Lester Horton correspondence with Harriet Dean, Elsie Martinez, Micaela Martinez, and Armando Valdés Peza
Overview
Correspondence between Lester Horton and Harriet Dean, Elsie Martinez, and Micaela Martinez concerning Lester Horton's dance choreography, as well as one letter from Lester Horton to Mexican costume designer Armando Valdés Peza.
Dates
- Creation: 1929-1934
Creator
- Dean, Harriet, 1892-1964 (Person)
Condition Description
Envelopes were separated from letters prior to acquisition, and the stamps have been cut out of each envelope.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research.
This collection is shelved offsite. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine retrieval policies and times.
Extent
.22 linear feet (1 box)Contains letters from Lester Horton written to Harriet Dean, Elsie Martinez, and Micaela Martinez together. Letters are addressed "Dear Friends," "Dear Kids," and "Dear Familia," and address Horton's choreography work for films as well as his romantic interest in costume designer Armando Valdés Peza. Some letters are illustrated on the first page with cartoon figures drawn by Horton. Also contains letters written jointly by Harriet Dean, Elsie Martinez, and Micaela Martinez to Lester Horton, whom they call "Quache" or "Quatche." Most letters to Horton are unsigned, but several are signed with either "Aunt Hattie" or "Pal," both nicknames for Harriet Dean, or "Kay," a nickname for Micaela Martinez. Also present is one letter from Horton to Armando Valdés Peza. Envelopes are present for all letters, but most were separated from their respective letters before acquisition.
Biographical / Historical
Lester Horton was a 20th century choreographer and dancer. His work was heavily inspired by traditional Native American dance. He founded the Lester Horton Dance Theater in Los Angeles in 1946. Horton was one of the first choreographers in the United States to insist on racial integration in his dance company.
Biographical / Historical
Harriet Dean worked for the literary magazine The Little Review as a fundraiser from 1915 to 1918. She then moved to Piedmont, California, where she became involved in local artist communities.
Biographical / Historical
Elsie Martinez married painter Xavier Martinez in 1906. She had one daughter with him, Micaela Martinez, who was born in 1913. In 1923, Elsie separated from Xavier and moved in with Harriet Dean, a former fundraiser for The Little Review.
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Custodial History
Materials acquired by Augur Down Books from the estate of Harriet Dean and Elsie Martinez.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2023MT-80. Purchased from Augur Down Books using the Howard D. Rothschild Bequest, 2023 May 22.
Processing Information
This collection was processed to a basic level with minimal rehousing, organization, and preservation. (Aurora Charlow, 2023)
Creator
- Dean, Harriet, 1892-1964 (Person)
- Martinez, Elsie Whitaker, 1890-1984 (Person)
- Valdés Peza, Armando, 1907-1970 (Correspondent, Person)
- Title
- Lester Horton correspondence with Harriet Dean, Elsie Martinez, Micaela Martinez, and letter to Armando Valdés Peza, 1929-1934. (MS Thr 2280): Guide
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard University
- Date
- 2023 June 14
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- hou03570
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
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.
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