The Otto Harbach Papers include correspondence, business papers, scripts, scores, lyrics, personal papers, photographs, and printed matter documenting his personal life and career, and also a particular period in the American musical theater, from...
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The Otto Harbach Papers include correspondence, business papers, scripts, scores, lyrics, personal papers, photographs, and printed matter documenting his personal life and career, and also a particular period in the American musical theater, from ca. 1908-1938, when Harbach created most of his works. Correspondence is mainly between Harbach and his family in Salt Lake City, and later with his son William. Family members include his brothers, Arthur, James, Julius, and William Hauerbach, and his sister and brother-in-law, Sadie and Avern Poulton. Included in the small amount of correspondence from friends and colleagues are several interesting letters from Arthur Hammerstein, Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, and Carl Sandburg. The collection is particularly strong in covering the business aspects of Harbach's work, documented with contracts, copyright, and royalty information. Scripts form the largest series and include copies of most of Harbach's works. The scores are mostly for HAYFOOT-STRAWFOOT (music by Jerome Kern) and COUNTER MELODY (music by Peter De Rose) and are notable for the holographs that make up part of the scores for HAYFOOT-STRAWFOOT. There is also a good collection of photographs, including family, colleagues, ASCAP events, friends, and a selection of production photos. Personal papers include genealogical information, writings other than scripts, ephemera and a long oral history interview conducted by William Harbach shortly before his father's death.
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