Scope and arrangement
The Albert Butler Dance Studio records contain instructor and student files, correspondence, press releases, clippings, and diagrams and dance step charts. There are several typescripts of articles by the Butlers, as well as press clippings about the studio, and related correspondence with magazine editors and writers. These can be found in the Articles, Special Projects, and Dance Associations and Publications files. The Special Projects files largely document the studio's efforts to promote Latin American dances, and include correspondence with foreign ambassadors whose support the Butlers sought in promoting dances from their home countries. Other projects documented in the collection include the Butlers' collaboration with the Disc Company to create a series of records of ballroom dance music, and their consultation with Random House's dictionary editors for several dance-related definitions.
The Encyclopedia of Social Dance files hold orders and receipts for purchases of the book, as well as correspondence between Josephine Butler and Genevieve Oswald, curator of the New York Public Library's Library and Museum of Performing Arts, regarding Butler's donation of Encyclopedia notes and other material. The Institute for Social Dance Studies files contain the Institute's official charter, bylaws, and trustee correspondence dating from 1972 to 1982. There are files documenting the Butler's involvement with numerous professional organizations, both in the United States and England. These files hold correspondence, newsletters, and publicity material.
Photographs, dated from 1931 to 1982, consist primarily of professional photos taken at the studio or other dance events. There is also a small collection of dance cards, dated 1910 to 1913.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged alphabetically by subject.