Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1245

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.4 linear feet (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Marian Angell Godfrey Boyer scrapbook of Stokowski material, 1907-1928, Ms. Coll. 1245, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1907-1928 (inclusive)

Creator:

Boyer, Marian Angell Godfrey

Form:

Reviews (documents), Concert programs, Scrapbooks, and Clippings (information artifacts)

Abstract:

This scrapbook was assembled by Marian Angell Godfrey Boyer from 1907 to 1926. With newspaper clippings, playbills, photographed portraits and concert reviews, Boyer documents a portion of Stokowski's career as a composer in Philadelphia.

Marian Angell Godfrey Boyer was born in Harrisburg, PA in 1892 and died in Ardmore, PA in 1989. She was married to William S. Godfrey from 1915 until his death in 1947 and was later married to Francis Boyer, chairman of Smith Kline & French. Boyer spent her adult life devoted to art, music, nursing and archaeology. She studied anthropology and archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1930s and served as the secretary for the University Museum from 1943 to 1944 and the acting director of the museum from 1945 to 1947. In addition, Boyer served on the board of directors for the Academy of Music and the Philadelphia Orchestra; was a patron, benefactor and trustee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art; and served on the board of managers of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where she chaired the hospital's student nurses committee and was president of the Women's Board. She was also a trustee for the National Foundation for Graduate Nursing Education, and served on the President's Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. In 1987, the University Museum created a medal in her honor, called the Marian Angell Godfrey Boyer medal, to "honor distinguished service by a museum supporter to the institution."

Leopold Anthony Stokowski was born in London on April 18, 1882 and died in New Hampshire on September 13, 1977. The conductor was English by birth, but was of Polish and Irish descent, a fact that he capitalized upon during his career. In 1896, when he was just thirteen years old, he enrolled in the Royal College of Music. He later earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Queens College, Oxford in 1903. He became the lead conductor of the Cincinnati City Orchestra in 1909 and of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1912. He remained the lead conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra until his contract ended in 1940. He then formed the All-American Youth Orchestra and composed the music for the film Fantasia in 1940. He was married to the pianist, Olga Samaroff from 1911 to 1923; the Johnson & Johnson heiress, Evangeline Love Brewster Johnson from 1926 to 1937; and to the heiress and actress, Gloria Vanderbilt, from 1945 to 1955.

This scrapbook was assembled by Marian Angell Godfrey Boyer from 1907 to 1926. With newspaper clippings and playbills, portraits, and concert reviews which appear to have been clipped from programs, Boyer documents a portion of Stokowski's career as a composer in Philadelphia. This volume consists primarily of programs of Stokowski's shows with the Philadelphia Orchestra, often with penciled notes, presumably by Boyer. The first several pages consist of a handwritten list entitled, "Piano & Orchestra," with an alphabetical listing of composers and works. The scrapbook also includes reviews of the shows presented by these programs and clipped biographies of the musicians who played for Stokowski, including his first wife, Olga Samaroff, pianist Ernest Schelling, and sister pianists Rose and Ottilie Sutro. This volume contains several full newspaper articles about Stokowski, as both conductor and family man, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The end of this scrapbook contains full-page spreads on musicians from the period, complete with photographs, article clippings, and biographies. While the majority of programs and announcements feature the Philadelphia Orchestra, researchers will find a few programs and annoucements for other musical groups, including the Academy of Music, the Boston-National Grand Opera, the Metropolitan Opera Company, and the Musical Art Club of Philadelphia, as well as programs for lectures and concerts held at Witherspoon Hall. The contents of the scrapbook are not always pasted into the volume in chronological order, and therefore, researchers are encouraged to browse the entire volume. Beyond Mrs. Boyer's manuscript notes, there is very little material in the collection that was not clipped from newspapers or programs. Folders 1 to 4 contain materials that were laid into the scrapbook. On occasion, a laid in item was kept within the scrapbook if its placement was with other relevant items. For the most part, the removed items were found grouped at the front or back of the volume.