Letters to Lincoln Kirstein

id
3813
origination
Kirstein, Lincoln, 1907-1996
date statement
1947-1976
key date
1947
identifier (local_mss)
18531
org unit
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
call number
*MGZMD 254
b-number
b19068004
total components
20
total series
0
max depth
1
boost queries
(none)
component layout
Default Layout
Extended MARC Fields
false
Extended Navigation
false
created
2013-04-01 15:04:52 UTC
updated
2026-06-25 15:07:55 UTC
status note
(missing)
Display Aeon link
true

Description data TOP

physdesc
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>".63 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"2 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
unitid
{"value"=>"*MGZMD 254", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"18531", "type"=>"local_mss"}
unitdate
{"value"=>"1947-1976", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1947/1976"}
date_inclusive_start
1947
date_inclusive_end
1976
keydate
1947
unittitle
{"value"=>"Letters to Lincoln Kirstein"}
repository
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library. <span class=\"subarea\">Jerome Robbins Dance Division</span></span> <div class=\"address\"><span class=\"addressline\">New York, New York</span></div>"}
abstract
{"value"=>"This collection contains letters sent to Lincoln Kirstein between 1947 and 1976 by a range of friends, colleagues, and business associates. Correspondents include W. H. Auden, Sir Cecil Beaton, Rowland Burden-Muller, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Dame Edith and Sir Osbert Sitwell. The collection also contains a folder related to Kirstein's collection of art works depicting cats."}
prefercite
{"value"=>"Letters to Lincoln Kirstein, *MGZMD 254. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}
origination
{"value"=>"Kirstein, Lincoln, 1907-1996", "type"=>"persname"}
bioghist
{"value"=>"<p>Lincoln Edward Kirstein (1907-1996) was born on May 4, 1907 in Rochester, New York and educated at Harvard College (A.B. 1929, A.M. 1930). In 1934, he co-founded the School of American Ballet with George Balanchine and Edward M.M. Warburg. He also participated in the founding and/or direction of the American Ballet Company in 1935, Ballet Caravan 1936-1941, and the Ballet Society in 1946, and he became general director of the succeeding company, New York City Ballet, in 1948. Kirstein married Fidelma Cadmus, sister of artist Paul Cadmus, in 1941 and served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945. His career included work with visual artists and writers on various projects, and his dance-related publications include: <span class=\"title\">Dance Index;</span> books on Michel Fokine, Vaslav Nijinsky, and the New York City Ballet; a history of theatrical dance; and writing assistance to Romola Nijinsky on a biography of her husband. He retired from New York City Ballet and School of American Ballet in 1989. The recipient of many distinguished awards, Lincoln Kirstein died on January 5, 1996.</p>"}
scopecontent
{"value"=>"<p>This collection contains letters sent to Lincoln Kirstein between 1947 and 1976 by friends, colleagues, and business associates. Most of the letters are personal in nature and were written between 1947 and 1955. Correspondents include the painter Jared French, English novelist E. M. (Edward Morgan) Forster, French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Dame Edith Sitwell and her brother, Sir Osbert Sitwell. The collection also includes letters from well-known ballet critic Richard Buckle and from the poet W. H. Auden. Photographs are enclosed with several letters, including a portrait of Lady Christabel Aberconway with her cat, taken by Sir Cecil Barton around 1950. Also of note is a letter sent to Kirstein in 1950 by the law firm Beer, Richards, Lane & Haller, requesting his assistance in the defense of Alger Hiss.</p>"}
arrangement
{"value"=>"<p>The letters to Lincoln Kirstein are arranged alphabetically by the sender's last name.</p>"}
acqinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Transferred from Beinecke Library, Yale University, February 15, 2001</p>"}
processinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Compiled by Maggie Long, Palmer School of Library and Information Science, class of 2011.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>The collection was rehoused and a finding aid was created. No materials were discarded or removed.</p>"}
accessrestrict
{"value"=>"<p>To request materials, please contact the Jerome Robbins Dance Division (dance@nypl.org) in advance.</p>"}
relatedmaterial
{"value"=>"<span class=\"archref\">Lincoln Kirstein papers, ca. 1913-1994. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library.</span> <span class=\"archref\">Lincoln Kirstein papers, ca. 1914-1991. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library.</span>"}
extent_statement
.63 linear feet (2 boxes)
date_start
1947
date_end
1976

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