Catalog Record:
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.
Gift; Helen Tee Van, daughter of Frank Damrosch; 1972.
No further accruals are expected.
The Damrosch - Tee Van Collection was processed in 1994 by Wilda Heiss with assistance from Margaret Collins. The original finding aid was prepared with Corel WordPerfect 5.1. In 2007 the Damrosch - Tee Van Collection finding aid was coded for EAD format by Michael A. Ferrando.
The status of copyright on the materials of the Damrosch - Tee Van Collection is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The Damrosch - Tee Van Collection is open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Performing Arts Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use. Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: container number, Damrosch - Tee Van Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The Damrosch family immigrated to America from Breslau, Germany in 1871. Leopold Damrosch (1832-1885), the family patriarch, was a violinist, conductor, and composer who was educated in Posen, his native city, and in Berlin. In 1857, Franz Liszt appointed him lead violinist in the court orchestra at Weimar. While there, he married the singer Helene von Heimburg. In 1860, he toured with Hans von Bülow and Karl Tausig and, in 1862, organized the Breslau Philharmonic Society. He came to America in 1871 to conduct the Arion Society, a men's choral group. In 1873, he founded the Oratorio Society of New York and, in 1878, the Symphony Society of New York. He introduced Wagner's operas, Berlioz's
Frank Damrosch (1859-1937), the oldest son of Leopold and Helene, was a conductor and teacher. He began his musical studies as a child in Breslau and continued them in New York City. Later, he left City College and found work in various non-musical jobs. In 1879, he went to Denver, Colorado to see what business opportunities existed there; eventually, he abandoned the business world and devoted himself to music. He became conductor of the Denver Chorus Club, supervisor of music in public schools, and organist and choir director for several churches and a synagogue. After Leopold's death in 1885, he returned to New York City and served as conductor of the Newark Harmonic Society and chorus master and assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera until 1891. In 1892, he organized and conducted the People's Choral Union for which he published a
Wilda Heiss, Music Specialist
Margaret Collins, Library Technician,
July 1994
The Damrosch-Tee Van Collection consists of the papers of Frank and Leopold Damrosch and their families. The date span of the collection is 1856-1969, with the bulk of the materials dating from the 1870s to the 1930s. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, writings, manuscript and printed music, financial and legal papers, programs, scrapbooks, artwork, and photographs.
Included in the collection is a series of biographical materials that relate to various Damrosch family members, chiefly Frank and Leopold Damrosch, and consists of printed articles, manuscript notes, and transcripts of interviews. One item of interest is an autobiographical essay written by Leopold Damrosch as a graduation thesis from the high school at Posen.
The papers of Leopold Damrosch consist of correspondence (including a copy of a letter from Liszt,) a few examples of writings, four scores (including Leopold Damrosch's piano-vocal arrangement of the Berlioz
A large part of the collection consists of the papers of Frank Damrosch and other Damrosch family members. The correspondence comprises several hundred letters, with some of the more important correspondents being Harold Bauer, Andrew Carnegie, Edward Elgar, Percy Grainger, Josef Hofmann, Gustav Mahler, and Sergei Rachmaninov. Many of the letters of Frank Damrosch to his family were destroyed in the 1887 fire, mentioned above; there are, however, a long series of letters to his wife Hetty from Europe in 1891. Any letters to or from correspondents who wrote to both Frank Damrosch and other family members are filed together with Frank's correspondence.
The correspondence of other Damrosch family includes letters to and from family members. Included are letters from Georges Barrère, Teresa Carreño, Pablo Casals, Madame Chiang Kai-Shek (regarding John Tee Van's zoo pandas), and John D. Rockefeller. Many of these are simply condolence letters received after Frank Damrosch's death while others reveal more familiar relationships.
The remainder of the papers of Frank Damrosch and other Damrosch family include manuscript and typescript copies of Frank Damrosch's book
The Damrosch - Tee Van Collection is organized in 3 series:
The Biographical Materials series contains manuscript, typewritten and printed biographies and typewritten poem.
Arranged alphabetically by subject of biography, then by author.
The Papers of Leopold Damrosch series consist of correspondence (including a copy of a letter from Liszt,) a few examples of writings, four scores (including Leopold Damrosch's piano-vocal arrangement of the Berlioz
Arrangement within subseries is as follows:
Note: Also, a letter written by Leopold Damrosch to a "friend" in Breslau, 1872
Contents:
Arranged by Leopold Damrosch
A large part of the collection consists of the papers of Frank Damrosch and other Damrosch family members. The correspondence comprises several hundred letters, with some of the more important correspondents being Harold Bauer, Andrew Carnegie, Edward Elgar, Percy Grainger, Josef Hofmann, Gustav Mahler, and Sergei Rachmaninov. Many of the letters of Frank Damrosch to his family were destroyed in the 1887 fire, mentioned above; there are, however, a long series of letters to his wife Hetty from Europe in 1891. Any letters to or from correspondents who wrote to both Frank Damrosch and other family members are filed together with Frank's correspondence.
Arrangement within subseries is as follows:
Contents:
Contents:
Arranged by Kenneth Downing
Arranged by Kenneth Downing
Note: Signatures of the following: Caruso, Enrico [signed caricature of Frank Damrosch]; Farrar, Geraldine; Krehbiel, H. E.; Mahler, Gustav; Scotti, Antonio; Sembrich, Marcella
Note: Featured: Concert Hall; Dr. Damrosch's Room
Drawing which identifies by location selected individuals in above photograph located in BOX 10/16.