Metropolitan Opera, Huge Coll. Of 1,000 Photos, More Than Half Signed! Musical Notables Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman & Many Others!
Metropolitan Opera House
various, ca. early 1990s
Metropolitan Opera, Huge Coll. Of 1,000 Photos, More Than Half Signed! Musical Notables Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman & Many Others!
Archive of signed photographs
An outstanding collection of over 1,000 candid color photographs snapped by a Metropolitan Opera House ("The Met") employee, with over half of the group autographed by dozens of famous late-20th C. opera singers, ballet dancers, conductors, composers, musicians, and other artists from around the world. Various places but primarily New York, New York. Ca. early 1990s. The mixture of signed and unsigned mostly 6" x 4" photographs is combined with a few scattered newspaper clippings and press photos within 31 photograph albums organized by category. According to our consignor's calculations, this enormous photo archive includes 603 signed photos and 411 unsigned photos, for a total of 1,014 pieces. We have not double-checked his tallies, but we believe that they are not only accurate but exhaustive! The albums are housed in a box measuring 12.75" x 8.25" x 10.5" overall and weighing 14.75 lbs.
The original autograph collector - the Met employee with back-stage access - was named Alice, and many of the signed photos are dedicated to her, with some personalized messages. The majority of the photos were taken backstage after performances, with the stars sometimes carrying their instruments, dressed in full performance costume and makeup, or holding bouquets.
Alice annotated many of the photo versos with the subjects' names, professions, and dates; only a few remain unidentified. She carefully organized her photos by category: composers; conductors and chorus maestros; opera singers (soprano, mezzo soprano, tenor, baritone); musicians (violinist, violist, cellist, bass violinist, double bass player, pianist); male and female ballet dancers; and other artists. The albums have been meticulously reviewed by our consignor, who has catalogued the number of photos, signed or unsigned, in each album, and marked which artists are contained in each individual album. Please refer to catalog photos for additional information related to condition, which is overall near fine. These albums are slightly larger than pocket-sized, with the average album measuring approximately 4.875" x 6.325" x .5", while the smallest album measures 4" x 3.625" x .25".
Performers of note featured in this collection include:
- Yo-Yo Ma, American cellist (Album #15)
- Itzhak Perlman, Israeli-American violinist (Album #1)
- Pinchas Zukerman, Israeli violist (Album #1)
- Isaac Stern, American violinist (Album #30)
- Baroness Deborah Bull, English ballet dancer (Album #23)
- Laurine C. Fox, American conductor (Album #11)
- Angela Gheorghiu, Romanian soprano (Album #8)
- Ruth Laredo, American pianist (Album #26)
- Sir George Solti, Hungarian-British conductor (Album #27)
- Ellen Taafe Zwilich, first female composer to win a Pulitzer Prize (Album #2)
- Sharon Sweet, American soprano (Album #8)
Please see our terms and condition for lots of five items or more.
This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.
WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!
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Metropolitan Opera House
various, ca. early 1990s
Metropolitan Opera, Huge Coll. Of 1,000 Photos, More Than Half Signed! Musical Notables Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman & Many Others!
Archive of signed photographs
An outstanding collection of over 1,000 candid color photographs snapped by a Metropolitan Opera House ("The Met") employee, with over half of the group autographed by dozens of famous late-20th C. opera singers, ballet dancers, conductors, composers, musicians, and other artists from around the world. Various places but primarily New York, New York. Ca. early 1990s. The mixture of signed and unsigned mostly 6" x 4" photographs is combined with a few scattered newspaper clippings and press photos within 31 photograph albums organized by category. According to our consignor's calculations, this enormous photo archive includes 603 signed photos and 411 unsigned photos, for a total of 1,014 pieces. We have not double-checked his tallies, but we believe that they are not only accurate but exhaustive! The albums are housed in a box measuring 12.75" x 8.25" x 10.5" overall and weighing 14.75 lbs.
The original autograph collector - the Met employee with back-stage access - was named Alice, and many of the signed photos are dedicated to her, with some personalized messages. The majority of the photos were taken backstage after performances, with the stars sometimes carrying their instruments, dressed in full performance costume and makeup, or holding bouquets.
Alice annotated many of the photo versos with the subjects' names, professions, and dates; only a few remain unidentified. She carefully organized her photos by category: composers; conductors and chorus maestros; opera singers (soprano, mezzo soprano, tenor, baritone); musicians (violinist, violist, cellist, bass violinist, double bass player, pianist); male and female ballet dancers; and other artists. The albums have been meticulously reviewed by our consignor, who has catalogued the number of photos, signed or unsigned, in each album, and marked which artists are contained in each individual album. Please refer to catalog photos for additional information related to condition, which is overall near fine. These albums are slightly larger than pocket-sized, with the average album measuring approximately 4.875" x 6.325" x .5", while the smallest album measures 4" x 3.625" x .25".
Performers of note featured in this collection include:
- Yo-Yo Ma, American cellist (Album #15)
- Itzhak Perlman, Israeli-American violinist (Album #1)
- Pinchas Zukerman, Israeli violist (Album #1)
- Isaac Stern, American violinist (Album #30)
- Baroness Deborah Bull, English ballet dancer (Album #23)
- Laurine C. Fox, American conductor (Album #11)
- Angela Gheorghiu, Romanian soprano (Album #8)
- Ruth Laredo, American pianist (Album #26)
- Sir George Solti, Hungarian-British conductor (Album #27)
- Ellen Taafe Zwilich, first female composer to win a Pulitzer Prize (Album #2)
- Sharon Sweet, American soprano (Album #8)
Please see our terms and condition for lots of five items or more.
This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.
WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
