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Rare Book & Manuscript Library

H. Lawrence Freeman papers, 1870-1982, 2015, bulk 1890-1954

35 linear feet
The original scores, clippings, correspondence and ephemera in this collection document the lives and careers of Harry Lawrence, Carlotta, and Valdo Freeman, a family of African-American performing artists involved in opera, theatre, and music in early-twentieth-century New York.
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Series IV: Correspondence, 1900-1980

; Pitcairn, Fred R.; Polacheck, Charles; Provincetown Players, The; Pryor, Arthur Jr.; Rahn, Muriel; Rathbun

Contained in this series are letters to and from the Freemans over their entire adult lives. Much material survives from the 1920s and 1930s relating to production of H. Lawrence's operas. Other highlights include several letters from Carlotta to Valdo, 1915-1918, when she was touring with a theatrical company, and a letter from H. Lawrence to Edward Hipsher with a wealth of biographical detail to assist Hipsher with his entry on Freeman in his book, American Opera and its Composers, 1933.

Series III: Images, circa 1870-1969

; Preer, Evelyn; Price, Loys; Rahn, Muriel (in cast photo of The Martyr 1947); Rocca, Louis; Sissle, Noble

This series is an exceptionally rich gathering of early visual material of African-Americans, including paintings, daguerreotypes, and publicity photographs, and snapshots. Many images portray the Freemans or their colleagues in costume or during performance. There is a large group of 'headshot' photos of performers, many of which are inscribed to various members of the Freeman family: highlights include photographs of Anita Bush, Charles Gilpin, Dorothy Mayner, and the Cole-Johnson brothers. Because of the lack of dates on many images, they are primarily organized by size and medium, with categorization by date or subject where possible. For a list of all identified sitters, please see below.