Edward Gorey costume and set designs for Fête Diverse
Overview
Contains fourteen costume designs and several scenic designs for Fête diverse, ou Le bal de Madame H, the first and only complete ballet by Edward Gorey to be produced.
Dates
- Creation: 1978
Creator
- Gorey, Edward, 1925-2000 (Person)
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material. Collection is open for research.
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
.25 linear feet (1 box)Contains costume designs for nearly every named character in the cast of Fête Diverse by Edward Gorey, including "A Dismembered Corpse," plus two for the "Divertissement Ethnique," as well as three full or partial costumes for members of the corps. The corps designs may not have appeared in the final production or might be those for "Decayed Gentlefolk," as there is no specifically identified costume design for that role. Also includes several scene designs on three sheets, some of which include the balustrade and illustrations of a dragon or sea monster.
Biographical / Historical
Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000) was an American writer and artist noted for his illustrated books. Gorey also produced designs for multiple ballets, and also wrote several, including Fête diverse, ou Le bal de Madame H, the first and only complete ballet by Gorey to be produced. It was produced in 1978, after Gorey had won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design for the 1977 Broadway revival of Dracula. Gorey submitted designs and a written scenario to Eglevsky Ballet Company in the summer of 1978, and it premiered that fall at Hofstra University with choreography by Peter Anastos. Gorey's friend Allegra Kent danced the lead as "Madame H."
Arrangement
Collection has been minimally processed. Materials are in the order in which they were received from the dealer.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2020MT-105. Purchased with funds from the Howard D. Rothschild Bequest, 2020 March.
Processing Information
Processed by Betts Coup, 2020. Description of the collection is based on the seller's notes.
Topical
Creator
- Gorey, Edward, 1925-2000 (Person)
- Title
- Gorey, Edward, 1925-2000. Edward Gorey costume and set designs for Fête Diverse, 1978 (MS Thr 2049): Guide.
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard University.
- Date
- 2020 March 12
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou03322
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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