Barber, Samuel. (1910–1981). Collection of Photographs and Magazines.
An important collection of original and mostly unique photographs and magazines relating to the important American composer, from the collection of Manfred Ibel, the dedicatee of his Piano Concerto and his friend and protege. The photographs include two wonderful original childhood portraits of Barber aged 3 and 13, as well as numerous later portraits, and photographs with his partner Gian Carlo Menotti, with colleagues Vladimir Horowitz and Dimitri Mitropoulos, and at the White House with the Kennedys. 77 original snapshots give a glimpse into the private life of Barber and his friends, showing vacation scenes in Menotti and Barber's country retreat, Capricorn, and in Europe. Also included are several 1960's magazines with articles on Barber, two programs,and several sheets of contact sheets and negatives.
"Barber met Ibel in Munich during the spring of 1958, before rehearsals began for Vanessa at Salzburg. They were introduced by the eminent photographer Herbert List... Ibel, from Hamburg, was the song of a painter and of a well-known anthologist and interpreter of German classic and Romantic literature. He was twenty-one at the time Barber met him. In November 1960, Barber eventually helped Ibel come permanently to the United States, where lived for several years in a stone cottage on the grounds of Capricorn." (Barbara Heyman, Samuel Barber: The Composer and His Music.)
Photographs:
An adorable original portrait photograph of Barber at age 3 (ca. 1913), wearing a sailor suit and riding a pony on wheels. Photographed by Albert Biles of West Chester, PA. One slight chip and crease and a thumbtack hole, otherwise fine; 3.25 x 5.5 inches (8.6 x 13.7 cm)
Reprint photograph of Barber and his sister as children, singing at the piano accompanied by their mother. Fine; 8 x 10 inches (20.5 x 25.4 cm).
Original portrait photograph of Barber at age 13 in June 1923. Mounting remnants on the verso, otherwise fine; 3.25 x 5.5 inches (8.3 x 14 cm).
Fine portrait photograph of the composer by Fayer of Vienna, ca. 1960's, 5 x 7 inches (12.6 x 18 cm).
Original photograph of Barber at the White House with President and Mrs. Kennedy and Gian Carlo Menotti. Some creases,one stain, and a thumbtack hole, overall very good, 7 x 8 inches (18.5 x 20.7 cm).
Original photograph of Barber with a group of young men including Manfred Ibel at the Hofbräuhaus in Munich, lifting huge beer steins. This photograph almost certainly dates from spring 1958, when Barber and Ibel first met in Munich. Photographed by Wensen and printed on a postcard. Very fine, 5.5 x 3.5 inches (14 x 9 cm).
Original photograph of Barber poring over plans with Manfred Ibel; note on the back reads, "Rehearsal at the new Met, Manfred as Franco's design assistant with Sam. Summer 1966." Very fine, 10 x 8 inches (25.3 x 10.3 cm).
Photograph of Manfred Ibel ca. late 1960's, outdoors on a rooftop. Very fine, 9.25 x 6.75 inches (23.6 x 17 cm).
Original photograph of Barber with Dimitri Mitropoulos ca. 1960's; very fine, 6 x 4 inches (14.7 x 10.4 cm).
Four portrait photographs of Barber at various different ages; one, in which he is seated at the piano with his face reflected in its glossy lid, is by German photographer Herbert List (photographed in Rome, 1958). Some light toning and edge wear; overall very good to fine condition; each 8 x 10 inches (20.5 x 25.3 cm).
Photograph of Barber with an older woman. Fine; 8 x 10 inches (20.5 x 25.3 cm).
Photograph of Barber with his old friend Vladimir Horowitz ca. 1970's, with their arms around each others' shoulders. Fine; 10 x 8 inches (25.4 x 20.6 cm).
Photograph of Barber at the wheel (right hand drive!) of a classic convertible. Slight creases, overall very good; 6.75 x 4.75 inches (17 x 12 cm).
Snapshots and home photographs:
77 original photographs of the composer, family, friends, and locations where he spent holidays. Sizes range from 2.5 x 2.5 inches (6.2 x 6.2 cm) to 5 x 7 inches (12.6 x 17.6 cm), mostly in black and white but with some color photographs, dating from the 1960's to 1970's. Mostly in fine condition overall, some with light wear to the edges, a few with mounting remnants or small pieces of tape. The occasions pictured include various parties and summer and winter vacations in the US and Europe, as well as a trip by Barber to a flooded tropical country. Also included are two wintertime shots of the exterior of Barber and Menotti's house in the country, Capricorn, and ten color snapshots of exterior and interior views of a house in the mountains, almost certainly Barber's chalet in the Italian Dolomites, dated July 1971. The people pictured include Menotti, Ibel, and many other unidentified friends and family members. Highlights are a color snapshot peeking in on Barber and Menotti in the sauna (!), several shots of Barber and friends with a huge shaggy black dog, and three shots of Barber striking comic poses with stone cherubs in a garden. Also included is a press clipping from Life, dated June 23, 1958, showing Menotti, Barber, and another classmate together at Curtis in the 1930's.
Negatives and contact sheets:
Three sets of black and white negatives, one larger color negative of an older woman, and several contact sheets of different sizes with a total of 128 images, dating from the 1960's to 1970's, some corresponding to the home photographs mentioned above. One entire contact sheet of 37 images shows Barber in later life, seated outside in the winter.
Magazines:
Newsweek, September 19, 1966. Cover article about Rudolf Bing, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera. Published just after the September 16 premiere of Barber's Antony and Cleopatra at the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera building, the article briefly mentions the production without critiquing it. 120 pp. Cover split along spine; overall in very good condition.
ASCAP Today, Vol. 2, No. 3, December 1968, with picture of Barber and his dog on the cover. Article by Hans W. Heinsheimer entitled "The Composing Composer: Samuel Barber," pp. 4-7. In very good condition. 42 pp. 8.25 x 11 inches.
Saturday Review, September 17, 1976, with color picture of Barber on the cover and the caption "Samuel Barber, whose 'Antony and Cleopatra' opens the new Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center." Article by Hans W. Heinsheimer, entitled "Birth of an Opera," pp. 49-50 and 56-57, features pictures of the rehearsal process for the new opera and a shot of Barber with Leontyne Price. Cover in distressed condition; pages very good. 104 pp. 8.5 x 11 inches.
Programs:
Original program from the 1975 Juilliard American Opera Center performance of the revised version Antony and Cleopatra, together with two original newspaper clippings of reviews of the performance, from the New York Times and New York Post. 8 pp. Fine; 6 x 9 inches (15.3 x 22.7 cm).
Title page (1 pp on a bifolium) from Barber's memorial service, given on February 9, 1981 at St. Bartholomew's Church, New York City. Together with an original newspaper clipping of Barber's German obituary in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, dated January 21, 1981. Very good; 5.5 x 8.5 inches (14 x 21.5 cm).
Barber, Samuel. (1910–1981). Collection of Photographs and Magazines.
An important collection of original and mostly unique photographs and magazines relating to the important American composer, from the collection of Manfred Ibel, the dedicatee of his Piano Concerto and his friend and protege. The photographs include two wonderful original childhood portraits of Barber aged 3 and 13, as well as numerous later portraits, and photographs with his partner Gian Carlo Menotti, with colleagues Vladimir Horowitz and Dimitri Mitropoulos, and at the White House with the Kennedys. 77 original snapshots give a glimpse into the private life of Barber and his friends, showing vacation scenes in Menotti and Barber's country retreat, Capricorn, and in Europe. Also included are several 1960's magazines with articles on Barber, two programs,and several sheets of contact sheets and negatives.
"Barber met Ibel in Munich during the spring of 1958, before rehearsals began for Vanessa at Salzburg. They were introduced by the eminent photographer Herbert List... Ibel, from Hamburg, was the song of a painter and of a well-known anthologist and interpreter of German classic and Romantic literature. He was twenty-one at the time Barber met him. In November 1960, Barber eventually helped Ibel come permanently to the United States, where lived for several years in a stone cottage on the grounds of Capricorn." (Barbara Heyman, Samuel Barber: The Composer and His Music.)
Photographs:
An adorable original portrait photograph of Barber at age 3 (ca. 1913), wearing a sailor suit and riding a pony on wheels. Photographed by Albert Biles of West Chester, PA. One slight chip and crease and a thumbtack hole, otherwise fine; 3.25 x 5.5 inches (8.6 x 13.7 cm)
Reprint photograph of Barber and his sister as children, singing at the piano accompanied by their mother. Fine; 8 x 10 inches (20.5 x 25.4 cm).
Original portrait photograph of Barber at age 13 in June 1923. Mounting remnants on the verso, otherwise fine; 3.25 x 5.5 inches (8.3 x 14 cm).
Fine portrait photograph of the composer by Fayer of Vienna, ca. 1960's, 5 x 7 inches (12.6 x 18 cm).
Original photograph of Barber at the White House with President and Mrs. Kennedy and Gian Carlo Menotti. Some creases,one stain, and a thumbtack hole, overall very good, 7 x 8 inches (18.5 x 20.7 cm).
Original photograph of Barber with a group of young men including Manfred Ibel at the Hofbräuhaus in Munich, lifting huge beer steins. This photograph almost certainly dates from spring 1958, when Barber and Ibel first met in Munich. Photographed by Wensen and printed on a postcard. Very fine, 5.5 x 3.5 inches (14 x 9 cm).
Original photograph of Barber poring over plans with Manfred Ibel; note on the back reads, "Rehearsal at the new Met, Manfred as Franco's design assistant with Sam. Summer 1966." Very fine, 10 x 8 inches (25.3 x 10.3 cm).
Photograph of Manfred Ibel ca. late 1960's, outdoors on a rooftop. Very fine, 9.25 x 6.75 inches (23.6 x 17 cm).
Original photograph of Barber with Dimitri Mitropoulos ca. 1960's; very fine, 6 x 4 inches (14.7 x 10.4 cm).
Four portrait photographs of Barber at various different ages; one, in which he is seated at the piano with his face reflected in its glossy lid, is by German photographer Herbert List (photographed in Rome, 1958). Some light toning and edge wear; overall very good to fine condition; each 8 x 10 inches (20.5 x 25.3 cm).
Photograph of Barber with an older woman. Fine; 8 x 10 inches (20.5 x 25.3 cm).
Photograph of Barber with his old friend Vladimir Horowitz ca. 1970's, with their arms around each others' shoulders. Fine; 10 x 8 inches (25.4 x 20.6 cm).
Photograph of Barber at the wheel (right hand drive!) of a classic convertible. Slight creases, overall very good; 6.75 x 4.75 inches (17 x 12 cm).
Snapshots and home photographs:
77 original photographs of the composer, family, friends, and locations where he spent holidays. Sizes range from 2.5 x 2.5 inches (6.2 x 6.2 cm) to 5 x 7 inches (12.6 x 17.6 cm), mostly in black and white but with some color photographs, dating from the 1960's to 1970's. Mostly in fine condition overall, some with light wear to the edges, a few with mounting remnants or small pieces of tape. The occasions pictured include various parties and summer and winter vacations in the US and Europe, as well as a trip by Barber to a flooded tropical country. Also included are two wintertime shots of the exterior of Barber and Menotti's house in the country, Capricorn, and ten color snapshots of exterior and interior views of a house in the mountains, almost certainly Barber's chalet in the Italian Dolomites, dated July 1971. The people pictured include Menotti, Ibel, and many other unidentified friends and family members. Highlights are a color snapshot peeking in on Barber and Menotti in the sauna (!), several shots of Barber and friends with a huge shaggy black dog, and three shots of Barber striking comic poses with stone cherubs in a garden. Also included is a press clipping from Life, dated June 23, 1958, showing Menotti, Barber, and another classmate together at Curtis in the 1930's.
Negatives and contact sheets:
Three sets of black and white negatives, one larger color negative of an older woman, and several contact sheets of different sizes with a total of 128 images, dating from the 1960's to 1970's, some corresponding to the home photographs mentioned above. One entire contact sheet of 37 images shows Barber in later life, seated outside in the winter.
Magazines:
Newsweek, September 19, 1966. Cover article about Rudolf Bing, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera. Published just after the September 16 premiere of Barber's Antony and Cleopatra at the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera building, the article briefly mentions the production without critiquing it. 120 pp. Cover split along spine; overall in very good condition.
ASCAP Today, Vol. 2, No. 3, December 1968, with picture of Barber and his dog on the cover. Article by Hans W. Heinsheimer entitled "The Composing Composer: Samuel Barber," pp. 4-7. In very good condition. 42 pp. 8.25 x 11 inches.
Saturday Review, September 17, 1976, with color picture of Barber on the cover and the caption "Samuel Barber, whose 'Antony and Cleopatra' opens the new Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center." Article by Hans W. Heinsheimer, entitled "Birth of an Opera," pp. 49-50 and 56-57, features pictures of the rehearsal process for the new opera and a shot of Barber with Leontyne Price. Cover in distressed condition; pages very good. 104 pp. 8.5 x 11 inches.
Programs:
Original program from the 1975 Juilliard American Opera Center performance of the revised version Antony and Cleopatra, together with two original newspaper clippings of reviews of the performance, from the New York Times and New York Post. 8 pp. Fine; 6 x 9 inches (15.3 x 22.7 cm).
Title page (1 pp on a bifolium) from Barber's memorial service, given on February 9, 1981 at St. Bartholomew's Church, New York City. Together with an original newspaper clipping of Barber's German obituary in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, dated January 21, 1981. Very good; 5.5 x 8.5 inches (14 x 21.5 cm).