Guide to the Ethelbert Nevin Collection, 1834-1980 CAM.NEV.1987.01

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Ethelbert Nevin Collection
Creator
Nevin, Ethelbert
Collection Number
CAM.NEV.1987.01
Extent
26 Linear Feet
Date
1834-1980
Date
1880-1901
Abstract
The collection contains compositions by Ethelbert Nevin (1862-1901), a composer from Sewickley, Pa. In addition to his published songs and unpublished manuscripts, this collection houses correspondence to and from him, photographs of him and his family, press write-ups about him and his works, plus a number of his material possessions.
Physical Location
The contents of this collection are located in the archives of the Center for American Music except for the furniture which can be found in the Early American Room in the Cathedral of Learning.
Language
English .
Author
Andrew Cornell in 2010. Brandi Neal completed the first revision of this finding aid in 2005.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman)
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Processing Information

Prior to the collection being processed by Ying-fen Wang in January 1987 according to Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, Second Edition (AACR2), three other persons have dealt with the Collection in depth. Ruth Crawford Mitchell (hereafter R.C.M.), as mentioned above, was in charge of the materials for over twenty years and compiled the Master List, which serves as the most important source material on this Collection available. John Tasker Howard, the author of the biography of Ethelbert Nevin (Howard 1935), made use of a large portion of the Collection as his primary sources for the autobiography (specifically the letters, the manuscripts, diaries, account books, and other business records). He also organized the loose manuscripts into three groups: A series for published works, B series for unpublished piano and vocal works, and C series for unpublished orchestral and instrumental works, with each item marked in pencil with an arabic numeral (e.g. A1, 12, etc.) according to alphabetical order of the titles. He also compiled a catalog of the manuscripts of unpublished works in 1934. All of these have facilitated this writer in dealing with the large amount of manuscripts. The third person is Dr. Theodore Finney, who went through the materials in the Collection, compared them with the Master List, and made revisions and additions on the Master List. This present catalog is largely based on the Master List as revised by Dr. Finney. In short, all of these persons have made important contributions to the Nevin Collection.

Preferred Citation

Ethelbert Nevin Collection, 1834-1980, CAM.NEV.1987.01, Center for American Music, University of Pittsburgh

Copyright

The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

Arrangement

Items are arranged into twelve different series including Music (published works, manuscripts, and compositions by others), Books, Programs (split up between concerts by Nevin, concerts of his music by others, and other programs), Clippings (divided into concert write-ups, social events, obituaries, and others), Articles about Nevin, Correspondences, Photographs, Business Records, Personal Books, Mementos, Poems, and Furniture.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Biography

Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin was born in Edgeworth near Sewickley, Pa., in the suburb of Pittsburgh on November 25, 1862, and died in New Haven, CT, at the age of 38 on February 17, 1901. He started his musical lessons with local musicians and published his first composition at the age of 12. In 1878, he attended Western University (now the University of Pittsburgh) but left at the end of his freshman year in 1879. Between 1882-1883 he studied piano with B.J. Lang and composition with Stephen A. Emery in Boston. Between 1884-1886 he went to Berlin to study piano with Karl Klindworth and theory with Otto Tiersch. In December 1886, he gave his professional piano recital debut in Pittsburgh and was enthusiastically received. From 1887 until his death in 1901, he spent most of his life working as a pianist and composer outside of Pittsburgh, living in various places throughout the New England area and in Europe. He was recognized as one of the four major composers in Pennsylvania as well as one of the major American composers. His compositions mostly consisted of songs and piano works, among which the best known works were the short pieces, including "The Rosary," "Mighty Lak'a Rose," and "Narcissus."

Custodial History

The Ethelbert Nevin Collection was acquired by the University of Pittsburgh between 1933 and 1956. The materials were either purchased from or donated by Mrs. Ethelbert Nevin, other family members, and friends. Although Chancellor John Bowman made a public announcement about building the Ethelbert Nevin Memorial Room at the University, the promise was never carried out. Even the proposal to publish an annotated calendar of the Nevin materials by a committee in 1951 and 1952 did not materialize due to the lack of funding. Ruth Crawford Mitchell, then director of the Nationality Rooms at the University, was entrusted with the collection by Chancellor Bowman and had been in charge of the materials until 1959, when she was asked to transfer the collection over to Dr. Theodore Finney, then Chairman of the Music Department. At the time of the transferral, Mitchell compiled a Master List of the Collection, identifying the items and their individual storage location. By about 1960, the transferral to Dr. Finney was completed and the materials, except for the furniture and furnishings, were kept in a safe in Dr. Finney's office. In 1968, Dr. Finney retired. In 1971 the Music Department was moved from the Cathedral of Learning to the present Music Building, and the safe which contained the Collection was placed on the first floor next to the Chairman's Office in the Music Building. By around 1980, the safe was opened and the collection was transferred to Dr. Norris Stephens, Music Librarian of the University, and was kept in two cabinets in the Music Library in the basement of the Music Building. The Collection was transferred again in 1999 and now resides in two file cabinets in the Center for American Music in the University of Pittsburgh's Stephen Foster Memorial.

Scope and Content Notes

The Master List classifies the collection into seven categories: I. Original manuscripts, II. Letters, III. Mementos, IV. Furniture and furnishings, V. Printed matters, VI. Special gifts, and VII. Materials not in possession of the University. The items within each category are mostly arranged by who and when the items were presented; in other words, items presented by one person on a certain date were listed together. Because of such arrangements, sometimes items are listed under inappropriate categories, like letters included under mementos, or printed scores kept under manuscripts. Sometimes items are duplicated in more than one category. In addition, the desciption of each item is often rather vague, without dimensions or other details. This often creates problems when one tries to identify a certain item in the List with its corresponding material in the Collection. This problem occurs most frequently in the categories of personal mementos and "special gifts." Moreover, some items are mentioned collectively without individual entry. For example, about three hundred letters were listed under one general entry: "general collection of letters written by Ethelbert Nevin." This also happens with the clippings and programs. Under such circumstances, we cannot check which items are missing.

Subjects

    Personal Names

    • Nevin, Ethelbert
    • Nevin, Robert Peebles
    • Nevin, Anne Paul
    • Cather, Willa

    Geographic Names

    • Sewickley (Pa.)

    Other Subjects

    • Music
    • Composers -- Pittsburgh, Pa.
    • University of Pittsburgh
    • Composers -- United States
    • Popular music -- United States -- 1901-1910
    • Music -- Manuscripts

Container List