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Collection Overview

Creator:
Delarue, Allison
Title:
Allison Delarue Collection
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/ht24wj420
Dates:
1820-1990s
Size:
32 boxes and 153 items
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Boxes 1-50; 1A; 2A
Language:
English

Abstract

The Allison Delarue Collection consists of a draft of Delarue's unpublished autobiography, letters received by Delarue from various friends, associates, and people involved in dance and the theater, and prints, photographs, and objects collected by Delarue relating to ballet and its history.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Consists of the draft manuscript of Delarue's unpublished autobiography, Memoirs of a Balletomane, photographs of Delarue, and approximately 250 letters (1930-1990) received by Delarue from various European and American friends, associates, and people involved in dance and the theater. Correspondents include Marian Hannah Winter (133 letters), also a dance historian, Anibal Navarro (80 letters), Eugene Berman (25), Paul Bowles (29), Stanislav Buzek, Paul Cadmus, Anton Dolin, Margot Fonteyn, John Hall, Pavel Tchelitchev, Alice B. Toklas, and others. There is also an extensive series of letters (1941-1960) by Delarue to Alexander D. Wainwright, lifetime friend and Princeton classmate.

An addition to the collection consists of approximately 170 objects collected by Delarue, relating to the ballet and its history, including porcelain figurines, paintings and portraits, drawings, engravings, costume designs, lithographs, prints, posters, musical scores, and printed books. There are representations, in various forms, of Fanny Elssler, Marie Taglioni, Fanny Cerito, Waslaw Nijinsky, and others by such artists as F. Kruger, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Joseph Eymer, Paul Cadmus, Faivre, Lerasseur, and others.

Collection Creator Biography:

Delarue, Allison

Allison Delarue, a member of the Princeton Class of 1928, was a staff member (1951-1972) of McCarter Theatre, as well as a dance historian and balletomane. He graduated from the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey, and later received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Princeton. While pursuing graduate studies at Oxford University, Delarue become interested in the history of ballet in England and studied dance with the Hon. Martin-Haney. Upon his return to the United States, he continued his interest in ballet while serving on the staff of the Cooper Union Museum in New York City. As well as being a collector and writer, Delarue was also a talented photographer. He was on the staff of McCarter Theatre in Princeton and had professional memberships that included the Theatre Library Association and the American Society for Theatre Research. He is the author of two books, The Chevalier Henry Wikoff: Impressario, 1840 (Princeton University Press, 1968), and Fanny Elssler in America (Dance Horizons, 1976), as well as many articles, including "The Stage and Ballet Designs of Eugene Berman" ( Dance Index, December 1946), "Ballet Figurines in Porcelain" ( Dancing Times, November 1973), the foreword to Let Joy Be Unconfined: An Exhibition Representing Three Centuries of Ballet (Princeton University Library, 1980), and "Alfred-Edouard Chalon's Pas de Quatre" ( The Princeton University Library Chronicle, Autumn, 1986).

Collection History

Acquisition:

The collection was a gift of Allison Delarue, Princeton Class of 1928 in 1957-1996.

Appraisal

No appraisal information is available.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Jannon Stein and Rachel Jordan in 2002. Finding aid written by Jannon Stein and Rachel Jordan in 2002.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Allison Delarue Collection; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/ht24wj420
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Boxes 1-50; 1A; 2A