Visual and Performing Arts

The Arts Award was established by Dickinson College in order to recognize achievements in the Arts and Humanities. Honoring Dr. William Wilcox Edel, alumnus and former president of the college, the Arts Award is bestowed upon an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in the performing or visual arts.

The Arts Award collection is primarily organized chronologically, each award recipient comprising a separate series. Documents related to the founding of the award, the papers of the Award Committee, and the financial records regarding the award are grouped into three separate series at the beginning of the collection.

Series 1 - Founding
Series 2 - Award Committee
Series 3 - Financial Records
Series 4 to 27 - Specific Arts Award recipients

Robert Hale Bancroft (?-1918) was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, and was educated at Harvard Law School and the University of Bremen in Germany. His travels abroad, as well as his interests in local events in Beverly, are reflected in this scrapbook dated 1864-1901. The bulk of the scrapbook consists of newspaper clippings from local newspapers; they note new inventions, the coming of the twentieth century, and his marriage to Elise Milligan. Bancroft's love of the arts is represented by the theater programs and snippets of poetry included in the scrapbook. Other items include maps, tickets and postcards from Germany, correspondence, and certificates from Harvard Law and University of Bremen.

The collection consists of the papers of Charles Gilbert Beetem, a Carlisle, PA rug manufacturer, local historian and genealogist, amateur artist, and omnivorous collector. Diaries, manuscripts, letters, advertisements, greeting cards, and extensive runs of Philadelphia and Carlisle turn-of-the-century theater programs are all included in the collection, as well as accounts of Carlisle and Cumberland County history. College memorabilia includes his own drawings for Dickinson's yearbook. The collection also contains the Conodoquinet Yacht Club Archives. Miscellaneous materials include journals and accounts for homes he designed and built as well as those for proposed real estate development in Carlisle. The correspondence reflects Beetem's longtime interest in U. S. island possessions, which is the subject of his large collection of publications and books housed in our library.

The collection consists mainly of correspondence between Arba Blodget (1879-1949), a Philadelphia drama critic and playwright, and his wife Laura and her family. Blodget and his wife had been separated early in their marriage due to his traveling with a theater company; often their only means of contact was via letters. There are also a few miscellaneous materials, such as the journal kept by Blodget beginning in October 1910, and accounts of his theatrical productions. Also included in this collection is a large amount of material relating to the Spooner family, who appear to have been connected to Laura Blodget's family; Charles Spooner was involved with John D. Rockefeller in the founding of the Standard Oil Company. The bulk of the Spooner portion of the collection focuses on the personal and financial correspondence of the family.

The Robert Bridges Papers Collection provides insight into literary works of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and reflects Bridges’ long period of work as an editor and literary critic. The collection spans a date range of 1875-1937, with large portions pertaining to the early 1890s and 1900s. The collection is divided into 16 series: Administrative Records, Editorial, Literary Reviews, Prose, Poetry, Drama, Addresses and Speeches, Other Writings, President Woodrow Wilson, Princeton University, Aldine Club, Personal, Images, Biographical Materials, Publications, Photographs, Oversized Photographs, and Artifacts.

A fuller description of each series is provided in the Collection Inventory.

This collection consists of the essays and sermons of Walter L. Crowding, Dickinson Class of 1925 and Methodist minister. Most of the essays are written upon various topics in religion, but also included are treatises on art and literature. The majority of the collection is comprised of more than 800 sermons presented by Crowding from 1921 to 1975.

M. Margaret Eslinger graduated from Dickinson College in 1923.  This scrapbook contains a variety of items from her time at Dickinson College and as a graduate student at Ohio State University between 1919 and 1925. Materials include letters, grade slips, school bulletins, event programs, coursework, postcards, concert tickets, newspaper clippings, holiday cards, account books, photographs, name tags, and such objects as utensils, cigarettes, pressed flowers, pinned badges, and napkins.

Lewis Daniel Gobrecht graduated from Dickinson College in 1955. This collection primarily represents his academic and extracurricular life as a student, with particular emphasis on his involvement in theatre and music activities.

The collection consists of papers pertaining to Hartigan's military career and to a proposed "Dickinson College School of International Activities." It includes correspondence with Dickinson College, foreign universities, and other institutions regarding similar plans. The collection includes numerous photographs of pre-World War II Germany and Austria, particularly with regard to the performing arts.

Horatio Collins King was the son of Postmaster General Horatio King and the nephew of Dickinson College President Charles Collins. A graduate of Dickinson College, class of 1858, King was admitted to the bar in 1861 and saw active service in the Civil War from 1862 until 1865. A songwriter, King composed the Dickinson Alma Mater, among other works. The collection contains King's correspondence, diaries, and copies of his songs. Topics in correspondence and diaries include student life, Civil War, and democratic politics.

The journals in this collection are available for reading online (see links for related entries below).

The Elizabeth Anna Low collection contains fine china, glass plate positive photographs and other items donated by Elizabeth Anna Low, class of 1891.

This collection is comprised mainly of The Spirit of Britain and Pictorial Shakespeare, two examples of illustrated manuscripts by artist Montagu Frank Modder. Also included are miscellaneous drawings of literary and historical figures, as well as printer's engraving blocks.

Allen C. Tanner (1898-1987) was an Illinois-born pianist. At fifteen he was awarded a scholarship to study music in Chicago. There he met Margaret Anderson, editor of the Little Review. Tanner then moved to New York City where he performed in musical salons and accompanied many musical greats of the era including Marguerite Namara and Marguerite d'Alvarez. In 1922, Tanner left for Berlin, where he met Russian artist Pavel Tchelitchew and the two men became lovers. In 1924 the pair moved to Paris to pursue their artistic careers. There they became friends with literary greats Gertrude Stein and Edith Sitwell. Tanner and Tchelitchew ended their relationship in 1934. Tanner returned to the United States where he coached piano students in concert repertory. In 1967 he released the album Allen Tanner Plays Bach, Debussy, Scriabin, Granados, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, and Steinert. The collection contains correspondence, writings, programs and publicity, news clippings, financial documents, sheet music, sound recordings, photographs, and books. The correspondence comprises the bulk of this collection. In addition to Tanner's correspondence with fellow musicians and cultural figures, Tanner also exchanged letters with authors and publishers who were interested in his memories of individuals such as Tchelitchew, Gertude Stein, Edith Sitwell, and Margaret Anderson.

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University also holds a collection of Allen Tanner papers. 

The Willoughby collection is divided into three series and housed in four document boxes. It is comprised mostly of drafts of literary works, contained in the Literary Productions series, as well as correspondence, mostly relating to his librarian work, and miscellaneous other materials. The materials date from 1928 to 1965, with the majority of materials dating from the 1940s and 1950s.