Victor Herbert: A Theatrical Life

Acknowledgments

acknowledgments In the course of researching and writing this biography it has been my good fortune to make the acquaintance of many friends of Victor Herbert. These colleagues, I discovered to my delight, form a kind of unofficial fan club whose only bond was forged by the fact that each provided support and encouragement for this project above and beyond his professional responsibilities. First among these is Herbert P. Jacoby, chairman of the Victor Herbert Foundation, whose generous support, constant encouragement, and wise correctives were invaluable. It was at his suggestion that I began the seven years of challenging work that have proven uniquely rewarding. To Arthur G. Adams, friend and unofficial editor, who read the manuscript in development and made many insightful contributions, I am equally grateful. Librarians from London to Hollywood, from Chicago to Austin, whose enthusiasm led me to much information I might otherwise have missed, are the real heroes of this study. Ray White of the music division of the Library of Congress is a name well known to afficionados of acknowledgments sections of countless musical studies; his helpfulness and that of his staff are beyond praise. Librarian Raya Then provided entree to the many hidden treasures of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library ’s collection. Her warmth and personal attention, her provision of scores and recordings, her generosity of time and spirit proved a welcome antidote to the Sturm und Drang of early November, 2000. Lewis Hardee , fellow Lamb and historian of our club, guided me through ancient archives open only to initiates. To Miles Kreuger and the Institute of the American Musical I am indebted for generous hospitality and invaluable materials not available elsewhere. Three unpublished memoirs provided personal commentary on the fabric of Herbert’s life. These are ‘‘Yesterthoughts,’’ from the Gilmore Music Library at Yale University; the recollections of Charles Dillingham; and the autobiography of Werner Janssen. I am grateful to Richard Boursy, archivist of the Rare Book and Manuscript Division at Yale, to the New York Public Library and to Mrs. Christina Jenssen for making these resources available. ix Boston was a main focus of Herbert’s activity. Annette Fern of the Pusey Theater Collection at Harvard University provided guidance and wise counsel. I am also grateful to the staffs of the Loeb Music Library at Harvard and the Boston Public Library for their valuable assistance in accessing the papers of Richard Aldrich and the Brown Collection, respectively. The research librarians of the following institutions expeditiously responded to my many exacting inquiries: the Newbury Library, Chicago; the American-Irish Historical Society of New York; the Columbia University Oral History Collection, New York; the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles; and the Rare Book and Manuscript Division of Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey. The Peabody Conservatory and the Milton Eisenhower Library (Levy Collection), both of the Johns Hopkins University; Cathy Logan of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; the Manuscript Division of the University of Texas at Austin; the Vassar College Archives; David Sanjik of the BMI Archives, New York; Reagan Fletcher of the Shubert Archives, New York; Robert Kimball for his ASCAP anecdotes; and Sarah Hartwell at the Rauner Library at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; and ‘‘Chris in the library’’ at DCC—to all of these my sincerest thanks and respect. In London the archivists of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple and of Lincoln’s Inn were able to help me finally determine the facts of Herbert’s paternal lineage. At the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Public Library I found invaluable information on the ‘‘Bostonians’’ among the papers of Henry Clay Barnabee. Timothy Doyle, Dean of Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, an historian himself, kindly made available information about the academic career of Clifford Herbert, which made it possible for me to gain insight into the family life of the Herberts. John Privatera supplied me with the court transcripts of Herbert v. Musical Courier Co.; this material was not easy to come by. To my friend and attorney Richard J. Miller, Jr., for his pro bono service to the Herbert cause ‘‘with heart and with voice,’’ my deepest appreciation. To Drs. Brent Petty and William Brieger of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine I am indebted for guidance in my discussion of Herbert’s medical condition and his care under a homeopathic physician. Bernt and Ruth Schlesinger were of invaluable aid in transliterating Herbert’s early letters from...