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COLLECTION Identifier: MS Thr 488

L. Arnold Weissberger papers

Overview

Letters and legal documents concerning ballerinas Alicia Markova and Alexandra Danilova.

Dates

  • Creation: 1958-1980

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.

Extent

.25 linear feet (1 box)

The collection includes two small sets of papers of L. Arnold Weissberger concerning two of his clients, ballerinas Alexandra Danilova and Alicia Markova.

Papers concerning Danilova include letters from her to Weissberger and his firm (1958-1980), agreements and contracts for teaching and choreographing, and contracts with publishers and coauthors for her memoirs (1957-1976).

Papers concerning Markova include letters from her to Weissberger (1961-1977), and agreements and contracts for teaching and choreographing, as well as a contract for lecture series (1963-1968).

Biographical / Historical

L. Arnold Weissberger (1907-1981) was an American theatrical lawyer who represented many prominent artists and theatrical personalities. He was agent and attorney for both Alicia Markova and Alexandra Danilova.

Alexandra Danilova (1907-1998) was a Russian ballerina. In 1924 she joined the Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Paris. After Diaghilev's death in 1929 she continued to perform with the subsequent Ballets Russes companies until mid 1950s. In 1964, she joined the faculty of the School of American Ballet.

Alicia Markova (1910-2004) was a prominent English ballerina who started her career with the Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. After she stopped performing in 1962, she continued to choreograph, lecture and teach at many major companies and schools in America and Europe.

Arrangement

Organized into two series:

  1. I. Papers concerning Alexandra Danilova
  2. II. Papers concerning Alicia Markova

Physical Location

b

Immediate Source of Acquisition

2004MT-58. Purchased with Howard D. Rothschild fund; received: 2004 October 21.

Processing Information

Processed by: Irina Klyagin

Title
Weissberger, L. Arnold, 1907-1981. L. Arnold Weissberger papers, 1958-1980: Guide.
Author
Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hou01799

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.

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