Musical Record

manoscmr17 Philip Hale Papers, 1850s-1936 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Melvin Carlson, Jr.. Mortimer Rare Book Room, William Allan Neilson Library, Smith College

Northampton, MA

2006

Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Jennifer Smar. 2006-07-19 Finding aid written in English Smith CollegeWilliam Allan Neilson LibraryMortimer Rare Book Room Philip Hale Papers, 1850s-1936 Finding Aid MS 145 Melvin Carlson, Jr. 2006

Collection Overview Hale, Philip, 1854-1934 Philip Hale Papers1850s-1936 MS 145 1 box (.5 linear ft.) English Mortimer Rare Book Room

Smith College Northampton, MA

The Philip Hale papers contain writings of Hale's, letters to him and his correspondence with Walt Whitman, items related to his wife, Mrs. Philip Hale (Irene Baumgras), photographs of Hale and his homes. Included is a notebook from his student days at Yale University. Biographical Note

Philip Hale was born in Norwich, Vermont, on March 5, 1854, the son of William and Harriet Amelia (Porter) Hale. After his parents moved to Northampton, Mass., he studied organ and piano and became at age fourteen the organist of the Unitarian Church in Northampton. He studied at Phillips Exeter Academy and at Yale University (A.B., 1876), where he continued his musical studies. After an apprenticeship in the law office of his uncle in Albany, N.Y., Hale was admitted to the New York Bar in 1880 and practiced law for two years. At the same time he was organist of St. Peter's (Episcopal) Church and was music critic for the Albany Times. This was followed by five years of music study in Europe (1882-1887), largely in Berlin, Dresden and Paris.

Upon his return to the United States, he lived in Albany, N.Y., served as organist at St. John's (Episcopal) Church in Troy and served as music critic for a variety of newspapers. In 1889 he became the organist for the First Religious Society (Unitarian) of Roxbury, Mass., and held the position for seventeen years. In Boston he served as music critic for the Post (1890-1891) and the Journal (1892-1898). At the Herald (1903-1933) he served as music and drama critic and became known for his program notes for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1901-1934).

Philip Hale married Irene Baumgras in Berlin, Germany, July 9, 1884, the daughter of Peter Baumgras of Washington, D.C. Hale died in Boston on November 30, 1934.

Hale was also the editor of Musical Record (1897-1901) and the Musical World (1901-1902) and edited or wrote introductions to various editions of music. After his death a compilation of his program notes was published: Philip Hale's Boston Symphony Programme Notes, edited by John N. Burk (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran, 1935).

[Sources: "Philip Hale," The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 14 (1917): 462-463; "Philip Hale," Groves Music Online (2006)]

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Philip Hale Papers consist of .5 linear feet. The collection consists of primarily of letters and photographs.

The WRITINGS series contains a notebook used by Hale during his student years at Yale University and a brief manuscript by Hale. CORRESPONDENCE contains letters written to Hale by individuals, including Walt Whitman, and letters by Hale (photocopies) to Walt Whitman. SERIES III. Contains notes in Mrs. Philip Hale's hand on her husband and other items associated with her. PHOTOGRAPHS AND MEMORABILIA contain photographs of Hale as a child, during his student days at Yale and from his early days in Boston, as well as photographs of various homes associated with Hale. WRITINGS ON PHILIP HALE contains a few articles on Hale's writings.

Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into five series:

I. WRITINGS (1876) II. CORRESPONDENCE (1871-1921) III. Mrs. PHILIP HALE (Irene Baumgras) (1935) IV. PHOTOGRAPHS AND MEMORABILIA (1850s-1890s) V. ARTICLES ON PHILIP HALE (1936) Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors of the works or their legal representatives.

History of the Collection

The Philip Hale papers were donated to the Smith College Libraries' Mortimer Rare Book Room by his wife, Mrs. Philip Hale, and his niece, Emily Hale (Smith College, Assistant Professor of Spoken English, 1936-1940).

Processed by Melvin Carlson, Jr., 2006

Search Terms Hale, Philip, 1854-1934 Hale, Irene Baumgas Music critics-United States-Biography-Sources Hale, Irene Baumgas Hichens, Robert Smythe, 1864-1950 Metcalf, Eleanor Melville, 1882-1964 Skinner, Henrietta Channing Dana, 1857-1928 Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892 Additional Information Contents List SERIES I. WRITINGS 1 1 Notebook (commonplace book) from Hale's student days at Yale University, 1870s. Includes poetry he copied out and notes on various subjects. 1 2 Manuscript entitled, "As the World Wags," n.d. Hale comments on Thomas De Quincey. SERIES II. CORRESPONDENCE 1 3 Letter (photocopy) from Philip Hale to Walt Whitman, Exeter, N.H., 1871 Sep 14. The original is in the Library of Congress. 1 4 Letter (photocopy) from Philip Hale to Walt Whitman, New Haven, Ct., 1875 Oct 7. Hale sent Whitman a copy of the Yale Lit that contains an article about him. He also tells Whiman that he has gained faith and courage from his books and that he wishes to meet him someday. 1 5 Letter from I. S. Gardner (?) to Philip Hale, Fenway Court, n.d. 1 6 Letter from James Gibbons Huneker to Philip Hale, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1920 Oct 7. 1 7 Letter from Eleanor Melville Metcalf to Philip Hale, Wellesley Hills, [Mass.], 1921 Oct 22. Mrs. Metcalf was the daughter of Herman Melville, and she writes Hale to thank him for his articles on Melville's writings 1 8 Letter from Henrietta Dana Skinner to Philip Hale, Boston, 1912 Dec 26. 1 9 Letter from Walt Whitman to Philip Hale, Canden, N.J., [1876?] Jul 11. The letter is in response to an order from Hale to Whitman in the amount of $10 for a copy of Whiltman's book "Leaves of Grass" (Candem, N.J., 1876). (This copy supplied by Whitman is now in the Smith College Mortimer Rare Book Room.) SERIES III. Mrs. PHILIP HALE (Irene Baumgas) 1 10 Letter from Robert Smythe Hichens to Mrs. Philip Hale, Basel, Switzerland, 1935 Oct 11. Hichens was the author of Susie's Career (London: Cassell, 1935). In the novel Hichens portrayed Hale as "Stephen Harland." In the United States the novel was published as The Pyramid, a Novel (Garden City, N.J.: The Sun Dial Press, 1936). 1 11 Postcard from Mrs. Hale to a Miss Dunham, n.d. 1 12 Miscellaneous notes in Mrs. Hale's hand, n.d. SERIES IV. PHOTOGRAPHS AND MEMORABILIA 1 13 Childhood photograph of Philip Hale by Moore's of Springfield, Mass., 1850s. 1 14 Boyhood photograph of Philip Hale by Ingraham Bros., Northampton, Mass., 1860s. 1 15 Boyhood photograph of Philip Hale by Ingraham Bros., Northampton, Mass., 1860s. 1 16 Tintype portrait of Philip Hale when a student at Yale University with another man, 1870s. 1 17 Philip Hale's "class picture" at Yale University by W. Notman, 1876. 1 18 Philip Hale's boyhood home in Northampton, Mass., on Round Hill, n.d. (2 separate views) 1 19 Philip Hale by W. Höffert, 1883. 1 20 Philip Hale photograph in Boston, Mass., 1890s. 1 21 Philip Hale photograph in Boston, Mass., 1890s. 1 22 "Tanglewild," Hale's summer home on Cape Cod, 1900-1930. 1 23 Robert L. Hale [Philip Hale's uncle], n.d. 1 24 Leather pocket picture case 1 25 Lock of Philip Hale's hair, June 1880 SERIES V. WRITINGS ON PHILIP HALE 1 26 Writings on Philip Hale, 1936.