Skip to main content
COLLECTION Identifier: MS Mus 193

Erik Satie papers

Overview

Papers of the French composer Erik Satie.

Dates

  • Creation: 1866-1966

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in French and English.

Conditions Governing Access

The originals of this collection are restricted from use.

Extent

1 linear feet (3 boxes and 2 reels of microfilm )

Scope and Contents

The bulk of the collection consists of autograph notes, drafts, and fragments of musical compositions such as piano works, ballets, incidental music, entr'actes, songs, and a mass. They are notated in 29 small composition books as well as on loose sheets. Stage works are written for productions by Réné Clair and Jean Cocteau; vocal works are based on texts by René Chalypt, J.P. Contamine de Latour, Léon Paul Fargue, Catulle Mendës, Henry Pacory, and others; music sometimes written in collaboration with Robert Caby and Vincent Hyspa.

Also included are letters, essays, and drawings by Erik Satie, as well as biographical materials, programs, photographs, clippings, and printed materials.

Additional Description

Biographical / Historical

Erik Satie was a French composer.

Arrangement

Arranged into four series:
  1. I. Letters
  2. II. Compositions by Satie
  3. A. Music
  4. A1. Composition books
  5. A2. Other music
  6. B. Compositions other than music
  7. III. Biographical material
  8. IV. Materials concerning the collection
  9. A. Concordance 1
  10. B. Concordance 2

Physical Location

b

Immediate Source of Acquisition

89M-27. Manuscripts transferred from the Garden Library, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C.; received: 1973 and 24 July 1989.

Provenance and former processing:

This collection of Erik Satie papers is composed of two different collections. In 1938 a small acquisition was made by Mildred Bliss, Dumbarton Oaks, from Sybil Harris, who had been a friend and patron of young Parisian artists in the 1920s. The manuscripts [nos. (12),(70),(95),(100),(102),(105)], and a printed piano score of Piege de Meduse [*FC9.Sa832.921p] were deposited at the Library of Congress, and some still carry the library's bookplate.

The main part of the present collection was owned by Darius Milhaud, who found these manuscripts in Satie's apartment after the composer's death in 1925 and took them to the US in 1940. He mounted an exhibition of the entire collection at Mills College, Oakland, California. The typescript catalogue was numbered in Arabic, 1-105. In about 1960 almost the entire collection was acquired by Mildred Bliss. At Dumbarton Oaks, a new list was compiled in 1963 of the Harris and Milhaud materials using Roman numbering I-LXXVII.

After Mildred Bliss's death and the taking over of her estate by Harvard University, some items were transferred to the Houghton Library. The Satie collection came in 1973 and 1989. Before it could be fully catalogued, scholars used and published the material using the old numbers from the Mills College list, and even provided them with a "Ho" siglum. To enable users to identify manuscripts in the present numbering system, two concordances are added at the end of this finding aid.

Existence and Location of Copies

Readers must use positive microfilm available in the Houghton Reading Room.

Bibliography

For uniform spelling of titles, for dates, and for identifications, the following publications were consulted: Robert Orledge. Satie the Composer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990) Ornella Volta. Erik Satie. Ecrits (Paris, Editions Champ Libre, 1981) Stephen Moore Whiting. Erik Satie and Parisian Musical Entertainment 1888 to 1909 (Urbana, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign, Photographic Services, 1988)
  • Robert Orledge. Satie the Composer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990)
  • Ornella Volta. Erik Satie. Ecrits (Paris, Editions Champ Libre, 1981)
  • Stephen Moore Whiting. Erik Satie and Parisian Musical Entertainment 1888 to 1909 (Urbana, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign, Photographic Services, 1988)

Concordance 1 = numbers of the Mills College catalogue (1940), the Dumbarton Oaks list [D.O.](1963), and the Houghton Library accessions record (1992).

Mills = D.O. = Houghton
  1. 1 = I = (14)
  2. 2 = none = (15)
  3. 3 = none = (16)
  4. 4 = none = (17)
  5. 5 = none = (18)
  6. 6 = none = (19)
  7. 7 = none = (20)
  8. 8 = none = (21)
  9. 9 = none = (22)
  10. 10 = none = (23)
  11. 11 = none = (24)
  12. 12 = none = (25)
  13. 13 = none = (26)
  14. 14 = none = (27)
  15. 15 = none = (28)
  16. 16 = none = (29)
  17. 17 = none = (30)
  18. 18 = none = (31)
  19. 19 = none = (32)
  20. 20 = none = (33)
  21. 21 = none = (34)
  22. 22 = none = (35)
  23. 23 = none = (36)
  24. 24 = none = (37)
  25. 25 = none = (38)
  26. 26 = none = (39)
  27. 27 = none = (40)
  28. 28 = none = (41)
  29. 29 none = (42)
  30. 30 = II = (48)
  31. 31 = III = (54)
  32. 32 = IV = (55)
  33. 33 = V = (58)
  34. 34 = VI = (60)
  35. 35 = VII = (83)
  36. 36 = VIII = (80)
  37. 37 = IX = (78)
  38. 38 = X = (79)
  39. 39 = XI = (44)
  40. 40 = XII = (87)
  41. 41 = XIII = (88)
  42. 42 = XIV = (89)
  43. 43 = XV = (86)
  44. 44 = XVI = (85)
  45. 45 = XVII = (73)
  46. 46 = XVIII = (46)
  47. 47 = none = none
  48. 48 = XIX = (92)
  49. 49 = XX = (62)
  50. 50 = XXI = (59)
  51. 51 = XXII = (65)
  52. 52 = XXIII = (57)
  53. 53 = XXIV = (90)
  54. 54 = XXV = (81)
  55. 55 = XXVI = (68)
  56. 56 = XXVII = (45)
  57. 57 = XXVIII = (53)
  58. 58 = XXIX = (72)
  59. 59 = XXX = (94)
  60. 60 = XXXI = (50)
  61. 61 = XXXII = (43)
  62. 62 = XXXIII = (64)
  63. 63 = XXXIV = (69)
  64. 64 = XXXV = (91)
  65. 65 = XXXVI = (82)
  66. 66 = XXXVII = (52)
  67. 67 = XXXVIII = (56)
  68. 68 = XXXIX = (97)
  69. 69 = XL = (84)
  70. 70 = XLI = (66)
  71. 71 = XLII = (47)
  72. 72 = XLIII = (49)
  73. 73 = XLIV = (67)
  74. 74 = XLV = (76)
  75. 75 = XLVI = (61)
  76. 76 = XLVII = (93)
  77. 77 = XLVIII = (106)
  78. 78 = XLIX = (104)
  79. 79 = L = (99)
  80. 80 = LI = (63)
  81. 81 = LII = (51)
  82. 82 = LIII = (75)
  83. 83 = LIV = (74)
  84. 84 = LV = (77)
  85. 85 = LVI = (71);(98)
  86. 86 = none = none
  87. 87 = LVII = (96)
  88. 88 = LVIII = (101)
  89. 89 = LIX = (103)
  90. 90 = LX = (13)
  91. 91 = none = none
  92. 92 = none = none
  93. 93 = none = none
  94. 94 = LXI = (111)
  95. 95 = LXII = (107)
  96. 96 = LXIII = (113)
  97. 97 = LXIV = (117)
  98. 98 = LXV = (112)
  99. 99 = LXVI = (115)
  100. 100 = LXVII = (110)
  101. none = LXVIII = (95);(100);(102);(105)
  102. none = LXIX = (70)
  103. none = LXX = (12)
  104. none = LXXI = *FC9.Sa832.921p
  105. none = LXXII = (109)
  106. none = LXXIII = *FC9.Sa832.S932t
  107. none = LXXIV = (114);(116)
  108. none = LXXV = (112)
  109. none = LXXVI = negative file
  110. none = LXXVII = (116)

Concordance 2 = numbers of the Houghton Library accessions record (1992), the Mills College catalogue (1940), and the Dumbarton Oaks [D.O.] list (1963).

Houghton = Mills = D.O.
  1. (1) = none= none
  2. (2) = none= none
  3. (3) = none = none
  4. (4) = none = none
  5. (5) = none = none
  6. (6) = none = none
  7. (7) = none = none
  8. (8) = none = none
  9. (9) = none = none
  10. (10) = none = none
  11. (11) = none = none
  12. (12) = none = LXX
  13. (13) = 90 = LX
  14. (14) = 1 = I
  15. (15) = 2 = none
  16. (16) = 3 = none
  17. (17) = 4 = none
  18. (18) = 5 = none
  19. (19) = 6 = none
  20. (20) = 7 = none
  21. (21) = 8 = none
  22. (22) = 9 = none
  23. (23) = 10 = none
  24. (24) = 11 = none
  25. (25) = 12 = none
  26. (26) = 13 = none
  27. (27) = 14 = none
  28. (28) = 15 = none
  29. (29) = 16 = none
  30. (30) = 17 = none
  31. (31) = 18 = none
  32. (32) = 19 = none
  33. (33) = 20 = none
  34. (34) = 21 = none
  35. (35) = 22 = none
  36. (36) = 23 = none
  37. (37) = 24 = none
  38. (38) = 25 = none
  39. (39) = 26 = none
  40. (40) = 27 = none
  41. (41) = 28 = none
  42. (42) = 29 = none
  43. (43) = 61 = XXXII
  44. (44) = 39 = XI
  45. (45) = 56 = XXVII
  46. (46) = 46 = XVIII
  47. (47) = 71 = XLII
  48. (48) = 30 = II
  49. (49) = 72 = XLIII
  50. (50) = 60 = XXXI
  51. (51) = 81 = LII
  52. (52) = 66 = XXXVII
  53. (53) = 57 = XXVIII
  54. (54) = 31 = III
  55. (55) = 32 = IV
  56. (56) = 67 = XXXVIII
  57. (57) = 52 = XXIII
  58. (58) = 33 = V
  59. (59) = 50 = XXI
  60. (60) = 34 = VI
  61. (61) = 75 = XLVI
  62. (62) = 49 = XX
  63. (63) = 80 = LI
  64. (64) = 62 = XXXIII
  65. (65) = 51 = XXII
  66. (66) = 70 = XLI
  67. (67) = 73 = XLIV
  68. (68) = 55 = XXVI
  69. (69) = 63 = XXXIV
  70. (70) = none = LXIX
  71. (71) = 85 = LVI
  72. (72) = 58 = XXIX
  73. (73) = 45 = XVII
  74. (74) = 83 = LIV
  75. (75) = 82 = LIII
  76. (76) = 74 = XLV
  77. (77) = 84 = LV
  78. (78) = 37 = IX
  79. (79) = 38 = X
  80. (80) = 36 = VIII
  81. (81) = 54 = XXV
  82. (82) = 65 = XXXVI
  83. (83) = 35 = VII
  84. (84) = 69 = XL
  85. (85) = 44 = XVI
  86. (86) = 43 = XV
  87. (87) = 40 = XII
  88. (88) = 41 = XIII
  89. (89) = 42 = XIV
  90. (90) = 53 = XXIV
  91. (91) = 64 = XXXV
  92. (92) = 48 = XIX
  93. (93) = 76 = XLVII
  94. (94) = 59 = XXX
  95. (95) = none = LXVIII, no. 1
  96. (96) = 87 = LVII
  97. (97) = 68 = XXXIX
  98. (98) = 85 = none
  99. (99) = 79 = L
  100. (100) = none = LXVIII, no. 2
  101. (101) = 88 = LVIII
  102. (102) = none = LXVIII, no. 4
  103. (103) = 89 = LIX
  104. (104) = 78 = XLIX
  105. (105) = none = LXVIII, no. 3
  106. (106) = 77 = XLVIII
  107. (107) = 95 = LXII
  108. (108) = none = LXXII
  109. (109) = none = LXXII
  110. (110) = 100 = LXVII
  111. (111) = 94 = LXI
  112. (112) = 98 = LXV;LXXV
  113. (113) = 96 = LXIII
  114. (114) = none = LXXVI
  115. (115) = 99 = LXVI
  116. (116) = none = LXXIV;LXXVII
  117. (117) = 97 = LXIV
  118. (118) = none = none
  119. (119) = none = none
  120. (120) = none = none

Processing Information

Processed by: Barbara M. Wolff
Link to catalog

Administrative Information

Title
Satie, Erik, 1866-1925. Erik Satie papers, 1866-1966: Guide.
Author
Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hou00032

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Houghton Library Repository

http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.ois:HOU

Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.

Contact:
Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2440

Powered by ArchivesSpace
© 2020 President and Fellows of Harvard College
Accessibility Privacy Harmful Language Statement
Report a Problem Help