Frederick R. Koch photographs of modern and ballet dancers
Overview
Contains photographs of modern dancers such as Ted Shawn, as well as their Denishawn dance company, ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, among others involved in dance performance in the first decades of the twentieth century.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1915-1930
Language of Materials
English
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
.5 linear feet (2 boxes)Contains black-and-white photographs related to modern dance, specifically the Denishawn School of Dancing founded by Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis, as well as portraits of modern and ballet dancers such as Anna Pavlova, Hubert Stowitts, Egorowa, Zelia Raye, Quentin Tod, and Alexandre Volinine. Some of the Denishawn-related photographs are production photographs and portraits from dance performances, while others are photographs from Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis' travel with the company in India, Japan, and elsewhere. Also included are a few examples of promotional materials, including programs and season announcements, as well as newspaper clippings and two woodcuts that appear to be images from Denishawn dances. Some of the photographs seem to have been removed from an album related to Ted Shawn, Ruth St. Denis, and the Denishawn School of Dancing.
Biographical / Historical
Most of the photographs are of Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis, cofounders and dancers in the Denishawn School of Dancing. Shawn and St. Denis founded Denishawn in 1915, and maintained the company until 1931.
Arrangement
Photographs are arranged starting with those of Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis, followed by Shawn and Denis in solo portraits, then Denishawn School of Dancing-related ephemera. An alphabetical run of portraits by surname of other dancers follows.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Immediate Source of Acquisition
No accession number. Gift of Frederick R. Koch, date unknown.
Processing Information
Processed by Betts Coup, 2018 May.
- Title
- Koch, Frederick R. (Frederick Robinson), collector. Frederick R. Koch photographs of modern and ballet dancers, circa 1915-1930 (MS Thr 1797): Guide.
- Status
- in_progress
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard University.
- Date
- 2018 May 14
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02934
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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