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Margaret Bonds papers

 Collection
Call Number: JWJ MSS 151
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