Overview of the Collection
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Repository Name:
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Museum of History &
Industry
Sophie Frye Bass
Library
2700 24th Avenue East
Seattle, WA 98112
Phone: 206-324-1126
URL: http://www.seattlehistory.org
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Collection Number:
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1981.7337
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Creator:
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Ladies
Musical Club (Seattle, Wash.)
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Title:
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Ladies Musical Club
Records
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Dates:
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1891-1983 (inclusive)
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Quantity:
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33 boxes
15 linear feet
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Languages:
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Collection materials are in
English.
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Summary:
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The Ladies Musical Club Records comprise
minutes, financial records, programs, photographs, scrapbooks, yearbooks and
other publications, and some limited correspondence. The records offer a unique
insight into the development of Seattle's classical music scene and also
provide information on turn of the century Seattle
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Location of Collection:
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15a.2.2-6
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Historical Note
The Ladies Musical Club (LMC) of Seattle was organized officially on
March 2, 1891. Twenty-four women attended a meeting at the home of Ellen
Bartlett (Mrs. George) Bacon to create a club designed for the purpose of
"developing the musical talent of its members, and stimulating musical interest
in Seattle." At the very first meeting a constitution and bylaws were adopted.
Membership in the club rapidly expanded, the roster having doubled by the end
of the club's first year of existence. Most of the original members of the LMC
were married middle-class women, who had received musical training. The club
provided an important outlet for these trained musicians at a time when few
women were able to pursue a professional music career.
The LMC initially offered two categories of membership: active and
associate. Each prospective active member had to pass an audition before she
was extended an invitation to join the club. Once accepted for membership, an
active member was expected to perform regularly at the active members meetings,
which were held the fourth Monday of each month from October through May.
Associate members were not allowed to perform, but they could participate fully
in the monthly "open meetings" and purchase tickets to club concerts. Under the
club's first bylaws, associate membership was open only to women, but this
category of membership was made available to men by the 1893/94 LMC season. By
1904, a third category of membership was established for students, but it was
later discontinued.
An important new feature of club activity was adopted during the
club's 1900/1901 season, when the LMC began sponsoring a series of public
concerts by professional artists. Under the dedicated management of Rose
Gottstein, who served as the concert manager from the program's beginnings
until her death in 1939, the club was responsible for bringing some of the most
internationally famous singers and instrumentalists of the day to Seattle.
Among the performers who appeared during the Gottstein years were Teresa
Carreño, Geraldine Farrar, Sergei Rachmanioff, Jascha Heifetz, and Marian
Anderson. The artist recital series continued under various names until the
1980s when the increasing costs of booking professional artists of this caliber
rose beyond club resources. The LMC, however, still works with the University
of Washington to sponsor an annual concert series at Meany Hall.
Benevolent activities also were always an important component of the
club's mission. The club helped support musical activity in Seattle early on by
providing funds to organizations such as the Seattle Symphony and the Cornish
School. It also ran a scholarship program that enabled promising music students
to continue their professional training. Other notable early philanthropic
ventures included contributions to the Children's Orthopedic Hospital and the
Red Cross during the First World War. The LMC continues its long tradition of
generosity by providing free concerts for the public at several venues in
Seattle each season and through its programs for schools.
Content Description
The Ladies Musical Club Records comprise minutes, financial records,
programs, photographs, scrapbooks, yearbooks and other publications, and some
limited correspondence.
The LMC records offer a unique insight into the development of
Seattle's classical music scene. They also provide information on turn of the
century Seattle and include a variety of playbills from Seattle theaters and
concert houses.
The scope of the LMC records is quite comprehensive up to the late
1940s. The later records do not included detailed minutes or financial records,
but some of this information can be obtained from the yearbooks and scrapbooks.
As much as possible, the original organization of the material by the club's
archivist has been preserved. Each of the eight series that comprise the LMC
records has its own descriptive note.
Arrangement
- Series I: Artist photographs, 1901-1957
- Series II: Programs, 1891-1983
- Subseries A: Artist recitals, 1891-1983
- Subseries B: Members concerts, 1891-1983
- Series III: Publications, 1891-1980
- Series IV: Financial records, 1891-1944
- Series V: Minutes and other records of meetings, 1891-1954
- Subseries A: Minutes, 1891-1942
- Subseries B: Attendance records, 1905-1954
- Subseries B: Club members
- Series VI: Scrapbooks, 1891-1983
- Subseries A: Ladies Musical Club scrapbooks,
1891-1983
- Subseries B: Mrs. Carlson's scrapbooks, 1929-1966
- Series VII: Miscellaneous subject files, 1893-1941
- Subseries A: Anniversaries and histories, 1941-1981
- Subseries B: Concert manager's files, 1944-1966
- Subseries C: Miscellaneous subjects, 1893-1941
- Series VIII: Realia, 1940s
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information The first set of materials forming the Ladies Musical Club Records was
presented by the club's archivist, Leotta (Mrs. Erroll) Rawson, to the Museum
of History & Industry in a ceremony marked by a concert on September 27,
1981. The records donated on behalf of the club at that time consisted
primarily of a comprehensive set of yearbooks and scrapbooks, an extensive set
of programs, and a large collection of autographed photographs of the many
internationally renowned performers who had participated in the club-sponsored
series of concerts in Seattle from 1901 through 1939. Other records forming a
part of the original gift included minutes and financial records dating from
the club's founding through the 1940s. At the time it was decided to fully
process the Ladies Musical Club Records, another set of albums containing
concert programs from the 1970s and early 1980s, not recorded on the original
accession, had been located in the museum. Mrs. Rawson apparently gave these
albums to the museum at another time after the date of the initial donation. A
set of similar materials, consisting mainly of scrapbooks and photographs, also
turned up at the museum. These items came from the collection of Adeline (Mrs.
Henning) Carlson, (possibly acquired through Rawson) but this collection
apparently was never formally accessioned. The later concert programs and the
Carlson materials have been integrated with the records from the original
accession.
Processing Note Processed by Helice Koffler in 2001.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access The collection is open to the public by appointment.
Restrictions on Use The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in
the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research,
publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI
before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to
all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may
require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation Ladies Musical Club Records, Museum of History & Industry,
Seattle
Related Information
Bibliography Berner, Richard C. Seattle in the 20th
Century. 3 vols. Seattle: Charles Press, 1991- 1997.
Blair, Karen J. "The Seattle Ladies Musical Club, 1890-1930."
Experience in a Promised Land: Essays in Pacific
Northwest History. Ed. Edwards, G. Thomas and Carlos A. Schwantes.
Seattle: U of WA Press, 1986.
"How we started." Ladies Musical Club. Home page. Undated.
<http://www.lmcseattle.org/lmchistory.htm> (text/html)
Rawson, Leotta. Unpublished history of the Ladies Musical Club,
1981.
Rhoads, Mary. "Seattle's Ladies Musical Club." Abstract of paper
presented at the Pacific Northwest Historians Guild conference (Museum of
History & Industry, Seattle. 4 March 2000.). Pacific Northwest Historians
Guild. 15 February 2001.
Subjects
| Carlson,
Adeline |
| Gottstein,
Rose |
| Seattle
(Wash.) |
| Photographic
prints |
| Publicity
photographs |
| Clubs--Washington
(State)--Seattle |
| Concerts--Washington
State--Seattle |
| Music--Societies,
etc. |
| Women musicians--Washington
State--Seattle |
| Women--Societies and
clubs |
Detailed Description of the Collection
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Series I:
Artist Photographs , 1901-1957
Contains standard publicity photographs of the numerous
individuals and groups who appeared as guest artists in each annual season of
the LMC-sponsored professional concerts that were held in a variety of Seattle
theaters beginning in 1901. The majority of the photographs in this series were
removed from five albums of photographs collected by Rose Gottstein, who served
as the LMC's first concert manager from the inception of the professional
artist series in 1901 until her death in 1939. These albums, which were
arranged alphabetically by artist, contained photographs of many of the
distinguished performers who appeared in the artist recital series. Most of the
photographs from these albums were autographed to Mrs. Gottstein. The five
albums had been disassembled prior to the current processing of the collection.
The present arrangement follows the original order of the photographs in the
albums. An autographed photograph of the violinist, Jan Kubelik, is with the
oversize materials. The remaining photographs in this series were taken from a
group of materials that did not appear on the original accession of LMC
records. These items include photographs removed from an album commemorating
Adeline Carlson's tenure as concert manager from 1953-1957. These autographed
photographs originally were arranged in a chronological sequence, but are now
filed alphabetically by artist. Also included in this series is a second set of
mostly autographed photographs from Mrs. Carlson's collection, which were found
loose in an envelope. These photographs appear to date from Mrs. Carlson's
later terms as concert manager (1962-1966). They have been arranged
alphabetically by artist. A separate folder of the unsigned photographs taken
from this set also has been arranged alphabetically by artist. Other publicity
photographs of artists, as well as a few candid performance and
post-performance images can also be found in the scrapbooks (Series VI).
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Album 1 -- Artists, A-C
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1901-1940 |
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Album 1 -- Artists, C-H
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1901-1942 |
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Album 2 -- Artists, F-G
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1909-1926 |
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Album 2 -- Artists, G-K
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1904-1935 |
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Album 3 -- Artists, K-N
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1902-1936 |
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Album 3 -- Artists, N-W
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1904-1938 |
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Album 4 -- Artists, S-W
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1923-1939 |
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Album 4 -- Artists, B-Z
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1902-1930 |
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Album 5 -- Artists, Flonzaley
Quartet & Scotti Opera
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1920 |
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Album 5 -- Artists, Flonzaley
Quartet & Scotti Opera
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1920 |
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Artists, A-O
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1953-1957 |
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Artists, P-W
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1953-1957 |
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Autographed -- Artists, A-C
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Autographed-- Artists, D-G
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Autographed -- Artists, H-L
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Autographed -- Artists, M-R
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Autographed -- Artists, S-T
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Unsigned -- Artists
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Photographs (Autographed) --
Artists, Kubelik, Jan
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Series II:
Programs , 1891-1983
Programs have been arranged into two subseries: Artist recitals
and members concerts. The artist recital programs cover the annual series of
presentations by professional artists that was sponsored by the LMC. The
members concerts series programs includes programs for concerts given by
members of the LMC in various settings, including club meetings and free public
programs. Gaps in the holdings in this series are supplemented by the programs
found in the scrapbooks (Series VI).
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Subseries A:
Artist recitals
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1923-1982 |
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Contains playbills, handbills, and broadsides, some of which are
annotated with comments such as indications of program changes and encores.
From its inception, the artist recital series consisted primarily of vocal,
orchestral, or instrumental soloist performances, but later grew to include
some operatic productions and dance recitals as well. A wide variety of venues
are represented by the programs including, the Metropolitan, Moore, and Palomar
theaters, and the Seattle Center Playhouse. This series of professional artist
programs was called variously the Artist Recital Course, the Concert Series,
the Artist Series, and the International Artist Series. Some of the programs
have been autographed by the artists.
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Programs
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May 25, 1923-November 10, 1931 |
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Programs
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February 4, 1932-October 21,1936 |
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Programs
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January 20, 1937-October 25,1938 |
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Program for Marian Anderson
concert [oversize]
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March 1, 1938 |
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Programs
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February 24, 1939-October 23, 1940 |
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Programs
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February 18, 1941-December 9, 1941 |
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Programs
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March 24, 1942-November 24, 1945 |
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Programs
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March 4, 1947-October 15, 1951 |
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Programs
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January 21, 1952-December 3, 1952 |
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Programs
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March 18, 1953-November 8, 1954 |
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Programs
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January 23, 1955-April 23, 1956 |
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Programs
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November 9, 1956-October 27, 1959 |
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Programs
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January 11, 1959-March 7, 1962 |
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Programs
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February 4, 1963-March 8, 1965 |
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Programs
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January 30, 1967-April 1, 1968 |
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Programs
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October 14, 1968-November 10, 1969 |
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Programs
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January 19, 1970-March 15, 1971 |
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Programs
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October 25, 1971-September 25, 1972 |
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Programs
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April 8, 1973-March 18, 1974 |
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Programs
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November 4, 1974-April 28, 1975 |
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Programs
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March 15, 1976-April 18, 1977 |
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Programs
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November 28, 1977-April 16, 1979 |
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Programs
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February 18, 1980-April 26, 1981 |
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Programs
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November 27, 1982-April 11, 1983 |
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Subseries B:
Members concerts
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1891-1982 |
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Includes programs for public concerts given by members, as well
as recitals given by active members at their regularly scheduled meetings.
Called "musicales" early on, he programs for the earliest concerts are simple
manuscript or typescript listings of the numbers performed at a given event.
Later programs tend to be somewhat more elaborate and detailed. The bulk of
these materials (1970-1982) were removed from a set of albums compiled by the
program committee. This committee was responsible for arranging the free public
concerts given by LMC members that, for many years, were held at the Seattle
Public Library. In addition to the programs themselves, some ancillary
materials also were found in the albums, including printing proofs for the
programs, index cards containing the speaker's introductory notes for concerts,
and some correspondence between the scheduled performers and the event
organizers (1970-1972). These materials are contained in two separate folders
of background notes. Additional programs for various types of member's concerts
also can be found in the meetings albums (Series V) and the scrapbooks (Series
VI).
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Programs
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1891-1894 |
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Programs
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March 3, 1936-March 27, 1950 |
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Programs
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1970-1971 |
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Background notes
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October 1970-February 1971 |
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Programs
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1971-1972 |
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Background notes
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April 1971-May 1972 |
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Programs
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October 8, 1972-May 20, 1974 |
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Programs
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October 14, 1974-May 10, 1976 |
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Programs
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July 12, 1976-May 23, 1977 |
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Programs
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September 26, 1977-May 22, 1978 |
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Programs
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October 9, 1978-May 21, 1979 |
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Programs
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October 1,1979-May 18, 1981 |
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Programs
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September 27, 1981-March 27, 1982 |
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Series III:
Publications , 1891-1980
This series is comprised of official club publications including
yearbooks, records of season, prospectuses, by-laws, club directories, and
newsletters. The yearbooks (or members' books, as their covers read) were
annual publications generally containing a list of officers, sketch of work,
concert dates, by-laws, constitution, and member lists. The yearbooks were
issued on a biennial basis beginning with the 1932/34 edition.
Both the records of season and the season prospectuses contain
announcements to the membership regarding plans for the upcoming season, an
outline the work of the club, and a listing of members. The design of the
prospectuses, however, appears to reflect a distinct emphasis on the growing
prominence of the LMC's rapidly expanding professional artist recital series
over what earlier had been an established focus on the activities of the club
members themselves in the records of season. Unlike the simpler covers of the
records of season, the prospectus covers are lavishly decorated with numerous
photographers of the performers featured in LMC concerts. Publication of the
prospectus appears to have been suspended after the death of concert manager
Rose Gottstein in 1939. This series also includes miscellaneous other LMC
publications. For example, separate printed by-laws were published in several
editions. Other LMC publications, including issues of the newsletter,
Notes and Ties, can also be found in the LMC
scrapbooks (Series VI).
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Yearbook
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1891-1892 |
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Yearbook
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1893-1894 |
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Yearbook
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1894-1895 |
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Yearbook
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1900/1901-1901/1902 1903/1904-1904/1905 |
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Yearbook
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1905/1906-1909/1910 |
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Yearbook
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1910/1911-1913/1914 |
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Yearbook
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1914/1915-1917/1918 |
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Yearbook
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1918/1919-1921/1922 |
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Yearbook
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1922/1923-1925/1926 |
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Yearbook
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1926/1927-1929/1930 |
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Yearbook
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1930/1931-1934/1936 |
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Yearbook
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1936/1938-1942/1944 |
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Yearbook
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1944/1946-1950/1952 |
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Yearbook
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1952/1954-1958/1960 |
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Yearbook
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1960/1962-1966/1968 |
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Yearbook
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1968/1970-1974/1976 |
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Yearbook
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1976/1978-1978/1980 |
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Record of season
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1900/1901-1906-1907 |
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Season prospectus
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1908/1909-1939/1940 |
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By-laws
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[1914], 1921, 1923, 1935 |
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LMC Auxiliary Yearbook
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1941-1942 |
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21 Years of Progress
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LMC Active Members Directory
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1959-1960 |
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Notes and Ties
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May 1957 |
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Series IV:
Financial Records , 1891-1944
Contains various financial records of the club. The club's
archivist originally divided these financial records into three different
categories: cashbooks, treasury books, and record books. The cashbooks record
general club revenue and expenses. There does not appear, however, to be much
discernible difference between those items identified as treasury books and
those described as record books. Both the treasury books and the record books
chiefly list expenses relating to individual seasons or concerts in the artist
recital series. Accounting methods vary considerably in formality. Gottstein's
original treasury book, described on the accession list as dating from 1900
(item no. 81.7337.311), contained numerous loose receipts, statements,
computations, and other materials, dating from 1901-1918, inserted between the
pages. These materials have been removed from the book, arranged
chronologically, and filed separately. A complete listing of these materials,
citing the pages from which they were removed is included as an appendix.
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Cashbook [.305]
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1891-1899 |
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Cashbook [.306]
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1899-1900 |
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Treasury Book [.311] (Gottstein's
original account book, receipts removed)
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Receipts from .311
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1901/1902-1905/1906 |
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Receipts from .311
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1906/1907-1909/1910 |
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Receipts from .311
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1910/1911-1912/1913 |
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Receipts from .311
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1913/1914-1914/1914 |
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Receipts from .311
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1915/1916-1917/1918 |
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Receipts from .311
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Treasury Book [.307]
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1900-1905 |
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Treasury Book [.308]
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1905-1912 |
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Record book [.298]
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1915 |
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Record book [.299]
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1916 |
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Record book [.301]
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1916/1919 |
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Record book [.300]
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1919/1921 |
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Record book [.302]
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1921/1922 |
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Record book [.303] Scotti Opera
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1920 |
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Record book [.304]
Chaliapin/Farrar
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1922 |
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Record book
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1923/1924 |
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Record book
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1924/1925-1925/1926 |
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Record book
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1926/1927-1927/1928 |
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Record book
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1928/1929-1930/1931 |
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Record book
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1931-1935 |
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Record book
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1935-1937 |
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Record book
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1937-1939 |
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Treasury Book [.309]
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1934-1940 |
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Treasury Book [.310]
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1940-1944 |
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Series V:
Minutes and other records of
meetings , 1891-1954
This series consists of three subseries: Minutes, attendance
records, and meeting albums.
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Subseries A:
Minutes
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1891-1942 |
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The surviving minute books have been arranged chronologically
and by type. The earliest recording secretary's minute book contains the
original club constitution and by-laws. It also contains programs (either
transcriptions or pasted in), minutes of various types of meetings, and
treasurer's reports. The recording secretary's minutes and scrapbook spanning
1934-1941 includes a report on a gift of $5,000 made to the Children's
Orthopedic Hospital in 1940. The minutes of the executive board, which appear
in the early recording secretary's minute books, can be found in separate books
after 1930. There are no original records for 1919-1929, but some missing
information can be found in the yearbooks that cover the period (Series
III).
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Recording secretary's minutes
[.317]
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1891-1897 |
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Recording secretary's minutes
[.318]
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1897-1901 |
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Recording secretary's minutes
[.319] [oversize]
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1902-1909 |
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Recording secretary's minutes
[.320] [oversize]
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1909-1918 |
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Recording secretary's minutes
and scrapbook [.321] [oversize]
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1934-1941 |
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Board minutes [.312]
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1930-1936 |
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Board minutes [.313]
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1936-1942 |
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Subseries B:
Attendance records
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1905-1954 |
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The membership book (1905-1910) is an alphabetical directory of
members and their addresses. The 1938-1943 attendance book records attendance
at monthly meetings and the purchase of tickets for individual seasons. The
1942-1954 attendance book consisted of sign-in sheets with member's signatures.
These sheets were contained in a loose-leaf binder. The contents of this binder
have been removed and divided into two folders.
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Membership book [.314]
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1905-1910 |
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Attendance book [.315]
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1938-1943 |
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Attendance book [.316]
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1942-October 1948 |
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Attendance book [.316]
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November 1948-1954 |
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Subseries C:
Meetings albums
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1953-1956 |
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Consists of three albums containing photographs of club members
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