Scope and arrangement
The collection documents the adagio dancer and the ballroom dancer from the 1920s through the 1970s mostly with diaries and photographs. Richard Stuart's two diaries, 1925 to 1929, were daily entries of his training as an adagio dancer in New York City, his local performances, and social activities.
The photographs of dancing couples that were created for publicity, depict couples performing adagio and ballroom dancing. Some of these black and white photographs were autographed as gifts to Stuart. These photographs include Stuart dancing the famous "Cape Dance" with Claire Lea, and with his second wife Flora Ossana Stuart. The dancing couples depicted also include several photographs of Irene Castle dancing with William Reardon (1923). This collection was to be used for a uncompleted book tentatively titled "Dancing Couples" by Richard Stuart and Marian Horosko. The files also have a rare issue of "Shadowland," the dance magazine (1923).
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by format.