- unitid
-
{"value"=>"186245", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"b22102990", "type"=>"local_b"}
{"value"=>"Sc MIRS Schuyler 1978-27", "type"=>"local_call"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"circa 1930s-1970s", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1930/1979", "certainty"=>"approximate"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Schuyler Family audio collection"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"99 audio_recordings", "unit"=>"audio_recordings"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The Schuyler family included George Samuel Schuyler (1895-1977), his wife Josephine Schuyler (née Cogdell, 1900-1969), and their daughter, Philippa Duke Schuyler (1931-1967). Each was notable in their own right: George was a writer and journalist. Josephine, white, was a writer and Texan heiress. Philippa was a pianist, composer, and journalist. The collection consists of ninety-nine audio recordings, created from the 1930s to the 1970s. The recordings are primarily of media appearances, music, and lectures and speeches by George and Philippa."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"Multiple languages"}
{"value"=>"The collection materials are primarily in English, however some items are in other languages including Arabic and French."}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Schuyler family", "type"=>"famname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Schuyler family included George Samuel Schuyler (February 25, 1895- August 31, 1977), his wife Josephine Schuyler (née Cogdell, June 23, 1900- May 2, 1969), and their daughter, Philippa Duke Schuyler (August 2, 1931- May 9, 1967). George was a Black writer and journalist, and Josephine was a white writer and dancer from a wealthy Texas family. Philippa was a pianist, composer, and journalist.</p> <p>Over the course of his career, George wrote for myriad periodicals and news organizations. In addition to <span class=\"title\">The Pittsburgh Courier</span>, where he rose to prominence as a journalist and columnist in the 1920s and 1930s, George wrote for publications such as <span class=\"title\">The Messenger</span>, <span class=\"title\">Negro Digest</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Reader's Digest</span>. He also wrote for the North American Newspaper Alliance and Spadia Syndicate, among other outlets. He published several books including <span class=\"title\">Slaves Today</span> and <span class=\"title\">Black No More</span> (both in 1931), and <span class=\"title\">Black and Conservative</span> (1966). George was also a frequent radio commentator over the course of his career, and regularly appeared on <span class=\"title\">The Editors Speak</span> and hosted <span class=\"title\">The Negro World</span> on New York City's WLIB. Although sympathetic to politics that ranged from liberal to radical early in his career, he became increasingly conservative through the 1940s, moving on to write for publications like <span class=\"title\">American Mercury</span>, <span class=\"title\">American Opinion</span>, and <span class=\"title\">National Review</span>.</p> <p>In 1928, George and Josephine Cogdell met through <span class=\"title\">The Messenger</span>, where he was an editor and she was a contributor. They married later that year.</p> <p>Philippa, their only child, was born in Harlem, New York City, where her parents had settled years earlier. She demonstrated an exceptional facility with language and music from an early age and was widely recognized as a child prodigy. There are discrepancies regarding Philippa's age at various milestones throughout her life, but she began learning piano at around three years old, and gave her first broadcast piano performance close to a year later. She debuted in concert at City College of New York's (CCNY) Lewisohn Stadium at fourteen, and had her first nationwide tour two years after that. Over the course of her career, she toured extensively and regularly received media attention and critical praise. In addition to the European canon of classical music, Philippa performed and composed works inspired by music from regions throughout Africa and Asia. Among her notable compositions are <span class=\"title\">African Rhapsody</span> (1964), <span class=\"title\">Nile Fantasy</span> (circa 1965), <span class=\"title\">The Seven Pillars of Wisdom</span> (circa 1958), and <span class=\"title\">The White Nile Suite</span> (circa 1964).</p> <p>Despite having been a prodigy whose significant achievements continued into adulthood, Philippa did not reach the status of her white counterparts in the United States, and she struggled with her racial identity. For a period including the early 1960s, she downplayed or denied her Blackness, and went by variations of her name such as \"Felipa Monterro.\"</p> <p>Philippa's career as an international concert pianist allowed her to pursue journalism, and she wrote about Haiti for <span class=\"title\">The Pittsburgh Courier</span> while on tour there in 1950, and Belgian Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) for United Press International while touring the region in 1960. By 1966, Philippa had fully followed in her father's footsteps as a journalist and a conservative, writing for the North American Newspaper Alliance. She also authored five books: <span class=\"title\">Adventures in Black and White</span> (1960), <span class=\"title\">Who Killed the Congo?</span> (1962), <span class=\"title\">Jungle Saints: Africa's Heroic Catholic Missionaries</span> (1963), <span class=\"title\">Kingdom of Dreams</span> (1966, co-authored with her mother), and <span class=\"title\">Good Men Die</span> (1969, published posthumously). Philippa died at thirty-five in Vietnam's Da Nang Bay on May 9, 1967, after her helicopter crashed. She had been on a mission to evacuate Vietnamese children while reporting on the Vietnam War.</p> <p>After Philippa's death, her parents founded the Philippa Duke Schuyler Memorial Foundation to support civilian South Vietnamese causes. Josephine died by suicide on May 7, 1969, days before the second anniversary of her daughter's death. George increasingly devoted his life and work to anti-communism, alienating many of his former colleagues and other members of the Black literati. He died in 1977.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Schuyler Family audio collection consists of ninety-nine audio recordings, created from circa the 1930s to the 1970s, and arranged chronologically within each series. The content of the recordings varies widely between those series, but they primarily include media appearances, music, and lectures and speeches by George and Philippa. Due to their shared surname, the members of the Schuyler family are referred to by first name throughout this finding aid.</p> <p>Because the collection's original formats include open reels and cassettes, some items have two parts, reflecting each side of the original item. Square brackets indicate unclear names, spellings, or titles for unavailable items. These titles for unavailable items are amended from original labels, and full transcriptions of each label are included in the item's content note.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Schuyler Family audio collection is arranged in four series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scl/186245#c1783528'>SERIES I: GEORGE SCHUYLER</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1944-1970</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Eighteen audio recordings created from 1944 to 1970. These include recordings of George's media interviews and public speeches from the mid-1960s and later, including an audio recording of his 1967 television appearance with Josephine on <span class=\"title\">The Alan Burke Show</span>, and his speech at a 1970 memorial luncheon for Philippa in St. Louis, Missouri.</p> <p>Earlier recordings in the series date from 1944 through the 1950s. Original labels indicate that among these items are many recordings of George on New York City radio station WLIB, including episodes of his program <span class=\"title\">The Negro World</span>, first broadcast in 1949, as well as his 1950 interview with United Nations diplomat Ralph Bunche in Norway after Bunche was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scl/186245#c1783547'>SERIES II: PHILIPPA SCHUYLER</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>circa 1930s-1967</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Forty-two audio recordings largely featuring Philippa, created from circa 1930s to 1967. These largely consist of Philippa's musical performances and lectures, as well as her media appearances. Several are noted as likely home recordings, due to an audible metronome in the background. Also included are recordings of events and tribute performances in Philippa's honor. The series reflects Philippa's musical work and influences, as well as her journalism, Catholic faith, and interest in new age and occult practices.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scl/186245#c1783590'>SERIES III: RECORDED MUSIC AND SPOKEN WORD</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>circa 1930s-1970s</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Thirty-three audio recordings created by people outside of the Schuyler family, dating from circa 1930s to the early 1970s. Among these are pieces by classical composers such as Beethoven, Debussy, Liszt, and Schumann, attributed to performers including Walter Gieseking, Maryla Jonas, Oscar Levant, and György Sándor. Original labels indicate that the series also contains a symphony by Frank Gaskin Fields. The series also includes recordings of unidentified music, likely from across Asia and Africa, as well as an African theater program. Additionally, there are two recordings regarding Dr. Bob Wilford's Assistant Counselors Program, a program for high school students that raised the moral concerns of some parents in Evergreen Park, Illinois.</p> <p>Some items in this series appear to be test pressings of commercially released material. When available, corresponding matrix numbers noted in Discogs are indicated in the content note.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scl/186245#c1783624'>SERIES IV: UNIDENTIFIED</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>circa 1930s-1970s</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Six audio recordings. Little information regarding these items' content was known at the time of publishing.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Carolyn Mitchell, 1978.</p>"}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>See the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division for the Schuyler family papers, 1915-1977, Sc MG 63.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>See the Photographs and Prints Division for the Schuyler family photograph collection [graphic], Sc Photo Schuyler Family Collection.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Collection inventoried by <span class=\"name\">Nathan Evans</span>. Collection processed and described by <span class=\"name\">Anika Paris</span>, archivist; and <span class=\"name\">Shola Lynch</span>, curator. Finding aid published in <span class=\"date\">2025</span>.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>At the time of publishing, many of the collection's shellac and lacquer discs were not available pending conservation or digitization.</p>"}
- otherfindaid
-
{"value"=>"<p>Electronic finding aid for the George S. Schuyler Papers available via Syracuse University Libraries Special Collections Research Center: https://library.syracuse.edu/digital/guides/s/schuyler_gs.htm.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p><em>Composition in Black and White: The Life of Philippa Schuyler</em> by Kathryn Talalay, Sc E 95-836.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p><em>Missa Luba: A Mass Sung in Pure Congolese Style and Native Songs of the Congo</em> by Les Troubadours du Roi Baudouin (item 378187) is also available in the Schomburg Center LP record collection as Sc Audio RE-9933.</p>"}
- sponsor
-
{"value"=>"An anonymous donor funded preliminary processing for this collection. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supported a research library-wide grant for the digitization, and funded the Schomburg for the description and production of the finding aid as part of The Next Century of Black Studies Project."}
- date_start
-
1930
- keydate
-
1930
- date_end
-
1979
- date_inclusive_start
-
1930
- date_inclusive_end
-
1979
- extent_statement
-
99 audio_recordings
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Schuyler Family audio collection, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, The New York Public Library"}