Overview
Contains drawings related to possibly either costume designs or created for commemorative purposes for several seventeenth century French ballets, including the "Ballet des quatre parties du monde," "Ballet des Fées des Forests de St. Germain," and "Grand Bal de la Douairière de Billebahaut," all by Daniel Rabel.
Dates
- Creation: 1625-1626
Language of Materials
Collection is in French.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material. Collection is open for research.
A portion of this collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine what material is offsite and retrieval policies and times.
Extent
0.2 linear feet (1 box and 3 flat file folders)Contains drawings which might have either been ballet costume designs or the basis for commemorative prints for multiple seventeenth century French ballets, including the "Ballet des Fées des Forests de St. Germain" or “Ballet of the St. Germain Forest Fairies,” which is also called the “Ballet des Ridicules,” and "Grand Bal de la Douairière de Billebahaut" or the “The Grand Ball of the Dowager of Billebahaut.” The "Ballet des Fées des Forests de St. Germain" was first performed at the French court on 1625 February 9, written by René Bordier. The “Grand Bal de la Douairière de Billebahaut” was a ballet burlesque written by René Bordier first performed in 1626 at the Louvre and the Hotel de Ville in Paris, with Louis XIII in a starring role. Rabel created costume designs for both productions.
Biographical / Historical
Daniel Rabel (approximately 1578-1637) was a French painter, engraver, miniaturist, and illustrator, with professional ties to the French court throughout the early seventeenth century. Starting in 1617, Rabel was a designer of costumes for French court ballets as well as sets for theatre and ballet productions.
Arrangement
The drawings are arranged in alphabetical order by ballet production title.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository, pfd (P1.C1.05.20 [Folders 1-3])
Custodial History
The custodial history is unknown. It is possible the drawings were a gift of or acquired from George Chaffee between 1949 and 1984, but there is no documentation of these gifts or acquisitions.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2018M-103. Acquisition information unknown.
Processing Information
Processed by Betts Coup, 2018.
The archivist put all materials into new folders and boxes.
- Title
- Rabel, Daniel, approximately 1578-1637. Daniel Rabel ballet drawings, 1625-1626 (MS Thr 1775): Guide.
- Status
- in_progress
- Date
- 2018 April 02
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02905
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.
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