Music Division Collection of Glass Plate Negatives

circa 1900-1930

The Music Division's glass negatives contain images of opera singers, conductors, composers, instrument makers, and some musical sites such as Haydn's birthplace. The bulk of the collection consists of pre-1930 Herman Mishkin studio portraits of singers in their opera roles from the Metropolitan Opera. They include Frances Alda, Lawrence Tibbet, Raymonde Delaunois, Florence Easton, Umberto Macnez, Jeanne Maubourg, Claudia Muzio, Herbert Witherspoon, and more. Opera roles found in the collection include productions of Aida, Faust, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Carmen, Mireille, Il trovatore, Les Huguenots, and more.

The Music Division Collection of Glass Plate Negatives are arranged in three series:

• Opera Singers

  This series contains pre-1930 studio portraits of opera singers in their roles. The bulk of the series contain singers from Metropolitan Opera productions. There are also several singers from the Chicago Civic Opera.

• Composers and Conductors

  This series contains portraits of conductors and composers.

• Other Figures and Musical Sites

  This series contains portraits of impresarios, instrument makers, images of musical sites including Haydn's birthplace, and an image of a set design for Salome.