Scope and arrangement
The Anna Case papers hold concert programs, scores by Case and other composers, correspondence, photographs, clippings, writings, and financial records. Case's career as a vocalist is documented by the concert programs and clippings (mostly bound in scrapbooks); the correspondence; and a few of the photographs. The programs mostly document her post-opera career as a soloist, and the photographs contain publicity shots of Case from her opera days, as well as several portraits of her and her husband. Published and unpublished scores, publisher correspondence, and lyric writings document her work as a songwriter and composer; her writings also contain brief autobiographical essays. Other composers with published and unpublished scores in the papers include Charles Wakefield Cadman, Benny Davis, and Alexander Russell. Some of the published scores by other composers are autographed.
The Anna Case papers are arranged in two series:
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1912-19696 boxes
This series, arranged by format, contains concert programs, correspondence, photographs, clippings, writings, financial records, and school workbooks. The concert programs, which extensively document Case's performance career from 1912 to the 1930s, are in three bound books and one folder of loose programs. The books are in fragile condition. Most of the programs are for solo recitals, though there are some from the Metropolitan Opera as well.
The correspondence mostly deals with Case's career and is usually not of a personal nature. It includes fan letters, logistical and contractual correspondence regarding performances, and publishing/copyright correspondence. The folder of Clarence Mackay correspondence discusses the awarding of a military honor named for him. The photographs contain publicity shots of Case from her opera days, several portraits of her and Mackay likely dating from the early 1930s, and a few later, undated photos.
The clippings (many of them copies of the originals) are mostly from New York-area newspapers. Though some articles address Case's music career, most mention Case in a society context, as she had married into wealth. The writings are a combination of song lyrics and personal essays (including a few discussing her family history). They also include radio scripts sent to Case. The financial records consist of correspondence between Case and her financial advisors. The school workbooks are for classes in French, German, and English.
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1916-19654 boxes
This series primarily holds manuscripts of Case's music, including finished work as well as unfinished or untitled sketches, and about 20 published songs. It also contains scores by other composers, and is split into two sections, one holding Case's music and the other holding other composers' scores.
Case's scores are mainly songs for voice and piano, but also hold a few arrangements for vocal groups and for strings, piano, and voice. One of her published songs, "Just An Old Fashioned Picture," has part manuscripts for a full orchestral arrangement. Other published song titles are "Odin's Horse," "Song of the Robin," and "When You My Love Did Woo Me."
Other composers with manuscripts or published music in the collection include Charles Wakefield Cadman, Wilma E. Casebeer, Benny Davis, Alexander Russell, and Otto Wick. Their scores are for songs, and are mostly unpublished. The published song scores are autographed by the composers. These include scores by Cadman, Casebeer, and E. Edwin Crerie.