Subject: German Americans--Music - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 1.5 linear feet (1oversized flat box)
Abstract:: The Germania Männerchor of Philadelphia is one of the oldest German-American singing societies (founded on February 21,1853). This collection comprises meeting minutes, a cashbook, and ephemera including programs, a photograph, and audio recordings of the Germania Männerchor on a vinyl record, with materials spanning from the year 1877 to circa 1975. The specific items include a volume of minutes and accounts spanning the years 1877 to 1887, a cashbook spanning the years 1888 to 1814, concert programs, a photograph of the members of the Germania Männerchor circa 1932, and audio recordings of the 75th anniversary concert on a vinyl record.

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

Extent:: 1.7 linear feet (4 hollinger boxes + 1 oversized folder)
Abstract:: The Junger Männerchor of Philadelphia is one of the oldest German-American singing societies (founded on February 22,1852). This collection comprises membership records, ephemera, memorabilia, songbooks, sheet music, and audio recordings of the Junger Männerchor, with dated materials spanning from the year 1892 to 1966. The specific items include two member books (1906, 1911), concert programs, concert tickets, an issue of the society’s own periodical "Der Adler" (Oct. 1902), a preservation copy of a historical volume authored by J.F. Anton and published in 1902, and an extensive collection of songbooks and sheet music used by the society.

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

Extent:: 2.4 linear feet (8 boxes + 1 oversize folder)
Abstract:: This collection documents the activities of the accomplished German-American music director Eugen Klee and his wife Emma. Eugen Klee was an award-winning music director in Philadelphia from 1894 to 1913, and in New York City from 1914 until 1929. The collection includes correspondence from family, colleagues, friends, and acquaintances, mostly in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, plus newspaper clippings and ephemera. There is one file of correspondence from the Matthes family who are related to Emma Klee's mother. Also included are five scrapbooks, four of which include many newspaper clippings, music programs, correspondence, travel brochures, leaflets, and photographs related to both Eugen and Emma Klee, and the fifth is Emma Klee's scrapbook containing primarily correspondence from the year 1930.

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

Extent:: 1.63 linear feet (4 boxes + 1 oversized folder)
Abstract:: This small collection comprises a bound volume containing a constitution and by-laws, a charter, ephemera, photographs, songbooks from festivals, and memorabilia related to the Männerchor, the first German-American singing society in the United States, founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 15 December 1835. The specific items include the original handwritten charter, signed by 13 members, in March 1868; a summer season concert program from 1887; a banner dedicated to the society in 1925 from its women's chorus (Damenchor); the program and menu for the 100th anniversary celebration in 1935, along with a miniature souvenir banner dedicated to the Männerchor on that occasion, by the Vereinigten Sänger von Baltimore (United Singers of Baltimore); and two photographs taken at the Männerchor's 150th anniversary celebration, in 1985, on which occasion the society was officially dissolved, according to a note on the verso of one of the photographs, signed by Herbert Schmidt, one of the...(see more)

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

Extent:: 4.0 linear feet (24 boxes + 4 oversize folders)
Abstract:: The collection comprises the records of the umbrella organization United Singers of Philadelphia (Vereinigte Sänger von Philadelphia) from its founding, in 1881, until 1926, with some scattered ephemera dating as late as 1935; included are the records of several regional singing festivals held in Philadelphia (in 1882, 1897, 1912, and 1926) under the auspices of the Nordöstlicher Sängerbund, an alliance of singing societies in the Mid-Atlantic region. The collection includes minute books, financial records, correspondence, membership lists, scrapbooks, three newspaper issues related to Saengerfests (1897, 1912), and ephemera, including souvenir programs, admission tickets, fliers, and singers' badges (1912 festival). Also included are manuscripts in the hand of William A. Haussmann, of essays written for a souvenir program of 1912, and the rehearsal attendance list of the Ladies' Chorus, dated 1925.

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

Extent:: 4.75 linear feet (48 volumes)
Abstract:: This collection contains printed material from the library of Abraham Harley Cassel, a book collector and historian who acquired over 50,000 books, pamphlets, and documents about early Pennsylvania history. Cassel was a member of the Dunkard Brethren who wrote about and collected books on early Pennsylvania German religious history. His library attracted scholars and historians of Pennsylvania and German American history, and at his death was divided among archives, libraries, and private collectors. The portion of Cassel’s collection that is housed at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania contains forty-seven items which range in date from 1680 to 1893. Items are arranged in alphabetical order, with volumes relating to the Ephrata religious community and the Schwenkfelder Church grouped together. This collection includes hymn books, religious tracts and catechism, diaries, letters, genealogical records, and examples of Pennsylvania German folk art and fraktur.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Extent:: 0.4 linear feet (;1 box; 1 oversized photograph)
Abstract:: The United Singers of Philadelphia was an umbrella organization that represented approximately forty area singing groups, the majority of which were comprised of German immigrants. This collection dates from 1887-1932, although the bulk of the material is from 1905-1916. It includes a scrapbook compiled by the United Singers of Philadelphia, a German songbook, and a panoramic group photograph. The scrapbook contains detailed press coverage of German-American singers, musicians, and choirs, and political events in Philadelphia in the years before and during World War I. Contents include concert programs and reviews as well as clippings describing related (and often overlapping) political meetings and rallies.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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