Finding Aids

Alfreda Joslin at Wheatleigh; photo by Stephan Driscoll, 1985
Materials collected by Alfreda Joslin, an original board member of Jacob's Pillow. Included are newspaper and magazine clippings, programs, correspondence with Anthony Fay, and handwritten notes on lectures at Jacob's Pillow. Among the typewritten lecture notes, intended to be collected for publication, are Four Sources of the Dance by Walter Terry, Religion in the Dance by Ruth St. Denis, Folk Dance of the United States by Elizabeth Burchenal, Dance Roots and the Value of Primitive Dance by Ted Shawn, Contemporary Dance Gesture by Walter Terry, The Value of Dance Notation by Ann Hutchinson, Stimuli to Creativity by Norman Walker, two lectures on Delsarte by Ted Shawn. Also includes framed photo of Ted Shawn inscribed to Alfreda and Eric, purchased and donated to the Pillow by Ira Haupt.

Klarna Pinska rehearsing the Joyce Trisler Danscompany. Photo by Alison Myra Ozer.
This collection consists of 8 photographs taken by Alison Myra Ozer of Klarna Pinska and the program of Denishawn dances she staged in the Joyce Trisler Danscompany in the 1970s. Some of these photos were published at the time in a Village Voice article about the project.

Ann Hutchinson Guest teaching Labanotation, 1953 Photo by John Lindquist
Contains various publications on Labanotation by Ann Hutchinson Guest, including materials published by the Dance Notation Bureau. Also contains works in Labanotation by Nadia Chilkovsky.

Note from Anthony Fay to Ted Shawn, 1954
Scrapbooks and clippings collected by Anthony Fay on various dance figures including Isadora Duncan, Maria-Theresa Duncan, Margot Fonteyn, Alicia Markova, Tamara Toumanova, Alexandra Danilova, Mia Slavenska. Also includes photocopies of materials from Jacob's Pillow in the 1940s.

London Coliseum Program, 1922
Materials in the first folder include photographs of Ted Shawn in "The Death of Adonis" and three other nude portraits as well as two photos of Hubert Stowitts. The second folder contains various programs and flyers from the 1920s of Denishawn Dancers, Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, including programs from the 1922 London engagement.

Barton Mumaw in "Bach Bourree" photographed by John Lindquist
The Barton Mumaw collection is comprised of materials spanning Mumaw’s lifetime. There are scrapbooks of family photographs kept by his mother, personal correspondence, professional papers, lecture notes, press clippings, formal portraits, snap shots, and dance costumes which trace Mumaw’s personal and professional relationships and activities. The extensive personal correspondence between Ted Shawn and Barton Mumaw, mostly from 1940-45 while Mumaw was in the service, is significant in that the letters document activities at Jacob's Pillow and Shawn's life during this time. These letters were later used by Shawn to draft a subsequent manuscript of his autobiography, One Thousand and One Night Stands. Mumaw’s prolific personal correspondence with friends and colleagues is also evident in the vast amount of letters, cards and press clippings in the collection. Also of note is the rich correspondence with Jane Sherman, a Denishawn dancer from the 1920s, that began in 1977 when they formed a relationship as co-authors of his autobiography. Sherman’s voluminous correspondence, sometimes daily, included photographs and newspaper clippings, continued until Mumaw’s death in 2001. There are many notebooks and handwritten papers filled with notes for lectures, essays, and speeches. There are also copious notes on choreography, the history of dance, and acting. Correspondence and papers from Mumaw’s later years in Florida attest to his relationships with dance faculty and directors of several Florida universities and organizations. Published books in the collection are mainly on the subject of dance, some books that belonged to, or were authored by, Ted Shawn, and many books by Lucien Price. Most of the books are inscribed to Barton Mumaw or Ted Shawn. The photograph collection consists of hundreds of solo dance portraits of Mumaw in various roles and costumes. Other formal portraits include well known dancers such as Ted Shawn, Ruth St. Denis, Lisa Parnova, Nala Najan, and Richard Cragun. Many informal snap shots are related to Jacob’s Pillow staff, teachers, students and dancers, and to Mumaw’s life in Florida with his partner Marvin Morgenstern. Also of note are the photographs documenting the 1942 summer season at Jacob’s Pillow from the scrapbook of Esther Miller, the Jacob’s Pillow cook at that time. Also from that decade are photographs Ted Shawn sent to Mumaw while in the service which document Jacob’s Pillow’s development during the early 1940s. Mumaw also inherited the personal photographs collected into scrapbooks by Mazie Mumaw, Barton’s mother, which range from her childhood family photographs to her marriage to Barton Mumaw Sr,. to Barton Jr. as a young boy and young man. Framed items include a painting and drawing of Mumaw, as well as several photographs of Mumaw and his parents. The audio-visual material contains record albums, tape reels, and tape and VHS cassettes. Of note is a tape reel of Mumaw in the South Africa news from 1950 and a tape cassette of Mumaw on a National Public Radio show. Many of the VHS cassettes are taped from broadcasts of dance performances. There are also recordings of Mumaw’s lectures, programs about Delsarte, and dances by Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis. The collection also contains costumes, including hats, shoes, and gloves, worn by Barton Mumaw from many of his iconic dances such as Pierrot in the Dead City, Bach Bourée and Fetish. Mumaw’s leather make-up case contains a mirror, face paint, a sewing kit, and cloths.

Betty Poindexter at Jacob's Pillow, photo by John Lindquist
Items related to Jacob's Pillow collected by Betty Poindexter and donated after her death in 2011. Several original photographs include two featuring Poindexter with Ted Shawn. Snapshots of Larry Humphries, Barton Mumaw, Liz Thompson, Jess Meeker, and other Pillow personalities. Pillow coffee mug, playing cards, and other souvenirs.

Childhood portrait of Ruth St. Denis
The collection includes original professional and personal correspondence, which details her financials affairs, performance engagements and various business matters. The collection also includes nine binders of poetry, written by St. Denis, as well as pre-published manuscripts of Lotus Light and her autobiography. Notable materials includes letters and contracts related to a documentary film by St. Ives Productions, Inc., one-way correspondence and drawings sent to St. Denis by Ruth Harwood (illustrator of Lotus Light), and letters between St. Denis and her brother on both personal and professional affairs.

Also included are photographs, which document Denishawn students/dancers in performances and rehearsals, as well as Ruth St. Denis is both portrait and performance photography. Other materials include sound recordings and framed items, including a portrait of St. Denis as a child.

Carol Lynn, early 1920s
This collection includes typed and handwritten choreographic notes of dance works by Ted Shawn, including Mazurek, Dreier Lithograph, Line Study, Tango, Herd-Girl's Dream, Javanese Dance, Intermezzo, Dance of the Redeemed, Tales from the Vienna Woods, Quasi-March, Garden Dance, Pieces Froides, Temple Bells, Valse Ballet, Schubert Waltzes, Fan Dance from Xochitl, Greek Arms, Osage-Pawnee Dance of Greeting, Ich Ruf Zu Dir, Racial Types of Walking, 16 Dances in 16 Rhythms. Includes some sheet music and one dance photo of Carol Lynn. 

Dedication from Ted Shawn
This collection contains four books, programs, newspaper clippings, three photographs and other paper ephemera specific to Ted Shawn, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and other related artists. Includes one personal card sent to the Furman sisters from Shawn, as well as signed books and two framed portraits inscribed from Shawn.

Carolyn Blazy in costume for Josefina Garcia's "Fiesta Pan-Americana" (1957)
Materials collected by Carolyn Blazy Sheley while she was a Pillow student in 1957. Included is all official correspondence with the Pillow, souvenir program autographed by Erik Bruhn, Sonia Arova, Iva Kitchell, Jean-Leon Destine, Maria Tallchief, Soloists of the Royal Danish Ballet, Andre Eglevsky, Alicia Markova, Hugh Laing, Ted Shawn, and others. Also includes photos, some autographed, notated programs, class notes, a broken commemorative plate, and castanets used in class with Matteo and Carola Goya.

Carolyn Brown (second from left) and Marion Rice (far right) in performance at Jacob's Pillow, 1972
This collection includes materials collected by Denishawn dancer Marion Rice, donated by her daughter, Carolyn Brown. Included is a complete bound set of Denishawn Magazines, an autographed copy of Katherine S. Dreier's book "Shawn the Dancer," "Dance We Must" by Ted Shawn, and volumes I and II of "Ruth St. Denis: Pioneer and Prophet." Also included are souvenir programs of Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers, Ruth St. Denis, Humphrey-Weidman Dancers, clippings on Ted Shawn and Denishawn, performance programs, postcards, correspondence, and ticket stubs from Jacob's Pillow, and Shawn's annual newsletters from 1945-1963.  Also included is a scrapbook compiled by Marion Rice, containing Ted Shawn's articles for the Boston Herald in 1936, Pic Magazine article on Shawn's Men Dancers from 1938, and other clippings related to Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis.

Dale Lefler in costume for "Boston Fancy" with Stone Dining Room in background, 1942
Items collected by Dale Lefler about his dance career. Two scrapbooks documenting his summers at Jacob's Pillow (1936 and 1942) with many snapshots and newsclippings, a 1936 diary, autographed Men Dancers souvenir program, and other memorabilia. Also includes programs documenting Lefler's work with Edwin Strawbridge and Ruth St. Denis.

Dennis Landers in "A Dreier Lithograph"
Scrapbook containing print and photographic materials documenting Men Dancers tours in US, Canada, England and Cuba during the 1930s. Includes individual and group photographs of Men Dancers and other Pillow personnel. Also contains some photos of the construction of stone dining room, 1935-36. All pages have been photocopied for preservation purposes.

Donato Cedrone, 1930s
Programs, photos, letters, and other memorabilia collected by Donato Cedrone. Includes snapshots taken at Jacob's Pillow in the 1930s, candid photos of dancers (including Melissa Hayden and Zachary Solov), autographs of Helen Morgan and Gertrude Lawrence, signed photo of Ruth St. Denis and inscribed copy of St. Denis poetry book, construction photos of Ted Shawn Theatre, grounds photos, Barton Mumaw souvenir program.

Arthur Mahoney, Margaret Craske, Thalia Mara, and Joe Pilates; photo by Tom Post, 1947
Photos collected by Dorothy Silverherz, mostly during her summer as a Pillow student in 1947. Included are snapshots of Devi Dja, Ruth Ann Koesun, Eric Braun, Margaret Craske, Loren "Tex" Hightower, Malcolm McCormick, Zachary Solov, Melissa Hayden, George Horn, Nikita Talin, Ted Dragon, Estelle Nadell, Joe Pilates, and unidentified dancers.

This collection consists of five loose scrapbook pages with photographs of students and life at the Pillow from 1958. Also includes a copy of a the student roster and faculty list from 1958, as well as a copy of newsclipping of Margaret Craske's obituary published in the New York Times. Photographs need identification.

Ethel and George Martin at Film Society of Lincoln Center Tribute to Jack Cole, 1994
Scrapbook with photographs, newsclippings, programs,and other materials related to Jack Cole, collected by George and Ethel Martin. Also includes snapshots from Martin's summer as a Jacob's Pillow student in 1942.

Grace Badorek, John Christian, and Ted Shawn at Season Opening Reception, 1960s; photo by John Lindquist
Photographs and ephemera re: Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Includes needlepoint rendering of Ted Shawn Theatre and banner with likeness of Grace Badorek. Two scrapbooks: one covering 1958-72 with photos of Shawn, Ruth St. Denis, John Lindquist, Balasaraswati (signed), Barton Mumaw, Shawn-St. Denis 50th Wedding Anniversary, John Christian and Betty Poindexter. Second scrapbook centers mainly on Badorek's 1978 retirement, with cards and photos of Norman Walker, Durine Alinova, John Lindquist, Joyce Cuoco, Jess Meeker, David Chapman and Norton Owen.

Hadassah in "Shuvi Nafshi". Photo by Marcus Blechman.
Materials collected by Hadassah, including her lecture notes, reviews, programs, and other documentation of her career. Also includes some correspondence and a number of autographed photos of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn.

Dance memorabilia from the collection of Hazel Kranz (aka Hazel Krans). Includes photo album from the Denishawn tour of the Far East in 1925-26, photos of Hazel Kranz in costume, photos of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn at Westport studio, Denishawn House photos, correspondence, programs, and other personal material.

Dance shoes signed and worn by dancers including Ruth St. Denis, Alexandra Danilova, Nina Strogonova, and Mona Vangsaa.

Before a performance, photograph by John van Lund (009264)
This collections includes mostly festival correspondence & administrative material related to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival business operations after Shawn’s death in 1972. Also included are materials from Shawn's time at the Pillow, but more specific to the organization. 

Photo page from Ted Shawn's Second Annual Newsletter Covering 1945
The Jacob's Pillow Digital Collections bring together the results of various digitization projects at Jacob's Pillow. These ever-growing collections feature curated materials from a variety of different sources within The Jacob's Pillow Archives. Thanks to digitization, these select materials, which were formerly available only onsite at Jacob's Pillow, can now be viewed by anyone around the world.

This ongoing collection contains performance programs throughout Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival history, most of which are physical documents or born-digital files.

Audiotapes and transcripts of interviews conducted by Janet Lynn Roseman for her book, Dance Masters: Interviews with Legends of Dance. Included are Danny Grossman, Michael Smuin, Edward Villella, Alonzo King, Mark Morris, and Catherine Turocy.

Audiotapes of interview sessions with Louis Horst, conducted by Jeanette Schlottmann Roosevelt. A transcript of these sessions is located in the Reading Room on the music book shelf.

Jess Meeker, 1930s and 1990s
As the accompanist and composer to the Ted Shawn Men Dancers from its beginnings in the 1930s, Jess Meeker amassed a collection including hundreds of his original music manuscripts, formal portraits, personal snapshots, personal papers, press clippings and correspondence that trace his development as a composer as well as his professional and personal relationships to choreographer Ted Shawn, choreographer Steffi Nossen, Jacob’s Pillow visiting artists, students and staff at Jacob’s Pillow, until his death in 1997. The vast amount of original manuscript scores he produced, many with copious notations and instructions throughout, reveal his intimate involvement in the development of both Ted Shawn’s, and later Steffi Nossen’s, work. He wrote scores to accompany full-length pieces as well as shorter works geared to very specific warm ups and techniques created by Shawn and Nossen. Interspersed among his music writing folios is published sheet music by classical composers such as Bach, as well as the work of more contemporary composers of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Another significant portion of the collection includes press clippings, interviews, publicity pieces and programs that document Meeker’s work at the Pillow and his tours with the original Men Dancers in the 1930s up to his continuous involvement at the Pillow into the 1990s. Also included are videotapes of Ted Shawn dances, copies of original footage of the Men Dancers, and videotape of The Dance in Education Fund benefit performance, Harrison, NY, April 7, 1984. There are also audio reel-to-reel recordings of Jess Meeker's music used in performance and studio accompaniment. Other materials include personal papers such as contracts and correspondence with Pillow staff as well as financial, military and educational records. The photographs in the collection comprise Jess Meeker's lifetime, from military and formal portraits, to more informal snapshots of gatherings with friends at his New York City apartment, visits to his sisters, cross country travels, and gatherings with numerous staff and dancers at Jacob’s Pillow. Jess Meeker’s framed items include signed photographs of Ted Shawn, Ruth St. Denis, and various principal dancers. The collection also contains several books related to music composition, theory and history.

Notes on dances by Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis, including: Nautch Studies; Dance of the Black and Gold Sari; Green Nautch; Lazy Nautch; Madrasi Nautch; Street Nautch; Nautch; Malay Duet; Javanese Dance; Siamese Dance; Algerian Dance; Balinese Dance; Japanese Dance for Children (Austin); Turkey in the Straw; Viva Faroan; Danza Afro-Cubana; Tension and Relaxation; Pioneers' Dance; A Classic Adagio to "Dithyrambe" by Josef Strauss; Sonatina; Scales of Lightness; Leaping Study; Walk Together Children; Jacob's Ladder; Evolution of Prayer; Chopin Prelude; Ted Shawn's Thirty New Ballet Technique Combinations; Primitive Rhythms; Lal; Shawn's Lecture on Delsarte; Notes on Costume Lecture; East Indian Nautch Study; Javanese Study; Indienne; Flamenco Dance; Amina; Sombra; Alegrias; Flor de Triana; Chair Spanish; Espana Mia; El Jaleo; Espana Cani; Shuh Plattl; A Bavarian Holiday; Se Saran Rose; The French Sailor; Geometric; Dance Styrienne; Frohsinn; Pieces Froides; Viennese Vignette; Red Radiance; Nadia; Herd Girl's Dream; The Gracious Maid; Choeur Danse; Der Rosenkavalier; Mazurka; Mignardises; Serenade D'Amour; Brahms Waltzes; Wanderer's Lied; Max Reger; Tango; La Zingana; Lonesome Road; Doxology; Osage Pawnee Dance of Greeting; American Indian Rhythms; Mazurek; Quasi Marche

Snapshots, mostly taken by John Christian and Ted Shawn, covering Shawn's home life in Florida and at Jacob's Pillow. Travel photos, garden shots, nudes, construction photos, etc.

Signed program of the John Hayes O'Neill Studio for Dance presenting Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers, 1934
The John Hayes O’Neill Collection comprises various materials relating to The Denishawn Company, the Denishawn School of Dancing and its Related Arts, Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers, Barton Mumaw, and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. The Denishawn series contains materials dated 1922 and undated materials including the choreographic resources needed to restage or teach Denishawn repertory and a scrapbook (currently missing). The Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers series comprises promotional materials, publications, press clippings, and performance programs related to 1933-1937 performance seasons of the company. A number of these materials were co-produced with the John Hayes O’Neill School of Dance. The Barton Mumaw series consists of materials related to Mumaw’s solo performance series of 1941. The Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival series consists of promotional materials related to The University of the Dance at Jacob’s Pillow and Festival Season dated 1939-1968.

John Van Lund photographed by John Lindquist, ca. 1946
This collection contains two series of paper and photographic materials that document John Van Lund's professional and personal relationships to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Many of the paper materials are performance programs, but also include letters sent to John Van Lund regarding his photography work, newsclippings about the Pillow or dance field in general, Pillow mailers and other related materials. Most importantly, the collection also includes extensive negatives and contact sheets depicting dancers and Pillow performances, dating from the late 1940s through the early 1990s.

Items collected by Judy Shaler Fliegel, mostly during her summer as a Pillow student in 1947. Included are snapshots of La Meri, Margaret Craske, Loren "Tex" Hightower, Malcolm McCormick, Zachary Solov, Melissa Hayden, Zoya Leporska, Peter Gladke, Iris Mabry, Ballet Theatre, Estelle Nadell, Joe Pilates, Reginald and Gladys Laubin, Devi Dja, and many unidentified dancers.

These records show Kitty Cunningham’s patronage of dance, starting in the 1940s but most prominently in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s—particularly the Royal Danish Ballet and modern dance companies performing in New York City—as well as her personal connections formed with dance artists and companies through this patronage, notably connections made through Jacob’s Pillow and the Royal Danish Ballet. These records also highlight the unique opportunities Kitty Cunningham had due to her work as a dance writer.

Print materials include performance and souvenir programs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera collected by Kitty Cunningham. Materials also include items in relation to Kitty Cunningham’s profession as a dance writer and critic: including press packets; season books; drafts, articles, and reviews written by other dance writers; dance periodicals; and her own writings, notes, and drafts. Additionally, there is correspondence, both business and personal, to Kitty Cunningham, sometimes additionally addressed to her husband Francis “Dick” Cunningham.

La Meri; photo by John Lindquist

Larry Humphries atop the Ted Shawn Theatre, 1963.
As an employee and long-time friend of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Larry Humphries amassed a sizeable collection of materials that reveal the inner workings of one of America’s earliest and most ground-breaking dance institutions. Because the staff of Jacob’s Pillow did not live in the Berkshires year-round, business among principal employees was conducted in the winter through letters, many of which combine personal greetings, business strategizing, and itemized lists of expenditures for reimbursement. A significant portion of the collection consists of these letters, most from the 1960s, written between Humphries and festival founder and director Ted Shawn, associate director John Christian, business manager Grace Badorek, and dancer Barton Mumaw. Also included in the collection are Jacob’s Pillow memorabilia including programs, framed photographs, snapshots, publicity negatives, clippings, invitations, a 50th anniversary guest book, as well as various commemorative items. The collection also contains files on Humphries’ dance publicity clients, including correspondence, programs, flyers, posters, calendars, magazines, newspapers, journals, brochures, press releases, dance instruction books, and even castanets. Other materials in the collection include a catalog of dance books at Springfield College, antique souvenir programs, calendars, an annual report containing dance photographs, glass figurines, as well as flyers, publications, poster, and numerous video tapes of dance performances. Framed items from the Larry Humphries Collection rotate on display at various locations on the Jacob’s Pillow grounds. For current locations of framed items, consult the Framed Collection database. Also included in the Humphries collection are a handful of clippings related to his family’s search for siblings who had been separated from their mother at birth.

Materials donated by Laurie Rubin include photographs (most likely of New York City Ballet, although not all are labeled), various clippings from magazines, one calendar from 1977 (including images of ballet dancers), and miscellaneous programs. 

Photographs taken by New York photographer Lisa Miller, donated to Jacob's Pillow after her death. Many photos of American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet were taken in rehearsal or performance. Dancers depicted include Mikhail Baryshnikov, Cynthia Gregory, Merrill Ashley, Suzanne Farrell, Nina Fedorova, Stephanie Saland and others. Includes many images of different versions of the ballet Swan Lake.

Photographs, correspondence, clippings, and programs related to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and Ted Shawn's Men Dancers, collected by former board member Mrs. Henry Wilds Smith (Lucile) and her daughter, also named Lucile, nicknamed "Cinders". Processed at the folder level by series.

Materials are from the estate of Lucy Kroll, Graham's longtime agent who initiated the publication, The Notebooks of Martha Graham. This collection includes a piece of stone mounted on steel which is claimed to resemble the profile of Martha Graham. Also included are letters from Francis Mason and one photograph.

Photographs of Ted Shawn's sculpture; personal letters from Ted Shawn (1960-71); personal snapshots including Maria Alba, Roberto Ximenez, Manolo Vargas, Roberto Cartagena, Ramon de los Reyes; autographed photos from La Meri, The Mills Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Phyllis Diller, Alan King, Andy Williams, Louis Falco; Souvenir programs (some autographed) for Jose Greco, Jose Molina, Marlene Dietrich, Roberto Iglesias; original photographic prints by Jack Mitchell, Kenn Duncan, John Lindquist, John Van Lund, Ibanez. Scrapbook with newspaper clippings, telegrams, photographs.

Two garments from Ruth St. Denis and Brother St. Denis, a kimono and obi, maintained by Malcolm McCormick since the 1960s. The collection contains 21 photographs from McCormick's summer as a Jacob's Pillow student in 1947, featuring Loren Hightower, John Delaney, Margaret Craske, Melissa Hayden, and others. Also included is correspondence related to the donation to and from Malcolm McCormick and Norton Owen.

Three scrapbooks/albums containing photographs, clippings, programs, and writings documenting the performing career of Marian Chace. Includes documentation of her work with Denishawn, the Washington DC branch of the Denishawn School of Dancing run with Lester Shafer, and Marian Chace and her Dance Group. Also includes programs and clippings on Ted Shawn's Men Dancers, Martha Graham, Harald Kreutzberg, Ruth St. Denis, and others.

This collection contains 11 books from the collection of Barton Mumaw's partner, Marvin Morgenstern, mostly inscribed. Includes Barton Mumaw autobiography inscribed from Mumaw to Morgenstern, several poetry books by Jane Sherman inscribed to either Mumaw or Morgenstern, and book by Jack and Linda Vartoogian inscribed to Mumaw. Most books also include notes or newsclippings, which remain inside the book. Also contains one letter between Marvin and Jane from 2006.

Programs, news clippings, photographs, and correspondence collected by Mary Campbell. Materials were sorted by Carolyn Norgaard and Jeanette Roosevelt, and a complete inventory is in the box. Highlights include materials connected with the Braggiotti Denishawn School in Boston, Miriam Winslow, Denishawn Westport Studio, letters to Ted Shawn from Havelock Ellis and Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jack Cole clippings, Harald Kreutzberg photos. Of particular interest are programs from 1931 and 1932 not catalogued in Christena Schlundt's chronologies.

Various photos, programs, autographs, and other memorabilia collected by Mary Welle, a Pillow nurse in the 1960s.

Ruth St. Denis' costume for O-Mika. Photo by Stephen Petegorsky
This collection of theatrical costumes and props was used by Ruth St. Denis and the Denishawn company from the 1900s through the 1960s. Prominent works represented in the collection include: Angkor-Vat, The Cobras, The Dance of Theodora, The Incense, Kwan Yin, The Legend of the Peacock, Nautch Dance, O-Mika, Radha, and Valse Directoire.

Photos and negatives of Ruth St. Denis and others, mostly from the 1950s. Included are approximately 150 negatives in good condition, 20 badly deteriorated negatives, and 60 small photographic prints. Others represented in the photos include Karoun Tootikian, Sujata, Harald Kreutzberg, Philip Baribault, etc. Some copy negatives of early St. Denis photos used in Suzanne Shelton's biography of St. Denis, Divine Dancer.

Ted Shawn's costume for the Water section of Dance of the Ages. Photo by Stephen Petegorsky
The Ted Shawn Costume Collection includes costumes from the following works:
  • Denishawn Company: Black and Gold NautchCuadro FlamencoDeath of a Bull GodThe Egyptian BalletFeather of the DawnGeneral Wu’s Farewell to His WifeJosephine and HippolyteMomijii GariThe Siamese BalletXochitl
  • The Men Dancers: Dance of the Ages - Fire, Air, Water, and Earth sections, Danza Afro-CubanaThe Forty NinersThe Jazz Decade, Kinetic MolpaiMaori War Haka, Olympiad - Basketball and Cheerleaders sections, Osage-Pawnee Dance of GreetingPonca Indian Dance
  • Unidentified costumes that need further research in order to be connected with a specific work

This collection comprises incoming personal and business correspondence addressed primarily to Ted Shawn, Founder and Director of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. The correspondence spans mostly from 1946 to Shawn’s death in 1972. The business material concerns the daily operations, events, performances and visitors to Jacob’s Pillow, such as letters and applications from students, employment inquiries, book orders, and fund raising matters. It also contains financial papers, receipts, insurance papers, deposit slips, press clippings and press materials. There is also significant correspondence and financial material concerning the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival Tour in 1952. The personal correspondence includes letters from faculty, visiting artists and companies, dance historians and writers, photographers, Jacob’s Pillow board members, students, supporters, family, friends and fans. Of note is the correspondence both to and from his wife Ruth St. Denis and with other important and emerging dancers and companies during this time such as Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham, Robert Joffrey, Alicia Markova, Lester Horton, Talley Beatty, and Martha Graham. This collection also contains some correspondence with former members of the Denishawn Company and with Ted Shawn’s Men Dancers including Barton Mumaw, Frank Overlees, Fred Hearn and Foster Fitz-Simons. Personal correspondence also includes important local supporters such as Margaret French Cresson and Gertrude Robinson Smith; board members such as Alfreda Joslin and Murray Smouse; patrons such as Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge and Katherine S. Dreier; colleagues such as Connie Felten Coates, Ann Hutchinson, Joseph and Clara Pilates; and faculty members of Springfield College.

Scrapbook compiled by Wilbur McCormack containing print and photographic materials documenting Shawn Men Dancers tours in US, Canada, England and Cuba during the 1930s. Includes signed program from March 1933 performances, reviews, program from farewell Boston performance in May 1939, Dwight Godwin photo of Barton Mumaw, letters from Ted Shawn, some duplicate programs.