Margaret Bonds papers

Collection

Call Number: JWJ MSS 151

Margaret Bonds papers

Scope and Contents: Vocal music, most 1960s or undated, consisting of autograph manuscript drafts and arrangements, transparencies, and diazo reproductions, some accompanied by copies of published music; and a small amount of other papers. Autograph manuscript music includes spirituals arranged for solo voice or chorus; The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Songs of the Seasons, Three Dream Portraits, and other songs on texts by Langston Hughes; songs on texts by Edna St. Vincent Millay and other poets; and musicals and songs with lyrics by Janice Lovoos, some with related correspondence. Other papers consist of a scrapbook containing photographs, clippings, and ephemera, most circa 1928-1930, some relating to Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, and Lawrence Richardson; and two books containing biographical information about Bonds and analysis of her music: Mildred Denby Green, Black Women Composers: A Genesis (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1983), and Alice Tischler, Fifteen Black American Composers: A Bibliography of Their Works (Detroit: Information Coordinators, 1981).
Conditions Governing Access: The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use: The Margaret Bonds Papers 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: Purchased from William Reese Company (Doyle Books sale, New York, 2012 November 5, lot 152) on the Carl Van Vechten Fund and the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2012.
Arrangement: Organized into two series: I. Music, 1930-1971. II. Other Papers, 1928-1983.

Dates: 1928-1983; Majority of material found within 1960 - 1969
Extent: 1.87 Linear Feet (13 boxes)
Related Names: Bonds, Margaret, 1913-1972
Language of Materials: English