Scope and arrangement
The Grayce Burian collection of Aileen Stanley materials (1898-1983) contains research material assembled by Grayce Burian in the preparation of a biography of Aileen Stanley. The collection contains photographs, correspondence, notes, clippings, promotional materials, scores, and programs. Most of the materials are original, though some are later copies.
Material created while Burian was writing Stanley's biography dates from the 1970s to 1983. It includes correspondence with or regarding Stanley, transcripts of interviews with Stanley, and Burian's research notes. Most of the correspondence is between Stanley and Burian. Burian's other correspondents include Stanley's nephew Donald Muggeridge and Burns Miller Kattenberg, a collector, fan, and friend of Stanley. The material also includes a 1977 paper that Burian wrote on Stanley's life and a detailed chronicle of Stanley's career, compiled by Burian.
Material from Stanley's career as a performer and recording artist dates from 1898 to the 1930s, with some copies made in the 1970s. The earliest material consists of publicity photographs of Stanley as a child and photographs of her and her brother as Stanley and Aileen. A Stanley and Aileen flier is also present. The bulk of the material in the collection documents Stanley's solo career and includes scrapbooks, clippings, photographs, programs, posters, fliers, contracts, scores, and letters of thanks and congratulations. Photographs depict Stanley, her family, and her colleagues. Scores consist of manuscript and published sheet music. Some of the manuscript scores have Stanley's original arrangements. The collection also contains a photocopy of Robert Buttenuth's handwritten record of Stanley's performances and tours from 1932 to 1935.
The collection includes a small amount of material from Stanley's career as a coach and manager. The material primarily dates from 1938 to the 1950s and consists of clippings, publicity materials, photographs of Stanley and her clients, and scores. Many of the scores are for the Murphy Sisters, a trio managed by Stanley. The scores date from 1922 to the 1950s.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three categories: files created by Grayce Burian while working on her biography of Aileen Stanley; material from Stanley's recording and performance career; and material from her coaching and management career.