Edward G. Levy collection of papers relating to music
Collection
Call Number: GEN MSS 955
Scope and Contents
Contains manuscript and printed music, and scrapbooks, photographs, printed material, and other materials relating to 19th-20th century American and European music, collected by Edward G. Levy. Four scrapbooks made by Helen D. Love Scranton, genealogist and daughter of Edward Gurley Love (1850-1919) and Lucy Cleveland Prindle, contain advertisements, programs, tickets, and manuscript notes relating to performances of opera, musicals, plays, orchestral music, chamber music, vocal recitals, children's concerts, dance, and non-Western music in New York City, Bayreuth, Berlin, Paris, and London, 1895-1910, including materials relating to the Metropolitan Opera, German opera in New York City conducted by Walter Damrosch, Carnegie Hall, the Symphony Society of New York, the Philharmonic Society of New York, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, the Kroll Opera, and the Berliner Philharmoniker. Music includes an unidentified fragment, autograph manuscript, signed, by P. A. Tirindelli, 1894, and clippings of songs and keyboard music published in magazines, 1886-1888 and undated. Photographs include images of American singer and actress Lillian Russell, on Sweet Caporal Cigarette cards (Kinney Bros., New York), circa 1880s-1890s; and Italian actress Giannina Chiantoni, in Italian theater productions, circa 1910. Printed material includes clippings of newspaper advertisements for theater performances in the Howard Athenaeum, Boston, 1859 and undated, and the Wagner Opera House, Bradford, Pennsylvania, 1884-1885. Other materials consist of articles by Marion Thede and Harold Preece, circa 1970s, about American cowboy songs, typescript with printer's annotations, possibly published in Real West magazine; and buttons and paper fans advertisting American businesses and organizations relating to music, circa 1900.
Dates
- 1859-1970s
- Majority of material found within 1880 - 1910
Creator
- Levy, Edward G., 1898-1990 (Collector)
Language of Materials
Chiefly in English; some materials in German or French.
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Edward G. Levy Collection of Papers Relating to Music is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Edward G. Levy, 1977.
Arrangement
Organized into five series: I. Helen D. Love Scranton Scrapbooks, 1895-1910. II. Music, 1886-1894. III. Photographs, 1880s-1949. IV. Printed Material, 1859-1970s. V. Other Materials, 1900-1970s.
Extent
1.63 Linear Feet (7 boxes)
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
Contains manuscript and printed music, and scrapbooks, photographs, printed material, and other materials relating to nineteenth-twentieth century American and European music, collected by Edward G. Levy. Four scrapbooks made by Helen D. Love Scranton, genealogist and daughter of Edward Gurley Love (1850-1919) and Lucy Cleveland Prindle, contain advertisements, programs, tickets, and manuscript notes relating to performances of opera, musicals, plays, orchestral music, chamber music, vocal recitals, children's concerts, dance, and non-Western music in New York City, Bayreuth, Berlin, Paris, and London, 1895-1910, including materials relating to the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Symphony Society of New York, the Philharmonic Society of New York, German opera in New York City conducted by Walter Damrosch, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, the Kroll Opera, and the Berliner Philharmoniker. Music includes an unidentified fragment, autograph manuscript, signed, by P. A. Tirindelli, 1894, and clippings of songs and keyboard music published in magazines, 1886-1888 and undated. Photographs include images of American singer and actress Lillian Russell, on Sweet Caporal Cigarette cards (Kinney Bros., New York), circa 1880s-1890s; and Italian actress Giannina Chiantoni, in Italian theater productions, circa 1910. Printed material includes clippings of newspaper advertisements for theater performances in the Howard Athenaeum, Boston, 1859 and undated, and the Wagner Opera House, Bradford, Pennsylvania, 1884-1885. Other materials consist of articles by Marion Thede and Harold Preece, circa 1970s, about American cowboy songs, typescript with printer's annotations, possibly published in Real West magazine; and buttons and paper fans advertisting American businesses and organizations relating to music, circa 1900.
Edward G. Levy (1898-1990)
Edward G. Levy received his LL.B from Boston University in 1921 and joined his brother's New Haven law practice. In 1939 he was sentenced to a year in jail for his participation in a kickback scheme led by the mayor of Waterbury. In later years he and his wife, Hortense R. Levy, collected autographs and dime novels and made substantial donations of these materials to several libraries. Edward G. Levy died in 1990.
Processing Information
This collection consists of materials formerly classed as Uncat MS Vault 854. In 2013, the collection received a baseline level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization.
- Berliner Philharmoniker
- Buttons (information artifacts) -- United States -- 20th Century
- Carnegie Hall (New York, N.Y.)
- Chiantoni, Giannina, 1881-1972 -- Portraits
- Cigarette cards -- United States -- 19th century
- Cowboys -- Songs and music
- Damrosch, Walter, 1862-1950
- Fans (costume accessories) -- United States -- 20th Century
- Festspielhaus (Bayreuth, Germany)
- Howard Athenaeum
- Kinney Bros
- Krolloper
- Levy, Edward G., 1898-1990
- Metropolitan Opera (New York, N.Y.)
- New York (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
- New York (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th Century
- Philharmonic Society of New York
- Photographs -- Italy -- 20th Century
- Photographs -- United States -- 20th Century
- Piano music
- Preece, Harold, 1906-
- Russell, Lillian, 1861-1922 -- Portraits
- Scranton, Helen D. Love (Helen Douglas Love), 1879-1968
- Songs with piano
- Symphony Society of New York
- Thede, Marion
- Tirindelli, P. A. (Pier Adolfo), 1858-1937
- Wagner Opera House (Bradford, Pa.)
Creator
- Levy, Edward G., 1898-1990 (Collector)
- Title
- Guide to the Edward G. Levy Collection of Papers Relating to Music
- Author
- by Karen Spicher
- Date
- 2013 June
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.