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Creator
Helscher, Fern
Call number
(S) *MGZMD 191
Physical description
8 linear feet (16 boxes)
Preferred Citation

Fern Helscher Papers, (S) *MGZMD 191. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

Fern Helscher was the publicist and booking agent for Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers in the 1930s, promoting and arranging the company’s performances and tours in the United States and Europe. With the establishment of Jacob’s Pillow as an educational and performance venue, Helscher served as the business manager, and publicist for the theater. Her close relationship with Ted Shawn was the basis for her possession of an extraordinary array of documents and photographs that evidence Mr. Shawn’s artistic career, as well as her own professional acumen and efforts. Her collection consists of personal papers, client documents and photographs, travel related materials, papers and photographs of Ted Shawn and Jacob’s Pillow, and personal and dance photographs.

Biographical/historical information

Fern Helscher was born in 1901, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.P. Helscher of Robstown, Texas. She graduated from Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, in 1917, and first met Ted Shawn in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1928. In 1933 she began work as the press agent and booking manager for Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers. It was Helscher's efforts that made possible the now legendary 1,000 one-night performances of Shawn's company. Her close working relationship with Shawn extended into the 1940s when she assumed the position of business manager for Jacob's Pillow in Lee, Massachusetts. In 1948 Helscher organized and accompanied businessman Edward T. Clark during his tour of the Middle East and Asia as he endeavored to promote the World Government concept to foreign dignitaries after the tragedy of World War II. In the 1940s and 1950s Helscher promoted many dance artists, including José Limon, and Barton Mumaw. During the 1960s she traveled extensively, and in 1974 Helscher died on a return flight to New York City after a tour of Indian Ocean islands and West African countries.

Scope and arrangement

The Fern Helscher Papers are comprised of materials that document her life from 1933 to 1971. Her professional career as a publicist and business manager in the 1930s and 1940s was important because of her vital contribution to the phenomena that was Ted Shawn, whose related documents and photographs comprise a substantial portion of the collection.

The Personal materials are comprised primarily of correspondence, 1935-1969, and diaries, 1933-1968. There are articles, brochures and magazines that were of interest to Helscher, and a small set of poignant handwritten notes, the beginnings of an autobiography. She was well traveled, and materials regarding her tours visiting three continents are present. The Edward T. Clark folders in the Client Series, and the World Government folder in the Travel series, both contain materials related to Helscher's role as Representative to Clark on their World Tour for World Government in 1948.

The Clients series includes not only well known artists, such as José Limon, but others that were members of the Jacob's Pillow faculty including Mme. Argentinita, La Meri, and Joseph H. Pilates. From 1938-1947 Helscher represented Barton Mumaw, lead dancer of Ted Shawn's company and Shawn's devoted lover. His folders include a handwritten biographical outline and an autographed program from his Carnegie Chamber Music Hall debut in 1941. Other popular dance artists that were represented by Helscher are Grace and Kurt Graff, Gladys and Reginald Laubin, and Arthur Mahoney and Thalia Mara. Helscher was also the publicist for her former classmate, noted war correspondent and anti-communist, H.R. Knickerbocker, whose photographs include him with such notables as General and Madame Chiang Kai Shek, Ekaterina Djugashvili - the mother of Joseph Stalin taken in 1930, and Emperor Haille Selassie.

The Fern Helscher papers are arranged in six series:

  • Series I: Personal
    ca. 1933-1969

    Correspondence and diaries account for the majority of these materials. Separate folders for brochures, clippings of interest to Helscher, and magazines have been established. Rare handwritten autobiographical notes are available, as well as ephemera and mementos.

  • Series II: Clients
    ca. 1930-1968

    Almost two dozen persons are represented here, artists, celebrities and performers with whom Fern Helscher had a professional relationship. These include: businessman Edward T. Clark; correspondent H.R. Knickerbocker; and dance artists José Limon, and Barton Mumaw.

  • Series III: Travel
    1941-1971

    Tours to Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East are evinced, including itineraries, and receipts. Her trips with Travel Guild Abroad in 1969 and 1971 are documented, as well as her World Government tour in 1948 with Edward T. Clark.

  • Series IV: Ted Shawn
    1933-1968

    Correspondence is a substantial part of this series. Also present are Shawn's lectures. The contact lists from which Fern Helscher worked in the 1930s and 1940s, and the press releases that she wrote for Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers, are examples of her professional work product.

  • Series V: Jacob's Pillow, 1935-1964

    An intact correspondence file from 1942 begins this series. Items related to the business management of the organization include press releases and various financial items from the 1940s. The contact lists used in 1956 for fund raising are extensive.

  • Series VI: Photographs
    ca. 1910-1969

    Personal photographs of Helscher, friends and travel are available. There are pictures of various artists, and on-location shots at Jacob's Pillow. Photographs featuring Ted Shawn are abundant, with one subseries dedicated to Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers, and another to Shawn himself. This latter includes a set of portraits from the 1910s to the 1960s, and a large number of dance photographs of Shawn performing solo.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

The Fern Helscher Papers were a gift to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division in 1992 from the estate of Fern Helscher.

Processing information

Processed by Jon Walas; Machine-readable finding aid created by Jon Walas.

Using the collection

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Jerome Robbins Dance Division.