda
Amazon River Region
Benítez (Venezuela)
Baja California (Mexico : Peninsula)
Brazil
Connecticut
Cuba
Haiti
Date:
1908-2002, bulk 1948-1965
Summary:
The Cook Labs records, which date from 1939-2002, document the activities of audio engineer Emory Cook and his label Cook Labs. The contents include business records, materials relating to recording artists, photographs, and production materials, as well as phonograph records, master recordings and unpublished recordings produced by or associated with the Cook Labs label. The collection also contains two interviews conducted with Emory Cook in 1990: one by Jeff Place and one by Anthony Seeger and Nicholas Spitzer. There are several physical objects relating to Cook Labs including a bag of powdered vinyl, a binaural playing arm, and a condenser microphone.
Scope and Contents note:
There are two primary components of the Cook Labs records: the records, master tapes and other audio recordings, and the related paper files.

The Cook Labs records contains about 150 of the 200 released Cook recordings, and 739 master tapes. In addition, there are 330 unpublished tapes.

The the paper files include acquisition materials; business correspondence; recording reports; various production notes on records produced; news articles both about and by Emory Cook and Cook Labs; copyright, licensing, and trademark materials; photographs, correspondence, contracts, and other materials relating to recording artists; production materials for each Cook Labs release; and other miscellany. Many contracts are signed by both Cook Labs and the artist. Correspondence is primarily between business associates.

Two interviews were done with Emory Cook in 1990: one by Jeff Place and one by Anthony Seeger and Nicholas Spitzer; both interviews are included in the Cook Labs records.

There are several physical objects relating to Cook Labs including a bag of powdered vinyl, a binaural playing arm, and a condenser microphone.
Arrangement note:
Many of the items in this list have been assigned an accession number, and like materials have been grouped together to create seven series:

Series 1: Business Papers, 1939-1990

Series 2: Recording Artists, 1949-1981, bulk 1950-1959

Series 3: Photographs, undated, 1957

Series 4: Production files, 1948-1995, bulk 1952-1963

Series 5: Objects, undated, 1908-1964

Series 6: Audio Interviews, 1990

Series 7: Audio Recordings
Biographical/Historical note:
Emory Cook (1913-2002) is widely regarded as a highly influencial audio engineer. Born and raised in Albany, New York, he joined the Army Air Corps in 1932. After his discharge in 1934 he obtained his degree from Cornell University and began working for Western Electric in the Audio Engineering Force. During World War II, while still at Western Electric, Cook supervised the creation of a fire-controlled radar "Trainer," for which he received a Commendation from the Service.

In the late 1940's, convinced he could do better than what was on the market, Cook began experimenting with making his own audio equipment. Cook Laboratories was started in 1945 when he developed a new cutting head to be used in record production. Future development of equipment brought about the discovery that he could record frequencies as high as 20,000 hertz, more than any other recording company at the time. He cut a record of piano and organ music to demonstrate this discovery, and took it to the 1949 Audio Fair in New York. When he demonstrated the record with the hopes to sell the recording equipment, he found that people were much more interested in buying the record itself. Shortly after, Sounds of Our Times, later called Cook Records, was born.

Cook Records collected many different sounds and was mostly aimed at the devoted high-fidelity listener. Cook believed that hearing was a sense often overlooked by people, and he wanted listeners of his albums to be able to hear things they might otherwise miss. In a New Yorker profile by Daniel Lang in 1956, Cook claimed that hearing was "always being kicked aside in favor of sight… There's a time and a place for everything, and that includes sound." In order to encourage listening, he put out many albums full of everyday sounds, such as Voice of the Sea, an album of noises of the ocean and Eye of the Storm, recorded during a thunderstorm. One of the most successful albums was Rail Dynamics, an album of steam trains pulling in and out of a station.

Cook Records also produced traditional music albums from its plant in Stamford, Connecticut. The label produced everything from organ music to folk, flamenco guitar, calypso and steel band. Cook had little interest in name musicians and instead searched high and low for anything he thought might be an interesting contribution to his label. He even invited listeners to send in their favorite sounds, some of which he eventually recorded.

Cook had such a large interest in Calypso music that he set up a second pressing plant in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. There he pressed calypso and steel band music for both a Trinidadian and American audience, and most albums sold well in both countries.

In addition to the wide range of music Cook recorded, he was also an inventor. It was Cook who first came up with the idea of pressing records with powdered, rather than solid, vinyl, a technique he dubbed "microfusion." This technique not only saved money, but cut out many of the traditional crackles and pops associated with records.

He also developed the binaural system of recording and playing records, which he thought was superior to the more commonly used stereo method. Binaural was more precise than stereo, and it required placing two microphones six inches apart, approximately the space between two ears, during the recording. It was then played back with a special two-needle playing arm. Binaural recordings were thought by Cook to best duplicate the original sound.

Emory Cook died at the age of 89 in 2002 after a long hospitalization.
Shared Stewardship of Collections:
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
COOK RECORDINGS - NUMERICAL LISTING:
001 20,000 Cycle Demo (1949) COOK00001

002 Night Rain and Surf COOK00002

003 Specimen Heart Beats COOK00003

004 Katydids, Frogs and Forrest Birds

E101 Grenada Stories and Songs (1957-58) COOK00101

E102 Amazon Sound: Yacu River Tribes (Rituals and Rites) (1954) COOK00102

E103 Music of St. Lucia (1953) COOK00103

E104 Rada (1958) COOK00104

E105 JOSE RAMON FORTUNE AND OLGA MAYNARD Nancy Stories (1956) COOK00105

106 Afro-West Indian Cultural Practices (1957-58) COOK00106

107 ESCOLA DE SAMBA DE BRAZIL The Boli, The Cocolute, and Brazil (1957-58) COOK00107

901 Steelband Jump Up Boys Town, Tropical Harmony, Silvertone COOK00901

904 THE ESSO STEEL BAND Esso Steelband of Bermuda (1958) COOK0904

906 LORD MELODY Lord Melody Sings Calypso (1958-59) COOK00906

911 TOM CHARLES AND HIS SYNCOPATER ORCHESTRA Fete for So! (1959) COOK00911

914 LORD MELODY Again! Lord Melody Sings Calypso (1957-58) COOK00914

916 Calypso Cross Section Young Killer, The Mighty Bomber, Small Island Pride, The Mighty Wrangler (1957-58) COOK00916

920 THE MIGHTY SPARROW King Sparrow's Calypso Carnival (1959) COOK00920

927 LORD MELODY Calypso through the Looking Glass (1959) COOK00927

928 CLARENCE CURVAN His Drums, His Orchestra COOK00928

930 Belly to Belly Clarence Curvan, Johnny Gomez, Tom Charles, Fitz Vaughn Bryan (1960-61) COOK00930

931 LORD MELODY Lord Melody, 1962 COOK0931

1000 TITUS MOODY DDDs of Binaural (1952) COOK01000

1011 The Christmas Music Box (1950) COOK01011

1012 Music Boxes of Long Ago (1950) COOK01012

1013 CHARLIE MAGNANTE Accordion Pops Concert (1954-55) COOK01013

1014 CHARLIE MAGNANTE AND LaVERGNE SMITH His and Hers (1954-55) COOK01014

1020 SAM ESKIN Sam Eskin's Songs of All Time COOK01020

1021 GROUPE MI-O Un Ti Bo (1958) COOK01021

1022 LAVINIA WILLIAMS' GROUPE FOLKLORIQUE Haiti Confidential (1958) COOK01022

1023 The Ramayana (Hindu Ceremony) (1961) COOK01023

1024 GUSTAVO ZEPOLI Concert Guitar (1954) COOK01024

1025 SEAN McGONIGAL AND ST. COLUMCILLE'S UNITED GAELIC PIPE BAND Kilts on Parade (1950) COOK01025

1026 ANITA AST AND THE VIENNA KONZERTSCHRAMMEREIN Inside Vienna (1952) COOK01026

1027 CARLOS MONTOYA AND THE JOSE GRECO TROUPE Fiesta Flamenca (1952) COOK01027

1028 CARLOS MONTOYA Montoya (1952) COOK01028

1030 EDWARD VITO The Harp (1951) COOK01030

1031 EDWARD AND JOSEPH VITO Dual Harp (1951) COOK01031

1032 RUTH WELCOME AND DICK MARTA Zither and Cimbalom (1951) COOK01032

1035 Barrelhouse Piano (1950) COOK01035

1036 FRANK GLAZER Liszt's Paganini Variations (1952) COOK01036

1037 GRETA AND JOSEF DICHLER Two Famous European Pianos (1952) COOK01037

1038 SAMUEL SORIN Piano: The Romantic Fabric (1953) COOK01038

1039 LEONID HAMBRO A Perspective of Beethoven (1953) COOK01039

1040 Steel Band Clash Brute Force Steel Band, Big Shell Band, and Hell Gate Band (1955)

1041 JIMMY CARROLL PERCUSSION EMSEMBLE WITH RED CAMP Speed the Parting Guest (1953) and The Hot Tempered Clavichord (1957) COOK01041

1042 BRUTE FORCE STEEL BAND Brute Force Steel Band of Antigua with Big Shell Band (1955) COOK01042

1043 Three Rituals (1955) COOK01043

1044 The Compleat In Fidelytie: Sounds Natural and Unnatural (1956) COOK01044

1045 Drums of Trinidad (1956) COOK01045

1046 Champion Steel Bands of Trinidad The Highlanders, Southern All Stars, The Katzenjammers, others (1957) COOK01046

1047 THE KATZENJAMMERS The Enchanted Steelband (1957) COOK01047

1048 BRUTE FORCE STEEL BAND Music to Awaken the Ballroom Beast (1957) COOK01048

1049 BRUTE FORCE STEEL BAND Beauty and the Brute Force (1957) COOK01049

1050 MICHAEL CHESHIRE The Pipe Organ, volume 1 (1952) COOK01050

1051 MICHAEL CHESHIRE The Pipe Organ, volume 2 (1952) COOK01051

1052 REGINALD FOORT Percussion and Pedal, volume 3 (1952) COOK01052

1053 REGINALD FOORT Reginald Foort at the Mosque, volume 4 (1952) COOK01053

1054 REGINALD FOORT Organ in Symphony Hall, volume 1 (1954) COOK01054

1055 REGINALD FOORT Organ in Symphony Hall, volume 2 (1954) COOK01055

1056 ALFONSO VEGA NUÑEZ Morelia Cathedral Organ (1954) COOK01056

1057 REGINALD FOORT Foort Pops (1956) COOK01057

1058 REGINALD FOORT Waltz and Ballet: The Mosque Organ (1956) COOK01058

1059 REGINALD FOORT Intermission at the Mosque (1956) COOK01059

1060 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Brahms First Symphony (1954) COOK01060

1061 FESTIVAL CASALS ORCHESTRA Hector Campos Parsi (1958) COOK01061

1062 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Stravinsky, Villa Lobos, and Bach (1955) COOK01062

1063 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Debussy (1955) COOK01063

1064 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Masterpieces of the Dance (1955) COOK01064

1065 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Mozart Symphony No. 40 (1955) COOK01065

1066 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Masterpieces of the Theater (1955) COOK01066

1067 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (1955) COOK01067

1068 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON New Orchestral Society of Boston (1966) COOK01068

1069 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Haydn Symphony No. 100: Military (1966) COOK01069

1070 Rail Dynamics: Steam Locomotives and Train Sounds (1950-54) COOK01070

1071 Burlesque Uncensored (1954) COOK01071

1072 Jump-up Carnival: Calypso Tent (1956) COOK01072

1073 Holy Week: Malaga (Spain) (1961) COOK01073

1074 Benevolent Society for the Preservation of Ancient Rhymes and Limerix Limerick Party COOK01074

1075 Voices of the Sky: Propellers and Jets (1957) COOK01075

1077 Voice of the Storm (1957-58) COOK01077

1078 A Double Barrel Blast: High Cost of Dying and Computer Conversations (1962) COOK01078

1079 Tour of High Fidelity (1965) COOK01079

1080 TRIO LEONES Trio Leones of Cabrito (1954) COOK01080

1081 LaVERGNE SMITH LaVergne Smith (01014B plus) (1954) COOK01081

1082 Le Jazz Primitif from Trinidad Rupert Clemendore and John Buddy Williams (1961) COOK01082

1083 Jawbone of an Ass: Musica de Cuba (1955) COOK01083

1084 SID DAVILLA AND FREDDIE KOHLMAN'S BAND WITH RED CAMP Blowout at Mardi Gras (1955) COOK01084

1085 TONY ALMERICO'S PARISIAN ROOM BAND Clambake on Bourbon Street (1954-55) COOK01085

1086 WILLIE RODRIGUEZ The Drums of Rodriguez (1953) COOK01086

1087 RED CAMP Camp Inventions: Jazz Piano and Zither Music (1955) COOK01087

1088 RED CAMP Red Camp Horizontal (1954) COOK01088

1089 RED CAMP Red Camp Upright (1954) COOK01089

1090 ARTHUR BILLINGS HUNT Arthur Billings Hunt Sings Hymns (1950) COOK01090

1091 ARTHUR BILLINGS HUNT Hunt Sings Old Favorites (1950) COOK01091

1092 HUFSTADER SINGERS Hufstader Singers (1953) COOK01092

1094 REGINALD FOORT AND THE BOSTON CHORALE The Seven Last Words of Christ (1954) COOK01094

1095 ST. JOHN'S RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHOIR Russian Christmas (Spring Valley, New York) (1961) COOK01095

1096 ST. JOHN'S RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHOIR Russian Easter Midnight Service (Spring Valley, New York) (1961) COOK01096

1097 ST. JOHN'S RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHOIR St. John's Russian Orthodox Choir (1961) COOK01097

1101 THE INVADERS FROM ST. CROIX Steel Band in San Juan (1964) COOK01101

1102 10TH NAVAL DISTRICT STEEL BAND New Paths for Steel Band (1965) COOK01102

1120 BENITEZ-VALENCIA TRIO Ecuador (1958) COOK01120

1121 Island in the Moonlight Trio Los Rubies, Grupo Paquito Lopez Cruz, Las Hermanas Colón, Martita Cuadrado (1958) COOK01121

1122 Hellish Calypso King Fighter, The Mighty Bomber, others (1962) COOK01122

1123 Calypso Atrocities King Fighter, The Mighty Bomber, others COOK01123

1124 HAYWIRE MAC McCook LabsINTOCK Haywire Mac (1951) COOK01124

1125 LORD MYRTLE, CECIL MITCHEL, AND JAMES CONVERY Calypso Jamaica (1960) COOK01125

1126 THE MIGHTY SPARROW Sparrow in Hi-Fi (1963) COOK01126

1127 STEVE CAMACHO Folk and Other Songs (1962) COOK01127

1131 BRUCE PRINCE-JOSEPH The Pedal Harpsichord (1953) COOK01131

1132 SHINCHI YUIZE The Japanese Koto (1955) COOK01132

1133 RED CAMP The New Clavichord (1957) COOK01133

1134 LUIS BONFA Guitar in Brazil (1959) COOK01134

1140 Steelband Promenade Brute Force Steel Band, The Merrymakers, Southern All Stars (1958) COOK01140

1150 BILL FLOYD The King of Organs (1957) COOK01150

1151 REGINALD FOORT The Theatre Organ, volume 2 COOK01151

1152 REGINALD FOORT The Theatre Organ, volume 3 COOK01152

1154 REGINALD FOORT The Theatre Organ, volume 5 COOK01154

1155 REGINALD FOORT The Theatre Organ, volume 6 COOK01155

1156 REGINALD FOORT The Baroque Organ, volume 1 COOK01156

1157 REGINALD FOORT The Baroque Organ, volume 2 COOK01157

1169 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet, Serenade for Strings (1962) COOK01169

1180 Dance Calypso Johnny Gomez Band, Small Island Pride, Dictator, others (1956) COOK01180

1181 LIZZIE MILES Lizzie Miles Buglin' Sam DeKemel and the Parisian All Stars (1954-55) COOK01181

1182 LIZZIE MILES Moans and Blues Red Camp and Tony Almerico's All Stars (1956) COOK01182

1183 LIZZIE MILES Hot Songs My Mother Taught Me Red Camp, Tony Almerico's All Stars, Albert French (1956) COOK01183

1184 LIZZIE MILES Torchy Lullabies My Mother Sang Me Red Camp and Tony Almerico's All Stars (1956) COOK01184

1185 Calypso Kings and Pink Gin: Trinidad Carnival Tent Lord Melody, The Might Sparrow, others (1957) COOK01185

1186 ENSEMBLE AUX CALEBASSES Meringue (1958) COOK01186

1187 A Night at the Tropicoro Juan Luis, Oswaldo Seda, and Lito Peña Band (1959) COOK01187

1188 Dirty Jazz from Down South: Trinidadian Instrumentals (1958) COOK01188

1189 Calypso Exposed Lord Melody, Brute Force Steel Band, King Sparrow, The Mighty Cypher, and Skipper (1961) COOK01189

1280 Caribbean Limbo Music Rupert Clemendore Orchestra, Cyril Diaz Orchestra, others COOK01280

1281 Songs from the Garden of Love Jefferson-Jones' Orchestra COOK01281

1282 Italian Moom Jefferson-Jones' Orchestra COOK01282

2004 Tour of Stereo (1958) COOK02004

2066 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Masterpieces of the Dance, volume 3 COOK02066

2070 Aboard a Fast Express / Jet Dynamics COOK02070

4057 REGINALD FOORT The Theater Organ COOK04057

4069 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Hayden Military Symphony COOK04069

5001 American Storytellers, Volume 1 Harry Wass, Master Marriner's Association (1952) COOK05001

5002 K.C. DOUGLAS K.C. Douglas (1952) COOK05002

5003 Caribeana: Hidden Music from the Caribbean (1949) COOK05003

5004 TIRORO Tiroro: Haitian Drummer (1948) COOK05004

5005 RED CAMP Camp Has a Ball (1954) COOK05005

5006 AL BRUNDAGE Square Dance (1951) COOK05006

5007 Mexican Marimba Band (1954) COOK05007

5008 American Storytellers, Volume 2 John Hawley Cook (1954) COOK05008

5009 American Storytellers, Volume 3 Captain Charles A. Chace, Matthew Richards (1954) COOK05009

5010 Calliope, Carousel, and Hand Organ (1953) COOK05010

5011 Voice of the Sea (1954) COOK05011

5012 Earthquake (1953) COOK05012

5013 Ionosphere (1955) COOK05013

5014 Mariachi Music of Mexico (1954) COOK05014

5015 Mexican Firecrackers (1951) COOK05015

5016 Calypso Lore and Legend (1956) COOK05016

5017 Bamboo-tamboo, Bongo, and Belair (1956) COOK05017

5018 East Indian Drums of Tunapuna, Trinidad (1956) COOK05018

5019 ALONZO CRUZ Blind Troubadour of Oaxaca (1956) COOK05019

5020 Epilogue to the String Band Tradition (1956) COOK05020

5022 ABCs of Hi Fi COOK05022

5025 BUCKMINSTER FULLER Buckminster Fuller Speaks His Mind COOK05025

5050 NORMAN BROKENSHIRE Radio Moscow and the Western Hemisphere COOK05050

5051 FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The Four Inaugural Addresses COOK05051

6061 BUCKMINSTER FULLER The Clock Is Stopping COOK06061

8374 BUCKMINSTER FULLER Dymaxion Ditties: Buckminster Fuller Sings COOK08374

10001 Sound Effects, volume 1 COOK10001

10002 Sound Effects, volume 2 COOK10002

10003 Sound Effects, volume 3 COOK10003

10120 Music Boxes, Carousels, and Hand Organs (01012 and 05010) (1950-53) COOK10120

10248 The Voice of Mexico Gustavo Zepoli, Trio Leones (01024 and 01080) (1954) COOK10248

10251 SEAN McGONIGAL AND ST. COLUMCILLE'S UNITED GAELIC PIPE BAND Kilts on Parade (01025 plus solos) (1950-53) COOK10251

10271 CARLOS MONTOYA AND THE JOSE GRECO TROUPE Fiesta Flamenca (selections from 01027 and 01028) (1952) COOK10271

10289 CARLOS MONTOYA Montoya (selections from 01028 plus) (1952) COOK10289

10301 EDWARD AND JOSEPH VITO The Harp (selections from 01030 and 01031 plus) (1951-54) COOK10301

10326 Cafe Continental Ruth Welcome, Dick Marta, and Anita Ast (selections from 01026 and 01032) (1951-52) COOK10326

10350 Nickelodion and Calliope (selections from 01035 and 05010) (1950-53) COOK10350

10500 REGINALD FOORT The Theater Organ COOK10500

10501 MICHAEL CHESHIRE Pipe Organ in the Mosque (selections from 01050 and 01051) (1952) COOK10501

10523 REGINALD FOORT Percussion and Pedal (selections from 01052 and 01053) (1952) COOK10523

10545 REGINALD FOORT The Organ at Symphony Hall (01054 plus) (1954) COOK10545

10579 REGINALD FOORT Foort Pops (selections from 01057 and 01058) (1956) COOK10579

10646 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Tempo Vivace: Symphonic Masterpieces of Dance & Theater (selections from 01064 and 01066) (1955-56) COOK010646

10657 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Two Classical Symphonies: Mozart Symphony No. 40, Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (01065 and 01067) (1955) COOK10657

10659 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Two Classical Symphonies: Mozart Symphony No. 40, Haydn Symphony No. 100 (01065 and 01069) (1955-56) COOK10659

10683 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Modern Orchestral Textures (01068 and 01063) (1955) COOK10683

10850 RUPERT Cook LabsEMENDORE BAND Le Jazz Trinidad COOK10850

10867 Before and After Willie Rodriguez (selections from 01086 and 05007) (1953-54) COOK010867

10889 RED CAMP Horizontal & Upright & Downright & Dunright (01088 and 01089) (1954) COOK10889

10890 The Castiliane Johnny Gomez Band, John Buddy Williams Band, Girl Pat Steel Band, And Grand Curacaye String Orchestra (1956) COOK10890

11312 BRUCE PRINCE-JOSEPH AND HUFSTADER SINGERS The Forgotten Pedal Harpsichord and Hufstader Singers (01131 and 01092) (1953) COOK11312

11815 TONY ALMERICO'S PARISIAN ROOM BAND AND LIZZIE MILES Clambake on Bourbon Street (1954-55) COOK11815

50130 Tour of Cook Labs COOK50130

70889 RED CAMP Popular Piano and Combo COOK70889

80134 LUIZ BONFA Waterfall: Guitar COOK80134

80417 MARIMBA ORCHESTRA Waterfall: Children's Music COOK80417

80680 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Waterfall: Symphonic COOK80680

XX1 Audio Follies Sampler COOK00XX1

XX2 Calypso Jazz Sampler COOK00XX2

Series 10 Cook Series 10 COOK_Series10

Series 30 Cook Series 30 COOK_Series30

Series 60 Cook Series 60 COOK_Series60

Series 70 Cook Series 70 COOK_Series70

Series 80 Cook Series 80 COOK_Series80

Series 90 Cook Series 90 COOK_Series90

Series 100 Cook Series 100 COOK_Series100

Series 300 Cook Series 300 COOK_Series300

Series 301 Cook Series 301 COOK_Series301

Series 302 Cook Series 302 COOK_Series302

Series 303 Cook Series 303 COOK_Series303
Provenance:
The Smithsonian Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections acquired the Cook Labs Records in 1990, when Emory and Martha Cook donated their company records to the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Anthony Seeger, then Director of Smithsonian Folkways Records, received a call from Mr. Cook in the summer of 1989 offering to donate the Cook label to the Smithsonian. Dr. Seeger visited him in August of that year to view the contents of the collection, and the Smithsonian received custody of the collection in May 1990. In return for the donation from Mr. Cook, the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage agreed to keep the record titles available and to store the papers in the archives.
Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Topic:
Popular music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Wit and humor  Search this
Calypso (Music)  Search this
Folk music -- Caribbean Area  Search this
Folk music  Search this
Sounds  Search this
Music -- 18th century  Search this
Folk music -- United States  Search this
Jazz -- Louisiana -- New Orleans  Search this
Jazz  Search this
Accordion music  Search this
Airplane sounds  Search this
Animal sounds  Search this
Audio equipment industry  Search this
Blues (Music)  Search this
Bonfá, Luiz  Search this
Calypso (Music)  Search this
Burlesque (Theater)  Search this
Calliope music  Search this
Calypso (Music)--Trinidad and Tobago  Search this
Campos Parsi, Héctor, 1922-  Search this
Catholicism  Search this
Christianity  Search this
Christmas  Search this
Cimbalom and zither music  Search this
Clavichord  Search this
Clemendore, Rupert  Search this
Drum  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiotapes
Photographic prints
Business records
Artifacts
Contracts
Phonograph records
Correspondence
Christmas music
Citation:
Cook Labs records, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
CFCH.COOK
See more items in:
Cook Labs records
Archival Repository:
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/bk50980aef1-30c4-4f77-9de4-97337007b9f0
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-cfch-cook
Online Media:

Joseph Cornell Study Center Collection

Artist:
Cornell, Joseph  Search this
Names:
Benton, Elizabeth Cornell  Search this
Cornell, Robert  Search this
Extent:
196.8 Linear feet
186 Nitrate negatives
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Nitrate negatives
Photographic photoprints
Photographs
Place:
New York, New York
Date:
1750-1980, bulk 1930-1972
Summary:
The Joseph Cornell Study Center collection measures 196.8 linear feet and dates from 1750 to 1980, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930 to 1972. Documenting the artistic career and personal life of assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), the collection is primarily made up of two- and three-dimensional source material, the contents of the artists' studio, his record album collection, and his book collection and personal library. The collection also includes diaries and notes, financial and estate papers, exhibition materials, collected artifacts and ephemera, photographs, correspondence, and the papers of Robert Cornell (1910-1965) and Helen Storms Cornell (1882-1966), the artist's brother and mother.
Scope and Contents:
The Joseph Cornell Study Center collection measures 196.8 linear feet and dates from 1750 to 1980, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930 to 1972. Documenting the artistic career and personal life of assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), the collection is primarily made up of two- and three-dimensional source material, the contents of the artists' studio, his record album collection, and his book collection and personal library. The collection also includes diaries and notes, financial and estate papers, exhibition materials, collected artifacts and ephemera, photographs, correspondence, and the papers of Robert Cornell (1910-1965) and Helen Storms Cornell (1882-1966), the artist's brother and mother.

Correspondence is with collectors, museums, galleries, artists, friends, family, charity organizations, admirers and those admired by Cornell, and World War II European pen pals. Discussions about the appreciation, donation, sale, purchase, and exhibition of Cornell's works are frequent, with the inclusion of shipping and loan documentation or notices of payment installments. Galleries and museums frequently request that Cornell agree to an exhibition, which he often declines, and fans request free works be mailed or affordable works be sold to them. With friends, artists, and those he admired, Cornell discussed topics that fascinate him, included bits of poetry or philosophical musings, sent clippings or a collaged letter, and occasionally discussed a project or work in process. After World War II, when so many were displaced by the war in Europe, Cornell answered ads for pen pals in the "Christian Science Monitor," often responding to requests for clothing or other goods, and sometimes exchanging many letters over several years. Family correspondence is with his mother, sisters, brother, and others, and often notes activities of the day, foods eaten, and general musings, as well as occasionally mentioning a project or artwork. Correspondents of note include Stan Brakhage, Betty Freeman, Charles Henri Ford, Allegra Kent, Yayoi Kusama, Roberto Matta, Marianne Moore, Octavio Paz, Sonia Sekula, Pavel Tchelitchew, Parker Tyler, Dorothea Tanning, and Betsy von Furstenberg, among others.

Cornell was often preoccupied with his thoughts, feelings, memories, a project or thematic "exploration," and jotted notes on seemingly any surface available. Notes and musings are on napkins, the backs of envelopes, newspaper clippings, and paper bags from record and magazine stores. Frequently, an observation would trigger a lengthy nostalgic moment, or a "feé," fairy-like child or girl, would capture his imagination and lead him to thoughts of 18th-century ballerinas and silent film stars. Cornell wrote longer diary notes, sometimes expanding on an earlier notation or emotion, and often wrote when he experienced trouble sleeping or woke early. Drafted letters to imaginary muses or admired individuals are interspersed among diaries, often revealing Cornell's yearnings to find emotional intimacy and human connection. Over time, Cornell revisited his notes and occasionally made further notations about renewed thoughts on a topic, dating the note with "revisited" or "reviewed." Notes are often written in a stream-of-consciousness style, for example, jumping from the mention of a record album or composer, to a ballerina of the same period, a note about a French poet, the memory of childhood, or an observation made earlier in the day, all in the space of a few lines. Notes about artistic processes or meanings behind works or images do occasionally emerge from the tangled, poetic notations. Notes also often provide insights into Cornell's internal emotional state and give clues about his intentions behind an artwork or a particular thematic fixation.

Financial materials document Cornell's professional and personal business activities, including the sale of artworks, annual expenses for supplies and household incidentals, payments and schedules for personal assistants, receipts for donations to charities and nonprofits, and tax documents. There is also information about who worked as assistants, or "helpers," in his later years and where Cornell purchased art supplies. Additionally, specific details are documented through receipts and invoices, such as what kind of paint he purchased. Estate records include preparations made for Cornell's artworks after his death, and clippings about other deceased artist's estates show that he thought often about such arrangements in his later years.

Exhibition files highlight several select solo exhibitions for Cornell, as well as preparations and planning for the "Robert Cornell: Memorial Exhibition" in honor of his brother in 1966. Also included are several early exhibition catalogs and announcements, including "Surréalisme" (January 9-29, 1932) and "Exhibition of Objects (Bibloquet) by Joseph Cornell" (December 6-31, 1939) at the Julien Levy Gallery, and "Romantic Museum: Portraits of Women, Constructions and Arrangements by Joseph Cornell" (December 1946) at the Hugo Gallery.

Film projects and collected film materials consist of files related to Cornell's various experimental film projects: "Aviary," "Cappuccino," "Centuries of June," "Fable for Fountains," "Nymphlight," "Serafina's Garden," and unrealized film scenario "Monsieur Phot." Files include film-making notes, correspondence, and photographs. Cornell's interest in film also led him to collect film-related materials, such as film stills, film posters, and screening programs. Scattered correspondence documents the interest other institutions and individuals had in purchasing and viewing his collection. Though most of his collected film stills and movie posters were donated to the Anthology Film Archives, film stills from "Escape Me Never" (1935) and "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (1928) are still within the collection, as well as film-screening programs for Cornell's collection of films.

Writing and design projects document Cornell's work authoring articles and designing issues of specialty dance magazine "Dance Index," and his layouts for popular magazines like "Good Housekeeping," "House and Garden," and "Mademoiselle." Other writing projects include brochures dedicated to opera singers Maria Malibran and Giulia Grisi, "Maria" and "Bel Canto Pet." Materials used for these brochures, such as copper photo engraving plates, are also found. Design work includes a series of Christmas cards created with The Museum of Modern Art as well as traced patterns ("textile tracings") and design clippings from Cornell's time working as a "textile designer" for Traphagen Commercial Textile Studio.

Cornell acquired troves of source material from bookstalls, antique stores, sporting good and department stores, hardware stores, and magazine and record shops. He kept boxes and files of material on admired individuals, such as actresses, artists, dancers, and singers, as well as on art projects or thematic "explorations." Files are on general topics such as American history, scientific phenomena, animals, plants, and humankind, as well as on series of artworks, such as "Castles," "Homage to the Romantic Ballet," and "Medici Slot Machines." Focused "exploration" projects include "Celestial Theatre," "Colombier," "GC 44," and "Switzerland," among others. Materials include photographs, photostats, maps, book fragments, autographed letters, notes, collage clippings and cutouts, collected prints and engravings, box and collage fragments, and scattered artifacts.

Collected ephemera includes large amounts of blank postcards and greeting cards, stamps, collected bus and train tickets, food labels and packaging, decals, and other materials. Artifacts are three-dimensional collected objects and source objects, which include found objects from the streets, dried flowers, and pieces of nature gathered from walks around his neighborhood. Cornell may have gathered materials because they inspired a memory or nostalgic feeling, or because they fit with a bin of other similar objects to select from for an artwork in progress.

Photographs found within the collection are of Cornell at work and as a child with family. Also found are assorted personal and family photographs, photographs of Cornell's attic and garage storage, and photographs of his Utopia Parkway house. Photographs of artwork include few installation photographs, in addition to photographs of Cornell's boxes and collages. Collected photographic materials include vintage photographs, such as tintypes, a cyanotype, stereoscopic glass slides, albumen prints, cabinet cards, and cartes-de-visite. Cornell also collected cased photographs, such as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and one opalotype. Negatives and photostats were often produced from various prints and even other photographs and used in Cornell's boxes and collages. Images are of men and women, actors, authors, dancers, performers, well-known men and women, royalty, places, and artwork. Photographs of note include those by Hans Namuth of Willem and Lisa de Kooning and of Edward Hopper's bedroom; photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson; a photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron; photographs by Brassai; and a photogravure by Alfred Stieglitz from "Camerawork."

Also found in the collection are works of art by others, including a sketch by Pavel Tchelitchew, as well as artwork by Cornell, such as unfinished collages, Rorschach drawings or ink blots, and childhood artwork. Printed material includes assorted bulletins, flyers, exhibition materials for other artists, journals, and sent printed membership and charity materials. Magazines, including "View," are also included, and often have annotations by Cornell or a note to "cut" or "review" with page numbers. A large amount of magazine and newspaper clippings are in the collection, sometimes collected with a group of like material by Cornell, and at other times simply gathered in heaps. Occasional annotations are also found on the clippings.

Cornell's personal library and book collection includes over 2500 titles, ranging from fiction, poetry, and cinema, to history, science, and travel. Notable among the titles are "Baedeker's" travel guides that Cornell often sourced for his "Hotel" box series, as well as an influential publication by Max Ernst, "La Femme 100 têtes," which includes a typed letter and exhibition flyer tucked within. Books often have annotations, some fairly extensive, by Cornell, and assorted collected items, notes, and correspondence tucked between pages. Pages were often cut by Cornell, either to make photostats and use in a box, or to file with other thematic "explorations." A wide range of authors and topics provide insight into Cornell's interests and to ideas behind artwork and diary notes. Cornell's collection of record albums includes over 145 records. These contain inserted notes and clippings and are often referenced in diary notes Cornell made, noting a recent album or song listened to while at work in his studio.

The papers of Cornell's mother, Helen Storms Cornell, and his brother, Robert Cornell, are also included in the collection. Both lived with Cornell his whole life, spending the most time with him at their home at 3708 Utopia Parkway. Financial materials document shared responsibilities for billing, utilities, household fixes and chores, and expenditures, and Helen kept detailed financial records in a series of ledgers. Robert notes when he borrowed money from Cornell, or when he means to pay Cornell back for the purchase of a typewriter. Activities documented in diaries also occasionally cross paths with Cornell, noting his visitors or an exchange of letters continued after introductions through Cornell. Personal activities, such as Robert's interest in his train collection and his drawing projects and cartoon series, are also documented.
Arrangement:
The Joseph Cornell Study Center Collection is arranged into 15 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1917-1972 (Boxes 1, 98, OV118; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1813, 1934-circa 1973 (Boxes 1-8, 86; 6.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries and Notes, 1940-1976 (Boxes 8-10, 98-99, 135, OV108, OV119; 3.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Personal Business and Estate Records, 1950-1978 (Boxes 10-14; 4.1 linear feet)

Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1932-1973 (Box 14; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Film Projects and Collected Film Materials, circa 1924-1972 (Boxes 14-16, 100, 133; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 7: Writing and Design Projects, circa 1910s, 1936-1962 (Boxes 16-18, 86, 100, 131-132, OV109-OV111, OV120-OV122; 3.6 linear feet)

Series 8: Source Material, 1750-circa 1911, 1926-1972 (Boxes 19-49, 86-92, 96, 100-105, 126-130, 132-137, OV112-OV115, OV125; 42.2 linear feet)

Series 9: Artifacts and Ephemera, 1768, circa 1839-1972 (Boxes 49-52; 3.2 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographic Material, circa 1800s-1972 (Boxes 52-56, 80-86, 93, 106, 128, 133, OV116, OV123-OV124; 7.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Artwork, circa 1810-1972 (Boxes 56-57, 107, OV117; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 12: Printed Material, 1855-1972 (Boxes 57-76, 94-96, 107; 16 linear feet)

Series 13: Book Collection and Personal Library, 1722-1980 (99.8 linear feet)

Series 14: Record Album Collection, circa 1925-1974 (3.2 linear feet)

Series 15: Cornell Family Papers, 1910-1980 (Boxes 77-79, 97, 107; 3.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) was a self-taught assemblage and collage artist, and filmmaker, active in New York City. He was born in Nyack, New York on December 24, 1903, and died of heart failure at his home in Queens, New York on December 29, 1972. The oldest of four children, he was born Joseph I. Cornell to his mother, Helen Storms Cornell (1882-1966), and his father, Joseph I. Cornell (1875-1917). Cornell had two younger sisters, Elizabeth ("Betty") Cornell Benton (1905-2000) and Helen ("Sissy") Cornell Jagger (1906-2001), as well as one brother, Robert Cornell (1910-1965), who had cerebral palsy.

Cornell attended the Phillips Academy, a preparatory boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts, beginning shortly after his father's death in 1917. He attended for four years but did not receive a diploma, and soon began work as a textile salesman for the William Whitman Company in Manhattan. His work took him, by foot, through the city, visiting secondhand bookshops on Fourth Avenue, browsing music stores and magazine shops, and catching early shows at the Metropolitan Opera House. He would occasionally wait outside the stage doors for favorite singers and dancers to emerge, requesting signatures on photographs or bits of costumes.

Around 1926, Cornell joined the Christian Science Church, joined by his brother Robert shortly thereafter, and both continued to be lifelong members. Cornell kept a number of books in his personal library on Christian Science teachings and regularly subscribed to "The Christian Science Monitor."

After living in several rental houses in Bayside, New York, Cornell's mother purchased a house for the family in 1929 in Flushing, Queens. Cornell, along with his mother and brother, would live at 3708 Utopia Parkway, for the rest of their lives. His two sisters soon married and moved away, eventually settling in Westhampton, Long Island and in the poultry-farming business.

With no formal art training to speak of, Cornell's first work was a Max Ernst-inspired collage, "Untitled (Schooner)," created in 1931. He was especially inspired by Ernst's collage novel, "La Femme 100 têtes," published in 1929. French artist Odilon Redon was also among the few artists Cornell named as an influence on his art. His first sculptural works were small, cardboard pill boxes with bits of ephemera, costume adornments, and nature hidden inside. Cornell also created a series of glass bell jar works, placing small trinkets and Victorian-era-like compositions within. It was these early collages and bell jar works that were included in Cornell's debut exhibition, "Surréalisme" (January 9-29, 1932), a group show at the Julien Levy Gallery. Cornell designed the announcement for the show and exhibited alongside Max Ernst, Man Ray, Pierre Roy, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Eugène Atget, George Platt Lynes, Jean Cocteau, and Salvador Dalí. Months later, Cornell was invited to have his first solo show, "Objects by Joseph Cornell: Minutiae, Glass Bells, Shadow Boxes, Coups d'Oeil, Jouets Surréalistes" (November 26-December 30, 1932), also at the Julien Levy Gallery.

In 1932, after eleven years of work, Cornell was laid off from the William Whitman Company due to the Great Depression. Soon after, he took on more responsibility in the church, working part-time as an attendant in the Christian Science Reading Room in Great Neck, New York. Beginning in 1933, he taught Sunday school classes for three years and in 1935, became the Sunday school librarian. However, his religious activities and artistic ventures continued to remain separate.

In the early 1930s, Cornell progressed from movie lover to filmmaker. When Julien Levy began his New York Film Society in 1933, holding screenings of various experimental films in the gallery, Cornell began buying and collecting films and film stills in earnest. He set up a 16-millimeter projector in his home to screen favorites, such as those by Georges Méliès, D.W. Griffith, and Louis Feuillade. His collection quickly grew to over 2,500 film stills and several hundred films, and included silent era films, such as nature documentaries, goofy newsreels, travelogues, early cartoons, and slapstick comedies, as well as several feature films. In 1933, Cornell wrote a screenplay, or "scenario," entitled "Monsieur Phot." Between 1935 and 1937, Cornell also occasionally created publicity photomontages for Universal and Columbia studios. Of the nearly thirty films Cornell created, periods of activity can generally be separated into two areas: collage films of the late 1930s, consisting of combined elements from films in his own collection, and films he directed in the 1950s, which were collaborations with other filmmakers set in New York City. "Rose Hobart," Cornell's most celebrated collage film, was created and shown in the Julien Levy Gallery in 1936 and includes clipped footage from "East of Borneo." Later films were directed and filmed with cinematographers Stan Brakhage, Rudy Burckhardt, and Larry Jordan.

In 1934, Cornell began a job at the Traphagen Commercial Textile Studio as a "textile designer," a job he held for six years. Continuing to work at his kitchen table in the evenings, Cornell completed his first assemblage box construction, "Untitled (Soap Bubble Set)," in 1936. It was first exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art's show, "Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism" (December 9, 1936-January 17, 1937). This work was also the first to be acquired by a museum, purchased for $60.00 by the Wadsworth Atheneum in Massachusetts in 1938. Cornell's European debut was also in 1938, as one of three Americans represented in the "Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme" (January 17-Febuary 24, 1938) at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris, alongside Man Ray and Anne Clark.

At the end of 1939, Cornell began corresponding with poet Charles Henri Ford, founder of avant-garde magazine "View," Pavel Tchelitchew, and Parker Tyler. After his "Soap Bubble Sets," this period saw the development of Cornell's homages to singers and actresses, including "Untitled (Fortune-Telling Parrot for Carmen Miranda)," the destroyed "Garbo (Greta Garbo in the Legendary Film 'The Crystal Mask,' c. 1845)," and "Dressing Room for Gilles." He also began using photostats of art reproduction prints, as with the print of Jean Antoine-Watteau's painting, "Pierrot" (circa 1719), used in his "Gilles" box.

In the 1940s, the Romantic ballet emerged as Cornell's new topic of interest. Through his friend Pavel Tchelitchew, Cornell was introduced to the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet founders, Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine. Cornell collected dance memorabilia and had a great love of the Romantic ballet. His favorite dancers were primarily ballerinas of the nineteenth century, including Fanny Cerrito, Marie Taglioni, Fanny Elssler, Lucille Grahn, and Carlotta Grisi. Cornell's "Homage to the Romantic Ballet" works largely took the shape of jewel-box style wooden boxes with glass overlays and included bits of velvet, tulle, sequins, crystals, and chiffon, occasionally collected from dancers themselves. His most well-known work of this series is "Taglioni's Jewel Casket" (1940). Cornell also admired several living ballet dancers, including Tamara Toumanova, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Allegra Kent, who would all make their way into Cornell's box works and/or collages. Collecting for the "exploration," "Portrait of Ondine," Cornell's cased portfolio dedication to Fanny Cerrito and her role in the ballet "Ondine," began in the 1940s, though not completed until around 1960.

In late 1940, Cornell quit his job at Traphagen to concentrate on freelance commercial magazine design and editorial work during the day and his artwork at night. That same year, Charles Henri Ford started "View" magazine to promote Surrealists and Neo-Romantics in New York City and often asked Cornell to contribute. Published in the December 1941-January 1942 issue, one of his early contributions was a collage dedication to stage actress Hedy Lamarr: "Enchanted Wanderer: Excerpt from a Journey Album for Hedy Lamarr" (1941). Along with writing the accompanying text, he created a photomontage of Lamarr with her face overlaying the painted portrait of a Renaissance boy by Italian painter Giorgione. Peggy Guggenheim, at the advice of Marcel Duchamp, purchased multiple Cornell works prior to opening her new gallery, Art of This Century. Cornell also befriended Roberto Matta Echaurren, another Surrealist living in exile, who introduced him to Robert Motherwell.

After deciding to fully dedicate his time to his art in early 1940, he set up a studio in his basement. Complete with floor-to-ceiling wooden shelving, he kept his large collection of boxed source material stacked with handwritten labels in cardboard boxes. Themed folders of materials such as "Stamps" or "Maps" were kept in stacks and works in progress and finished works were stored in the basement, garage, and attic. Entering a renewed period of productivity, Cornell embarked on many new and important box projects in 1942. One of the first boxes created in his new basement studio, and the first of the "Penny Arcade" or "Medici Slot Machine" series, was "Medici Slot Machine" (1942), which includes a photostat of "Portrait of Marquess Massimiliano Stampa" (1557) by Sofonisba Anguissola. Another work from this time is the first of his "Castle" or "Palace" series, "Setting for a Fairy Tale" (1942), which uses a photostat of a French building from Jacques Androuet du Cerceau's book, "Les Plus excellents bastiments de France" (1576). "Untitled (Pharmacy)" (circa 1942) was the first of his "Pharmacy" series and included twenty-two apothecary jars. Cornell tended to work in series and created thirteen "Palace" boxes between 1942 and 1951, and ultimately created six "Pharmacy" works.

In 1943, Cornell began working at an electronics company, the Allied Control Company, Inc., to do his part to contribute to the defense effort during the war. He also sent correspondence and care packages to displaced Europeans, who listed their needs in "The Christian Science Monitor." Influenced by World War II, one of his strongest works to emerge in 1943 was "Habitat Group for a Shooting Gallery." Another notable work to come out of this period, "The Crystal Cage (Portrait of Berenice)," was an excerpt from one of his album "explorations" that was published in the January 1943 issue of "View."

Cornell left his job at Allied Control in 1944, but soon began working at the Garden Centre in Flushing, owned by a fellow Christian Scientist. Cornell was often nostalgic for this time in his life, devoting an entire "exploration" of material fondly remembered as "GC 44." He rode a bicycle to work and enjoyed collecting trips gathering dried grasses, driftwood, shells, and other relics of nature on the same bicycle as he rode through the streets of Queens. During this time, he continued to tend to his projects for "Dance Index," a magazine founded in 1942 by Lincoln Kirstein, but taken over by Donald Windham in 1944. Cornell designed several covers for the magazine and was given control of the entire summer 1944 issue, which he devoted to the Romantic ballet. He also devoted a special 1945 issue to Hans Christian Andersen, making great use of the New York Public Library Picture Collection.

Throughout the 1940s, Cornell continued to support himself with commercial design work for magazines like "Vogue," "Good Housekeeping," "Harper's Bazaar," "Town & Country," and "Mademoiselle." In 1946, after thirteen years at the Julien Levy Gallery, he joined the Hugo Gallery. In December 1946, Cornell's solo exhibition, "Romantic Museum at the Hugo Gallery: Portraits of Women by Joseph Cornell," celebrated his favorite movie stars, singers, and ballet dancers, and included his work created for the show, "Untitled (Penny Arcade Portrait of Lauren Bacall)." Cornell's "Greta Garbo" box, as well as "Souvenir for Singleton," an homage to Jennifer Jones and her role in the film "Love Letters," were also included in the show. In late 1948, his West Coast debut was in the exhibition, "Objects by Joseph Cornell," held at the Copley Gallery. The end of the 1940s saw the final issue of "View" magazine in 1947, the closure of the Julien Levy Gallery in April 1949, and Cornell's departure from the Hugo Gallery after his last show in November 1949.

In late 1949, Cornell joined the Charles Egan Gallery, known primarily for showing Abstract Expressionists. At this time, Cornell was working on a new series of boxes known as his "Aviary" works, most of which include a white-painted box with cutouts of birds mounted on wood. Though he had worked on bird-related boxes before, including an "Owl" series in the mid-1940s, his "Fortune Telling Parrot" (1939), and "Object 1941" (1941), these newer works were stripped of French elements and left "clean and abstract" by design. His first show at the Egan Gallery, "Aviary by Joseph Cornell" (December 7, 1949-January 7, 1950), included twenty-six "Aviary" works, nearly all created in 1949. Donald Windham agreed to write the foreword for the exhibition catalog, a single folded sheet, and Cornell gave him one of the boxes in the show, "Cockatoo: Keepsake Parakeet," in appreciation. Through the Egan Gallery, Cornell became friends with a new group of artists, including Franz Kline, Jack Tworkov, and Willem de Kooning. Cornell also held two screenings of a selection of his collected films at Subjects of the Artist, an art school founded by Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, David Hare, and William Baziotes.

In 1950, Cornell's second show at the Egan Gallery, "Night Songs and Other New Work" (December 1, 1950-January 13, 1951), introduced his new "Observatory" series. These works are largely defined by stark, whitewashed spaces with astronomical charts and constellations replacing colorful birds. The Museum of Modern Art purchased its first Cornell work from this show in early 1951, "Central Park Carrousel, in Memoriam" (1950).

For three months in 1951, Cornell was beset by various ailments and had trouble finding the energy to create new work. He worried more for his aging mother and the health of his brother. After a monthlong vacation with his sisters in Westhampton, he returned with renewed interest in Emily Dickinson's poetry. His whitewashed boxes took on a new form in his newest "Dovecote" series, using grids and circular cutouts. The works then transformed into homages to Dickinson, notably "Toward the Blue Peninsula: For Emily Dickinson" (circa 1953), and then to his "Hotel" series. Cornell's "Hotel" boxes include photostats of vintage European ads for hotels collected from vintage travel guides, especially "Baedeker's," adhered to the back walls of the boxes. Another new series of work, his "Juan Gris" series, was dedicated to Cubist artist Juan Gris. Between 1953 and the mid-1960s, Cornell created at least fifteen "Juan Gris" boxes, which often include a cutout of a white cockatoo in a Cubist-collage habitat. Cornell's third and last show at Egan Gallery, "Night Voyage" (February 10-March 28, 1953), included some of these newest works. After leaving Egan Gallery, his work was introduced to Chicago collectors in a solo show at the Frumkin Gallery, "Joseph Cornell: 10 Years of His Art" (April 10-May 7, 1953), which included nearly thirty pieces. Cornell's first museum retrospective was this same show held at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (July 12-August 30, 1953).

As New York City continued to change, Cornell grew more nostalgic for the city he had explored since the 1920s. The impending closure of the Third Avenue El train prompted him to dream up a film project to capture its last days, resulting in "Gnir Rednow," a reworking of Stan Brakhage's 1955, "Wonder Ring." During this time, Cornell joined the Stable Gallery, run by Eleanor Ward, interacting often with Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, and Joan Mitchell, remaining there until the end of the 1950s. His astronomy-themed exhibition, "Winter Night Skies" (December 12, 1955-January 13, 1956), included his "Night Skies" series of work with celestial chart fragments, Greek mythological figures, and paint-splattered "windows" representative of star-filled night skies. In 1956, he became aware of ballerina Allegra Kent, and began a series of work devoted to her, the first of which was "Via Parmigianino (Villa Allegra)" (1956), which included a photostat of a painting by Parmigianino, "The Madonna of the Long Neck" (circa 1540). In late 1957, after two years, Cornell had his last show at Stable Gallery, "Joseph Cornell: Selected Works" (December 2-31, 1957), consisting of a series of "Sand Fountain" boxes and "Space Object" or "Celestial Navigation" works. The "Sand Fountain" boxes included different colors of sand meant to flow within, often from the tops into cordial glasses. His "Celestial Navigations" included galaxy-like compositions set within the boxes, with rolling, painted cork balls, metal rings, and constellation charts, sometimes hovering over cordial glasses or clay pipes. This last Stable Gallery show earned him his first published profile, written by Howard Griffin for the December 1957 issue of "Art News." Also in 1957, he won the Kohnstamm Prize for Construction at the Art Institute of Chicago's 62rd Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture.

Towards the end of the 1950s, Cornell spent less time creating new bodies of work, and focused more on revisiting previous series and reviewing piles of collected source material. In 1959, Cornell returned to making collages, frequently sourcing popular magazines. In December 1959, Cornell was awarded $1,500 for his "Orion" collage, entered in the Art Institute of Chicago's "63rd American Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture." Also in December, he was offered a show at Bennington College in Vermont, which he titled, "Bonitas Solstitialis: Selected Works by Joseph Cornell and an exploration of the Colombier" (November 20-December 15, 1959). The show included one of his newest "explorations" of collected material related to "colombier," or pigeon houses.

By 1962, Cornell was working diligently on new collages, using Masonite boards and colorful magazine clippings. He also began creating collages using nude images interspersed with constellation clippings or hazy blue dyes. As in previous decades and art movements, Cornell became acquainted with new artists, spending less time in the city and more time hosting visitors at his Utopia Parkway home. Visitors included artists Walter De Maria, Robert Whitman, Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, and Robert Indiana. Tony Curtis also became a frequent visitor and friend, introduced by Richard Feigen in 1964. The early 1960s was also the first time Cornell put out an advertisement for assistants in the "Long Island Star-Journal," employing a number of young men and women who helped organize clippings and run errands. Cornell also met Joyce Hunter, a young runaway waitress at a city coffee shop, who would occupy his thoughts and diary notes for the next several years. When she was murdered at the end of 1964, Cornell paid for her funeral. He went on to make several "Penny Arcade" collages in memoriam to her, including, "Penny Arcade (re-autumnal)" (1964).

In 1964, Cornell began friendships with several women including artist Carolee Schneeman, who was his first assistant in the early 1960s. He also met artist Yayoi Kusama through art dealer Gertrude Stein. After becoming friends, she visited him often and they exchanged letters and notes. As he did with other artist friends, Cornell supported her by purchasing several of her early watercolor paintings, and they stayed connected until his death in 1972.

Cornell's life greatly changed in 1965 with the death of his brother, Robert. By this time, his mother lived with his sister in Long Island, and Cornell was alone in the Utopia Parkway house for the first time. He exchanged frequent letters and phone calls with his mother and devoted much time to thinking about Robert and Joyce, often aligning them in his diary notations. Cornell also created a series of collages dedicated to his brother's memory, incorporating photostats of Robert's hundreds of drawings into Cornell's work, as with the later collage, "The Heart on the Sleeve" (1972). Cornell's "Time Transfixed" series of collages were also dedications to Robert's memory, referencing Magritte and Robert's love of trains. He mounted an exhibition, "Robert Cornell: Memorial Exhibition" (January 4-29, 1966), at the Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, where he showed Robert's artwork alongside his newly created collage dedications.

After Robert's death, Cornell relied more heavily on assistants, going through many part-time "helpers." In October 1966, Cornell's mother died, adding her to his constant thoughts and diaries. Though he was still grieving, he was given two major retrospectives in 1967. The first was at the Pasadena Art Museum, put on by James Demetrion and Walter Hopps, "An Exhibiton of Works by Joseph Cornell" (January 9-February 11, 1967). The second retrospective was at the Guggenheim Museum just three months later, "Joseph Cornell" (May 4-June 35, 1967), organized by Diane Waldman. After these shows, he was highlighted in the December 15, 1967 issue of "Life" in the article, "The Enigmatic Bachelor of Utopia Parkway."

In 1968, Cornell was given an "award of merit," which included a medal and $1,000, by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He was also given a medal and $1,000 by the Brandeis University Creative Arts Awards in the painting category, along with an exhibition. Days later, "The New York Times" announced Cornell the winner, along with Donald Judd, of India's first Triennale of Contemporary World Art. The Brandeis exhibition, "Boxes and Collages by Joseph Cornell" (May 20-June 23, 1968), was organized by William Seitz and concentrated on Cornell's more recent 1960s collages. Cornell was also included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's hundredth anniversary show, "New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940 to 1970" (October 18, 1969-February 1, 1970), where twenty-two of Cornell's boxes were shown in their own gallery. At the end of 1970, Cornell was given a solo show at the Metropolitan, "Collages by Joseph Cornell" (December 10, 1970-January 24, 1971), which included forty-five of his newest collages.

Now preferring to stay closer to his home in Flushing, Cornell was more interested in sharing his art with young adults and children, than an adult audience. He hosted a group of high school students, sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's education department, at his home in conjunction with his collage show (1970-1971). He also showed his work in the art department of Queens College of the City University of New York. Cornell still hosted visitors on occasion, having Yoko Ono and John Lennon at his home at least once. Leila Hadley, Betsy von Furstenberg, and Anne Jackson also made frequent visits. With his deteriorating health, Cornell worried about what would happen to his work after his death and hired lawyer Harry Torczyner to help him plan his estate and get his affairs in order.

In 1972, Cornell had a show at the Cooper Union, a college in New York, specifically for children. He displayed his boxes and collages at child-height and had cherry soda and brownies at the opening reception on February 10. He then held a show at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, also for children: "Children's Preview of the Exhibition of Joseph Cornell – Collages and Boxes (April 18-June 17, 1972). In the winter of 1972, at the request of the Phoenix House drug treatment and prevention program, Cornell contributed to a charity project compiling limited-edition lithographic prints for a portfolio, which included artists like David Hockney, James Rosenquist, and Ellsworth Kelly.

On December 29, 1972, a week after turning sixty-nine, Cornell died of heart failure at his home. He was cremated and interred near the graves of his mother, father, and brother, overlooking the Hudson River in Nyack, New York.

Works Cited:

1. Hartigan, Lynda Roscoe. "Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination." New Haven, Connecticut and London: Yale University Press, 2007. Exhibition Catalog.

2. McShine, Kynaston. "Joseph Cornell." New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1980.

3. San Francisco Cinematheque and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. "Joseph Cornell: Films." 2007. Exhibition Program. (Presented in conjunction with SFMOMA's exhibition of "Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination").

4. Schaffner, Ingrid and Lisa Jacobs. "Julien Levy: Portrait of an Art Gallery." Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: The MIT Press, 1998.

5. Solomon, Deborah. "Utopia Parkway: The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell." New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997.
Separated Materials:
The Smithsonian Archives of American Art houses the Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986, bulk 1939-1972.
Provenance:
The Joseph Cornell Study Center collection was donated to the Smithsonian American Art Museum by Joseph Cornell's sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth Cornell Benton and John A. Benton, in 1978, which prompted the creation of the Joseph Cornell Study Center. Additional materials were donated in installments by the artist's estate, the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, from 1985 to 1997. Elizabeth and John A. Benton originally donated 66 linear feet of three-dimensional and non-textual source material and 50 linear feet of books to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, which were subsequently transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Joseph Cornell Study Center in 1994 and 1995.
Restrictions:
Access to the collection requires an advanced appointment. Contact collection staff at least two weeks prior to preferred date, at AmericanArtCornellStudy@si.edu.

Series 9: Artifacts and Ephemera, Series 13: Personal Library and Book Collection, and Series 14: Record Album Collection, are still undergoing processing and preservation and may not be available for research use. Record albums are unavailable for playback. Contact collection staff for full lists of publications and record albums.
Rights:
Unpublished materials are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Occupation:
Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Assemblage (Art)  Search this
Assemblage artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Found objects (Art)  Search this
Works of art  Search this
Celebrities  Search this
Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographic photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1900-1950
Photographs -- 1860-1870 -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver albumen -- Cartes-de-visite
Photographs -- Daguerreotypes -- 1840-1860
Citation:
Joseph Cornell Study Center collection, 1750-1980, bulk 1930-1972. Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Identifier:
SAAM.JCSC.1
See more items in:
Joseph Cornell Study Center Collection
Archival Repository:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Research and Scholars Center
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ih7d97fc249-474d-41bf-953d-5305df1e4c06
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-saam-jcsc-1

Publication, 18th Century American Music, Macmillan, 1972-1974

Container:
Box 16 of 20
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 07-142, National Museum of American History, Division of Music, Sports, and Entertainment, Curatorial Records
See more items in:
Curatorial Records
Curatorial Records / Box 16
Archival Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-sia-fa07-142-refidd1e11701

18th Century Cello Loan, CAH, 1974

Container:
Box 16 of 20
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 07-142, National Museum of American History, Division of Music, Sports, and Entertainment, Curatorial Records
See more items in:
Curatorial Records
Curatorial Records / Box 16
Archival Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-sia-fa07-142-refidd1e11768

The Manufacture and Sale of Musical Instruments in 18th Century American, CAH, Sonneck Society, 1978

Container:
Box 16 of 20
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 07-142, National Museum of American History, Division of Music, Sports, and Entertainment, Curatorial Records
See more items in:
Curatorial Records
Curatorial Records / Box 16
Archival Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-sia-fa07-142-refidd1e12237

Friends of Music, Poster I, 18th Century, 1983

Container:
Box 3 of 20
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 07-142, National Museum of American History, Division of Music, Sports, and Entertainment, Curatorial Records
See more items in:
Curatorial Records
Curatorial Records / Box 3
Archival Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-sia-fa07-142-refidd1e1862

Permission Requests, The Style of Life in 18th Century American, 1988

Container:
Box 3 of 20
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 07-142, National Museum of American History, Division of Music, Sports, and Entertainment, Curatorial Records
See more items in:
Curatorial Records
Curatorial Records / Box 3
Archival Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-sia-fa07-142-refidd1e2152

Smithsonian Research Grant, 18th Century American Music, 1974-1977

Container:
Box 6 of 20
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 07-142, National Museum of American History, Division of Music, Sports, and Entertainment, Curatorial Records
See more items in:
Curatorial Records
Curatorial Records / Box 6
Archival Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-sia-fa07-142-refidd1e3390

The Literary Corner: Vernon February’s Life and Works (side a) / Edward Brathwaite's Life and Works (side b)

Title:
Cassette tape with two episodes of the Literary Corner radio program
Created by:
Brooks B. Robinson Ph.D., American  Search this
Interview of:
Daniel Kunene, PhD, South African, 1923 - 2016  Search this
Vernon February, South African, 1938 - 2002  Search this
Edward Brathwaite PhD, Barbadian, 1930 - 2020  Search this
Subject of:
Hein Eersel, Surinamese, born 1922  Search this
Directed by:
Robert Cham  Search this
Medium:
plastic and tape
Dimensions:
H x W (audiocassette): 2 3/4 × 4 1/4 × 5/8 in. (7 × 10.8 × 1.6 cm)
Duration (side a): 00:15:07
Duration (side b): 00:14:47
Type:
audiotapes
Place made:
United States, North and Central America
Place depicted:
Netherlands, Europe
Suriname, Caribbean, South America
South Africa, Africa
Barbados, Caribbean, North and Central America
Ghana, West Africa, Africa
Date:
1978
Topic:
African American  Search this
Literature  Search this
Methodist  Search this
Poetry  Search this
Radio  Search this
Religion  Search this
Violence  Search this
Credit Line:
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Contributed in memory of Professor Sarah Webster Fabio (1928-1979), poet, educator, Black Arts Movement icon, and one of the Literary Corner's analysts.
Object number:
2010.17.1.11a
Restrictions & Rights:
© Brooks B. Robinson
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
See more items in:
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Portfolio/Series:
The Literary Corner: Black Writers of the World
Classification:
Media Arts-Audio Recordings
Movement:
BAM (Black Arts Movement 1965-1976)
Anti-apartheid movements
Data Source:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd53284cdab-850d-4ff9-bc6b-502be2fa292f
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmaahc_2010.17.1.11a
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