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Creator
Herbert, Victor, 1859-1924
Call number
*T-Mss 1989-006
Physical description
2.5 linear feet (6 boxes)
Language
Materials in English
Preferred Citation

Victor Herbert papers, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The Victor Herbert collection consists of correspondence, contracts, newspaper articles, photographs, memorabilia, royalty statements, and other material for many of Mr. Herbert's major shows. The bulk of the correspondence is between his heirs, particularly his daughter, Ella Herbert Bartlett, and others regarding royalties or copyrights. There is one folder of correspondence concerning the making of The Great Victor Herbert which gives his daughter's insights into her father's personality. The collection contains no information on the foundation of ASCAP.

Biographical/historical information

Victor Herbert, composer and conductor, was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1859. He was the son of Fanny (Lover) and Edward Herbert and the grandson of Samuel Lover, the Irish novelist. He lived in Germany for eighteen years, and the Viennese operetta tradition can be seen in his romantic scores, full of soaring ballads, lilting waltzes, and stirring marches. His first job in New York City was in 1886 as a cellist in the Metropolitan Opera. He was director of the Pittsburgh Symphony, 1901-1903, and in 1904 he formed his own orchestra with which he toured the United States. He was also a leader in the formation of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.

Victor Herbert was the dominant composer for the Broadway musical stage from the late 1800s to the 1920s. His first Broadway success was THE SERENADE (1897). Other major works include THE FORTUNE TELLER (1898), BABES IN TOYLAND (1903), MLLE. MODISTE (1905), THE RED MILL (1906), NAUGHTY MARIETTA (1910), SWEETHEARTS (1913), and THE ONLY GIRL (1914). Herbert's most frequent lyric partner was Harry B. Smith, but he also worked with Henry Blossom, Glen MacDonough, Robert B. Smith, George V. Hobart, Rida Johnson Young, Francis Neilson, Frederic Ranken and Kirke La Shelle, Edgar Smith, Joseph Herbert, James O'Dea, David Stevens and Justin Huntly McCarthy, P. G. Wodehouse, William Le Baron, Frederic Kummer, and B. G. DeSylva. Fritzi Scheff starred in four Herbert musicals, Alice Nielsen and Lew Fields in three each.

Many Victor Herbert musicals were adapted for film: BABES IN TOYLAND (cinema 1934) and (cinema 1961); MLLE. MODISTE (retitled KISS ME AGAIN) (cinema 1931); NAUGHTY MARIETTA (cinema 1935); and SWEETHEARTS (cinema 1938). There was also a film biography made of his life entitled THE GREAT VICTOR HERBERT (cinema 1939).

Victor Herbert died in New York in 1924.

Scope and arrangement

The Victor Herbert Collection measures 2. 5 linear feet and consists of correspondence, contracts, newspaper articles, photographs, memorabilia, royalty statements, and other material related to the career of Victor Herbert.

The collection was organized by Victor Herbert's daughter Ella Herbert Bartlett and most of the correspondence and documents in the collection were her business papers. For this reason, apart from the contracts, there is very little in the collection written or signed by Victor Herbert. There is also no information about the formation of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.

The Victor Herbert papers are arranged in two series:

  • I. Subject Files
    1894-1973
    2 linear feet

    Includes contracts for many of Victor Herbert's major shows. Some of the contracts are signed by him and others are signed by his heirs primarily for films of his shows produced posthumously. The bulk of the correspondence is between his heirs (particularly Ella Herbert Bartlett) and others regarding royalties or copyrights. There is some very interesting correspondence in Box 28,549 Folder 1 regarding his daughter's insights into her father's personality for the making of THE GREAT VICTOR HERBERT (cinema 1939). Also in this series are photographs from his shows, articles about his career, and memorabilia.

  • II. Royalty Statements
    1935-1973
    .42 linear feet

    Consists of royalty statements and some correspondence about royalties.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

The Victor Herbert Collection was donated to the New York Public Library Billy Rose Theatre Collection in September of 1989 by Mr. Herbert P. Jacoby, an administrator of The Victor Herbert Foundation, Inc. The material received was in very good condition and loosely alphabetical order. The final arrangement of the material is close to the arrangement of the material as it was received. Some correspondence and other material was removed and placed in the CAGE file for security reasons and Xeroxed copies of everything except the checks signed by Victor Herbert are filed within the collection for use by researchers. It was decided that the checks were not of great research value, but could be used in an exhibition. Duplicate material was deaccessioned.

Processing information

March 1990 (jem)

Separated material

Autograph material removed from the collection for preservation and security, a reading copy is available to readers in the collection. Original copies are not to be used by the readers without special need and permission from the curator. There is not a reading copy provided for the checks since it has been determined that these are valuable for exhibition purposes, but have no research value.

14 checks signed by Victor Herbert, 1919-1924, from 28,547 #9

Last meal check signed by Victor Herbert, 26 May 1924, from 28,547 #9

Musical notations signed by Victor Herbert, August 1894 and March 1896, from 28,547 #9

Victor Herbert envelope produced as a memorial tribute, 13 May 1940, from 28,547 #15

L.S. from Lawrence Welk to Ella Herbert Bartlett, 9 January 1959, from 28,547 #15

A.L.S. re PRINCESS PAT initialled by Victor Herbert and Henry Blossom, undated, from 28,549 #4

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre 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