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MACDOWELL COLONY
A REGISTER OF ITS RECORDS
IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Prepared by
Michael McElderry, 1981
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 1996
***
CONTENTS
Administrative Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Scope and Content Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Description of Series. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Container List
Personal Correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Administrative Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Admission Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Financial Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Legal File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Minutes of Meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Office File Miscellany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Scrapbooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Miscellany. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Oversize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
***
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
The records of the MacDowell Colony were presented to the
Library of Congress as a gift by the Colony's parent
organization, the Edward MacDowell Association, in 1969. Further
supplements were added by the association and others, 1970-73.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of members
of the MacDowell Colony in these papers and in other collections
of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress is governed
by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.)
Restrictions apply governing the use, photoduplication, or
publication of items in this collection. Consult a reference
librarian for information concerning these restrictions.
Photographs, audio tapes, motion picture film, and music
scores have been transferred to the appropriate custodial
divisions of the Library of Congress, where they are identified
as part of these records.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Readers interested in consulting any of the division's
collections are advised to write or telephone the
Manuscript Reading Room at (202) 707-5387 before visiting.
Many processed and nearly all unprocessed collections are
stored off site, and advance notice is needed to retrieve
these items for research use.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Linear feet of shelf space occupied: 33
Approximate number of items: 35,000
***
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The records of the MacDowell Colony span the period 1869-1970,
with most of the material dated 1945-68. The MacDowell Colony
was founded as an arts colony in 1908 by Marian MacDowell who
dedicated it as a memorial to her husband, American composer
Edward MacDowell (1860-1908). The bulk of the records reflect
the operational and administrative functions of the colony and
its parent organization, the Edward MacDowell Association, and
consist of correspondence, applications for admission, minutes of
meetings, reports, legal and financial papers, and miscellany.
Although the Edward MacDowell Association was established to
supervise and maintain the Colony, Marian MacDowell preferred to
direct the colony herself and remained the principal
administrator and fund-raiser for over forty years. Her
correspondence is located in the Personal Correspondence series.
The correspondence of association members is arranged in the
Correspondence subseries under Administrative Papers. The files
include the directors' correspondence and memoranda exchanged
between fellow directors and the general public and reflect the
degree of personal influence and operational control exercised by
the officers of the association over the colony. Until 1946 this
control was more symbolic than real as Marian MacDowell managed
all aspects of the colony's operation. The period from 1946 to
1956 was a time of transition as administrative responsibilities
were passed from MacDowell to the association's board of
directors, and a general director was appointed to supervise the
daily operations of the colony itself. Association officers
whose files are of particular importance include Marie Brodeur
(general director), Aaron Copland (president), Parker and Louise
Dutton Fillmore (general directors), Thomas Shaw Hale
(treasurer), Lewis Montefiore Isaacs (treasurer), George M.
Kendall (general director), James Johnson Sweeney (president),
and Charles H. Studin (secretary). Correspondents include Hervey
Allen, Alexander Calder, Padraic and Mary Colum, Max Frankel,
Chaim Gross, DuBose Heyward, Marianne Craig Moore, Tillie Olsen,
Louise Talma, Jean Starr Untermeyer, and Thornton Wilder.
The operations of the MacDowell Colony were directed through a
series of committees, each chaired by an association director.
The records of these committees are filed in the Committees
subseries. The responsibility of selecting the colonists to be
admitted for each colony session was delegated to special
subcommittees under the aegis of the Admissions Committee which
approved the final selections and sent out invitations to those
chosen. The records of the Admissions Committee, in conjunction
with the records in the Admission Applications subseries, provide
a record of admission policies and selection procedures employed
by the colony. The names of those selected to attend the colony
include many of America's eminent writers, composers, and
artists, and the admission applications, along with the admission
committee's files and the colony's register and residents' book,
supply a thorough listing of former colonists.
Marian MacDowell promoted funding for the colony during the
early years of its existence through a series of piano recitals
and personal appeals. The scope of funding activities and the
attendant problems of accounting and financial management are
detailed in the Financial Papers and Legal File subseries.
Private donors named the colony as beneficiary in wills and
testaments and granted continuing endowments through bequests.
Material relevant to these bequests are listed in headings under
the Legal File. Material documenting fund-raising activities,
including the ambitious endowment drive of 1937, is located among
the Financial Papers, as are accounting and financial reports.
The latter material provides a breakdown of the colony's
financial position, concentrating on the period after 1946 when
the association assumed full fiscal responsibility. The
Miscellany series contains booklets published for the
Peterborough Pageants (1910-14), the colony's first major
publicity event and fund-raising success.
Affiliations with music clubs and associations had always been
important to the colony. Since 1919, when the National
Federation of Music Clubs asked to hold its biennial meeting at
Peterborough, the colony cultivated contacts with both local and
national organizations, as well as unifying the network of
MacDowell Clubs that exist throughout the country. The Office
File Miscellany subseries includes headings pertaining to these
club affiliations.
Also of interest is a group of letters written by Parker
Fillmore to Hermann Hagedorn dated from 1936 to 1938 and arranged
in the Miscellany series. These are unusually full and
informative reminiscences about Edwin Arlington Robinson,
longtime resident and friend of the colony. The letters were
written to aid in a biography of Robinson that Hagedorn was
working on at the time.
There are few items in the collection that relate to Edward
MacDowell. The Miscellany series includes an appointment
calendar, 1884, and some biographical notes. In addition to the
Personal Correspondence series, Marian MacDowell is also
represented in the Miscellany series which includes her speeches
and writings.
***
DESCRIPTION OF SERIES
Container Nos. Series
1-5 Personal Correspondence, 1896-1958, n.d.
Letters received and copies of letters sent by
Marian N. MacDowell. Also includes correspondence
between persons other than Marian MacDowell or
MacDowell Colony administrators. Arranged
chronologically.
5-73 Administrative Papers, 1907-70, n.d.
5-29 Admission Applications, 1946-68, n.d.
Case files containing correspondence,
application forms for admission to the MacDowell
Colony, printed matter, and resumes arranged
alphabetically by applicant. Separate folders
for applications and request for applications,
for which no accompanying documents necessitated
a case file are included at the end of the
subseries.
30-37 Committees, 1924-69, n.d.
Correspondence, memoranda, admission
invitations, reports, minutes of meetings,
printed matter, and work sheets relating to the
functions of the MacDowell Colony's various
committees. Arranged alphabetically by
committee.
38-50 Correspondence, 1917-70, n.d.
Correspondence, memoranda, telegrams, printed
matter, and miscellaneous items comprising
administrative files. Arranged alphabetically
by officer and chronologically therein.
50-56 Financial Papers, 1936-69, n.d.
Correspondence, accounting statements,
reports, and printed matter concerning financial
contributions and other fund-raising activities
as well as the general financial situation of
the colony. Container 56 is _restricted_ until
1999. Arranged alphabetically by subject.
57-61 Legal File, 1907-69, n.d.
Correspondence, copyright renewals, wills,
testaments, deeds, contracts, and other judicial
documents relating mostly to bequests left to
the MacDowell Colony by donor estates. Arranged
alphabetically by subject.
61-68 Minutes of Meetings, 1907-65.
Minutes, correspondence, memoranda, agenda,
reports, and other items pertaining to meetings
of the MacDowell Colony's corporate members and
board of directors, in bound and unbound form,
the former containing minutes of meetings of
both corporate and board members. Arranged by
type of material and chronologically thereunder.
69-73 Office File Miscellany, 1911-68, n.d.
Correspondence, memoranda, annual reports,
printed matter, minutes of meetings, and
miscellaneous items. Arranged alphabetically
by subject.
74-77 Scrapbooks, 1869-1958, n.d.
Clippings, printed matter, photographs, and
correspondence. Arranged chronologically.
77-81 Miscellany, 1884-1967, n.d.
Correspondence, printed matter, speeches and
writings by Marian MacDowell and others, awards,
and an appointment calendar (1884) kept by Edward
MacDowell. Arranged alphabetically by type of
material.
OV 1-3 Oversize, 1869-1962.
Oversize scrapbooks organized and described
according to the series and folders from which the
items were removed.
***
CONTAINER LIST
PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1896-1958, n.d.
Container Nos. Contents
Box 1 Correspondence
MacDowell, Marian N.
Letters sent
Mar. 1896-Oct. 1949 (5 folders)
Box 2 Nov. 1949-Feb. 1953 (5 folders)
Box 3 Mar. 1953-Mar. 1955 (5 folders)
Box 4 Apr. 1955-Aug. 1956, n.d. (4 folders)
Letters received, 1937-56, n.d.
Box 5 Others, 1937-58, n.d.
ADMINISTRATIVE PAPERS, 1907-70, n.d.
Admission Applications, 1946-68, n.d.
Name file
Abel-Baker (32 folders)
Box 6 Bales-Berman, Ariane R. (47 folders)
Box 7 Berman, Lester-Bressler (45 folders)
Box 8 Brewster-Cavallon (51 folders)
Box 9 Chamberlain-Corning (47 folders)
Box 10 Cotter-Desfosses (45 folders)
Box 11 Deshaies-Evershed (51 folders)
Box 12 Ewers-Garrigue (50 folders)
Box 13 Gasparo-Grew (45 folders)
Box 14 Griefen-Holland (55 folders)
Box 15 Etnier-Katz (46 folders)
Box 16 Kazin-Labunska (49 folders)
Box 17 Lacy-Lewis (47 folders)
Box 18 Lewis-Mackay (42 folders)
Box 19 MacKendrick-Meixner (43 folders)
Box 20 Melody-Neider (48 folders)
Box 21 Nelson-Phelps (46 folders)
Box 22 Phillips-Rittman (50 folders)
Box 23 Robbins-Sandor (40 folders)
Box 24 Sapios-Shapiro (43 folders)
Box 25 Sharp-Stillman (52 folders)
Box 26 Stine-Vallee (47 folders)
Box 27 Van Buren-Wasser (32 folders)
Box 28 Wasserman-Wykes (54 folders)
Box 29 Wylie-Zogbaum (19 folders)
Applications submitted
Miscellany
Requests for applications (3 folders)
Box 30 Committees, 1924-69, n.d.
Activities Committee
Admissions Committee
Artists' professional records
Colony admissions, 1953-64 (10 folders)
Composers' subcommittee
Forms and form letters
Invitations
Accepted
Declined, 1953-63 (2 folders)
Box 31 Foundations and organizations
Museums
Offered, 1954-69 (2 folders)
Publishers
Box 32 Minutes of meetings
Miscellany
Operations and policies, 1948-68, n.d.
(3 folders)
Painters' and sculptors' subcommittee
Playwrights
Publicity
Box 33 Reapplication letters
Recommendations
Writers' subcommittee
Benefit Committee
Colony and House Committee
Coordinating Committee
Correspondence
Minutes of meetings
Miscellany
Box 34 Development Committee
Executive Committee
Fellowship Committee
Admissions, 1956-57 (3 folders)
Applications and grants
Box 35 Fellowship cards
National Institute of Arts and Letters
Operations and policies
Finance Committee
Hillcrest Committee
Membership Committee
Miscellany
Nominating Committee
Correspondence
Minutes of meetings
Miscellany
Office Advisory Committee
Job applications
Office assistant
Office equipment
Personnel
Box 36 Procedures
Records management
Timesheets
Publications Committee
Annual reports, 1953-68 (6 folders)
Booklet
Invitations
Leaflets
Letterheads and envelopes
Printing
Special committee on 1954 annual report
Publicity Committee
_Colony News_
Box 37 Correspondence, 1955-69 (3 folders)
Miscellany
Special Committee
Ways and Means Committee
Box 38 Correspondence, 1917-70, n.d.
Abramson, Eva, 1951-55, n.d. (4 folders)
Aylen, Muriel
Nov. 1952-Dec. 1955
Box 39 Jan. 1956-Nov. 1958, n.d. (5 folders)
Box 40 Brodeur, Marie, 1946-47
Byman, Barnett, 1938
Carmer, Carl, 1947-54
Clifton, Chalmers and Wanda, 1943-53
Copland, Aaron, 1944-68, n.d.
Fillmore, Louise, Aug. 1937-May 1951, n.d.
(2 folders)
Box 41 Fillmore, Parker, 1917-44, n.d. _See also
Container 77_, Correspondence of Parker
Fillmore and Hermann Hagedorn
Hale, Thomas Shaw
Jan. 1953-Nov. 1956 (5 folders)
Box 42 Dec. 1956-Nov. 1961 (6 folders)
Box 43 Dec. 1961-Dec. 1962, n.d. (3 folders)
Isaacs, Lewis M.
Nov. 1942-Jan. 1952 (3 folders)
Box 44 Feb. 1952-Jan. 1964, n.d. (4 folders) _See
also Container 57,_ Correspondence
Kendall, George M.
Jan. 1952-June 1955
Box 45 July 1955-Mar. 1970, n.d. (5 folders)
Nash, Alice
Sept. 1958-Feb. 1959
Box 46 Mar. 1959-Jan. 1961, n.d. (2 folders)
Nevins, Henry B., 1947-48
Rauch, Greta, 1954-55
Richardson, Nina Maud, 1944-57
Smith, Cecil, 1946-50
Studin, Charles H.
Feb. 1945-Oct. 1947 (2 folders)
Box 47 Nov. 1947-Mar. 1950, n.d. (2 folders)
Sweeney, James Johnson
Mar. 1952-Mar. 1956 (4 folders)
Box 48 Apr. 1956-Feb. 1958 (5 folders)
Box 49 Mar. 1958-Sept. 1959 (5 folders)
Box 50 Oct. 1959-Feb. 1963, n.d. (3 folders)
Woodward, R. Eveleen, 1953-68, n.d. (2 folders)
Financial Papers, 1936-69, n.d.
Accounts
Director's expenses
Miscellany
Petty cash
Box 51 Printing and stationery
Rent
Supplies
Telephone and telegraph
Correspondence
Fund-raising
Beach (Amy) Fund
Benefactors
Benefits, 1958-68 (3 folders)
Contributions
Acknowledgments, 1958-69 (4 folders)
Box 52 Reports
Transmittals
Box 53 Correspondence
Endowment drive, 1937
Correspondence file
Canby, Henry Seidel
Clifton, Wanda
Kroepke, Elsa G.
MacDowell, Marian N.
Moore, Douglas
More, Taylor
Nevins, Henry B.
Peixotto, Ernest
Schelling, Ernest
Speir, Mercedes
Wilder, Thornton
Miscellany
John D. Rockefeller III Fund
Martha Baird Rockefeller Aid to Music Program
Miscellany
New York Committee for the MacDowell Colony
Box 54 95th Birthday Fund
Reports and meetings
Rockefeller Foundation
Studio Maintenance Fund
Reports
Accountants
Financial statements
Smith, Batchelder, etc.
Sternau, Howard E.
1952-55
Box 55 1956-65
Investment advisory
Miscellany
Requisitions and orders
Box 56* Financial problems
Finance Committee, 1957-67
Minutes and discussion of 19 Aug. 1961
meeting
* Restricted
Box 57 Legal File, 1907-69, n.d.
Correspondence _See also Containers 43-44,_
Isaacs, Lewis M.
Deed of gift, 1907
Documents
Edward MacDowell Association
Certificate of incorporation
Name change
Estate bequests
Aldrich, Florence E.
Alexander, John W. and Elizabeth A.
Baetz, Emily
Beach, Amy Marcy Cheney (Mrs. H. H. A.)
Accounts and receipts (3 folders)
Bank statements
Box 58 Biographical writings and notes
Contracts and agreements
Copyright renewals, 1947-69, n.d.
(2 folders)
Correspondence
Mar. 1925, Aug. 1945-Feb. 1950
(3 folders)
Box 59 Mar. 1950-May 1966 (4 folders)
Miscellany
Taxes
Will and testament
Cadman, Charles Wakefield
Box 60 Hilliard, Anne K.
Holyland, Carrie E.
Hovey, Ethel Gloria Browning
Kaufman, Elizabeth Cheney
Keith, Lina C.
Kershaw, Justine F.
Long, Justine
Loomis, Adela H.
Lupton, Annie E.
Paine, Clara May
Palmer, Georgianna
Pfingstag, Pauline
Purrington, Anna C.
Smith, Eunice C.
Smith, Isabelle Sprague
Sonneck, Oscar J.
Spottiswoode, Marjorie Ehlers
MacDowell, Edward A., last will and testament
MacDowell, Marian N., last will and testament
Miscellany
Box 61 Property deeds and mortgages
Tax status
Minutes of Meetings, 1907-65
Unbound series
Board of Directors
8 Feb. 1946-13 May 1959 (31 folders)
Box 62 17 June 1959-12 Dec. 1962 (23 folders)
Box 63 23 Jan. 1963-17 Nov. 1965 (15 folders)
Corporate members
23 Jan. 1957-24 Jan. 1962 (6 folders)
Box 64
23 Jan. 1963-27 Jan. 1965 (3 folders)
Bound volumes
Series A
Vol. 1, 22 Mar. 1907-9 June 1915
Box 65 Vol. 2, 10 June 1915-16 Feb. 1921
Vol. 3, 4 Nov. 1921-27 Apr. 1927
Box 66 Series B
Vol. 1, 27 May 1927-31 Oct. 1939
Vol. 2, 19 Dec. 1939-5 Dec. 1949
Box 67 Vol. 3, 25 Jan. 1950-27 Jan. 1954
Vol. 4, 27 Jan. 1954-5 Jan. 1956
Box 68 Vol. 5, 25 Jan. 1956-9 Aug. 1958
Vol. 6, 8 Oct. 1958-14 Dec. 1960
Box 69 Office File Miscellany, 1911-68, n.d.
Anniversary (fiftieth) celebration
Board of directors' meetings, attendance records
Bylaws
Clubs and associations
Allied membership
Annual dinner
Bylaws
Correspondence, 1916-68
Minutes of meetings, 1911-53 (2 folders)
Miscellany
Alpha Chi Omega
Box 70 Austin Chapter of the Memorial Association,
Chicago, Ill. (2 vols.)
Colony membership
MacDowell Club of Allied Arts
MacDowell colonists
Monday Music Club
National affiliations
Box 71 National Federation of Music Clubs
New Hampshire Friends of the MacDowell Colony
New York Friends of the MacDowell Colony
State and local affiliations, 1947-67, n.d.
(2 folders)
Colum, Mary
Forms and form letters
Frost, Robert, poetry reading, 8 Nov. 1962
Correspondence
Miscellany
Great Artist Program
Box 72 Hall of Fame for Great Americans, New York
University, New York, N.Y.
Lists
Artists-in-residence
Board of directors
Furniture and furnishings
Mailing
Membership
Programs
MacDowell Medal Award
Pratt, Theodore, _New York Times_ article
Property
Buildings and grounds
Richardson, Nina Maud
Stein, Gertrude R.
Reports
Annual
1911-12
1913-35 (2 vols.)
Box 73 1936-60 (2 vols.)
1964
Colony manager
Director
Management survey
President
SCRAPBOOKS, 1869-1958, n.d.
Box 74 "Regina Watson Memory Book" 1869-1913 _See
Oversize_
"Publicity Material"
1907-12
1937-40
(1 vol.)
Box 75 (1 vol.)
"Mr. and Mrs. MacDowell"
1909-39
Box 76 1942-56
"MacDowell Colony"
1910-56
1955-56 _See Oversize_
"Minnie E. Post, Austin Chapter of the Edward
MacDowell Memorial Association," Chicago, Ill.,
1937-62 _See Oversize_
Box 77 "MacDowell Colony Concerts," 1948
Untitled, 1956-58
"MacDowell Scrapbook", photographs, n.d.
MISCELLANY, 1884-1967, n.d.
Cards and invitations
Fillmore, Parker, and Hermann Hagedorn
correspondence, 1936-38
MacDowell, Edward
Appointment calendar, 1884
Biographical notes
MacDowell, Marian N.
Awards
Condolences and funeral service, 1956
Notes on life of Edward MacDowell
Obituaries
Speeches and lectures
Writings
Notes and letters
Box 78 Printed matter
Articles, 1908-67, n.d. (2 folders)
Brochures, circulars, programs, and other items
(2 folders)
Newsletters
Newspaper clippings
1910-19
Box 79 1920-68, n.d. (7 folders)
Box 80 Pamphlets (3 folders)
Peterborough Festival booklets, 1910-14
Box 81 Register for Colony Hall, 1923-58
Residents' book, 1913-38
Rules and regulations
Speeches by others than Marian MacDowell
Writings by others than Marian MacDowell
OVERSIZE, 1869-62
Box OV 1 Scrapbooks
"Regina Watson Memory Book" 1869-1913
Box OV 2 "MacDowell Colony"
1955-56
Box OV 3 "Minnie E. Post, Austin Chapter of the Edward
MacDowell Memorial Association," Chicago,
Ill., 1937-62
*** Last update 01/17/97 (mal) ***
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