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Creator
Howard, John Tasker, 1890-1964
Call number
JPB 03-9
Physical description
12 linear feet (29 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation

John Tasker Howard Papers, JPB 03-9, Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Music Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

John Tasker Howard was a composer, pianist and eminent writer on American musical subjects. The collection includes business related correspondence, writings (for radio, books, articles and lectures / speeches), musical compositions (many for piano and string quartets), financial statements (detailing royalty issues), ephemera (pamphlets and leaflets connected to writing topics) and Scrapbooks.

Biographical/historical information

John Tasker Howard (b Brooklyn, NY, 30 Nov. 1890; d West Orange, NJ, 20 Nov.1964) was a noted American music expert, radio host, writer, lecturer, and composer. John Tasker Howard’s early involvement with piano, and his subsequent study of compositions with the American composers Paul Tidden, Howard Brockway and Mortimer Wilson, provided him with the proper background for the numerous positions held over the course of his life. Some of his more noteworthy positions were: Managing Editor of the Musician (1919-1922), Music Editor of McCall’s magazine (1928-1930), Music Editor of Cue magazine (1936-1938), Curator of the Americana Music Collection at the New York Public Library (1940-1956), and Secretary for American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

Despite the many demands on him within these positions, Howard wrote numerous piano, choral and orchestral arrangements. Among his compositions are St. Augustine’s Prayer, The Virgin’s Cradle, From the Mountain to the Sea, Still Waters, Calendar Suite and Fantasy on a Choral Theme: concertino.

Still, it was as a writer that brought him to the public’s attention. His books Our American Music and Stephen Foster, America’s Troubadour established him as an eminent writer on American music and a Stephen Foster expert, respectively. From these successes, he went on to write Ethelbert Nevin (1935), Our Contemporary Composers (1941), This Modern Music (1942) and Music in America (1957, with G.K. Bellows).

His accomplishments as a writer and composer took him further into the public’s eye when he became a radio host for shows focused on American music. During the 1930s to the 1940s, Howard wrote for and hosted shows such as America in Music, Music in America and Our American Music. His accomplishments in media continued behind the scenes from 1955-1959 for Name That Tune. For this show, John Tasker Howard prepared sets of questions for its main jackpot (Box 1, Folders 34-35 and Box 4, Folders 19-28).

From his writings (musical and literary) to his lectures, John Tasker Howard pursued the development of American music.

Sources:

  • Matthews, Romana H.: “Howard, John Tasker”, Grove Music Online. ed. L. Macy (Accessed March 8, 2004),
  • New York Times Obituary. “John Tasker Howard, 73, dies; Composer and Music Authority.” Proquest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1857-Current file): Nov. 21 1964, p. 29.
  • Slonimsky, Nicolas. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. 7th ed. New York: Schirmer Books, 1984.
  • Wier, Albert, E. The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1938.

Scope and arrangement

The papers of John Tasker Howard (1869-1995) document his professional life from the early 1920s until his death in 1964. The few items found within this collection that precede and follow the dates of his life are all connected to his professional career. For example, Howard most likely acquired the Great Peace Jubilee pamphlets (Box 22, Folder 3) for his research on American music.

A good amount of items dealing with Howard’s most notable literary work, Our American Music, can be found within Boxes 4 through 7. Also, there is a considerable amount of items relating to one of his prime subjects, Stephen Foster—e.g. lectures, articles, musical compositions and radio scripts.

However, no drafts for his manuscript Stephen Foster, America’s Troubadour are within this collection. John Tasker Howard’s papers contain few personal items; one of the few exceptions would be his correspondence with Josiah K. Lilly, another Foster expert (Box 2, Folder 19). His writings, musical compositions and scrapbooks (filled with clippings concerned with his professional life) make up the bulk of the collection.

The John Tasker Howard papers are arranged in six series:

  • Series I: Correspondence
    1929-1974
    1.5 linear feet (3 boxes

    This series primarily contains the letters dealing with John Tasker Howard’s career as a writer, composer and American music expert. In Box 1, Folder 14, there are letters sent to his daughters (Mrs. Robert Cluther of Chatham, N.J. and Mrs. Louis F. Kitscher of Cleveland) after his death relating to John Tasker Howard’s estate (royalty and copyright issues).

  • Series II: Writings
    1922-1995
    4 linear feet (8 boxes

    This series contains the articles, radio scripts, book drafts and plays written by John Tasker Howard. In Box 5, a Version I and Version II for Our American Music can be found. As these two drafts were not dated or labeled, each version was grouped as found—e.g. Version I (box 5, folders 2-11) was the first sequence found within the boxes. This same practice was employed for the two full versions of Stephen Foster: Juvenile Biography found within the collection (folders 24-25 in box 11). As such, these labels are not meant to establish a timeline within this series.

  • Series III: Musical Compositions
    1916-1956
    2.55 linear feet (8 boxes

    This series primarily contains the piano, choral and orchestral arrangements written by Howard. In Box 16, Folders 19-24, there are typed lists of John Tasker Howard’s published musical compositions that reveal dates of composition and publishers. It is unclear if these lists were typed by Howard (George Kent Bellows did compile a list of Howard’s works, a copy of his article can be found in Box 4, Folder 2).

  • Series IV: Financial
    1922-1975
    .75 linear feet (1.5 boxes

    This series primarily contains financial documents relating to royalty statements.

  • Series V: Ephemera
    1869-1974
    .75 linear feet (1.5 boxes

    This series contains pamphlets, leaflets, newspaper clippings, photographs (very few), Photostat negatives and booklets connected to Howard’s interest in music.

  • Series VI: Scrapbooks
    1917-1971
    2.45 linear feet (7 boxes

    This series contains the scrapbooks put together by John Tasker Howard covering his careers as writer, composer and American music expert.

Administrative information

Processing information

Processed by Thea Constantine; Machine-readable finding aid created by Thea Constantine.

Separated material

  • Music Research Division:
    • American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)How the Public Gets Its New Music.. ASCAP: New York, 1934
    • American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). The Murder of Music. ASCAP: New York, 1933.
    • Howard, John Tasker, ed. The Music of George Washington’s Time. United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission: Washington building, Washington D.C., ©1931.
    • Howard, John Tasker. Test Yourself in Music. Charles Scribners’ Sons: Boston, ©1953
  • Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library:
    • Howard, John Tasker, ed. The Music of George Washington’s Time. Vol. 1, Braille Edition. United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission: Washington building, Washington, D.C.

Using the collection

Location

Music 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, Music Division, The New York Library for the Performing Arts.