Catalog Record:
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.
The collection was donated by Bolm’s son, Olaf Bolm, in 2002, with additional materials added by Bolm’s granddaughter, Wende Hester, in 2009.
No further accruals are expected.
The Adolph Bolm Collection was processed by Judy Estey in 2009. George Kipper edited and coded the finding aid for EAD in 2010.
Materials from the Adolph Bolm Collection are governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright laws.
The Adolph Bolm Collection is open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Music Division prior to visiting in order to determine whether the desired materials will be available at that time.
Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container number], Adolph Bolm Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Adolph Bolm was born in St. Petersburg in 1884, entered the Imperial Ballet School in 1894, and became a dancer with the Maryinsky Theatre in 1903. Bolm spent less than a decade with the company, during which time he led Maryinsky tours to Scandinavia and Europe, and served as partner to ballerina Anna Pavlova. In 1909, he began performing with Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, excelling in character roles such as Pierre in Michel Fokine’s
Bolm spent most of the 1920s in Chicago where he worked as ballet master, premier danseur, and choreographer for the Chicago Civic Opera and the Chicago Allied Artists organization. Two significant ballets that he choreographed during this period were
During the 1930s Bolm worked in California, acting as ballet master for the San Francisco Opera, and unofficially establishing the San Francisco Ballet, from 1933-1936. He was hired to stage the dance scenes for the film
Besides choreographing and staging Ballets Russes works throughout the United States, Bolm also taught, opening studios in Chicago and Hollywood and instructing a generation of American dancers such as Cyd Charisse. He died in 1951 in Hollywood, leaving behind a legacy as dancer, choreographer and teacher.
The collection consists of materials that document Adolph Bolm's career as a dancer and choreographer in both Russia and the United States throughout the first half of the twentieth century. The Photographs series includes production photographs from the various companies with which Bolm worked, including the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev, Ballet Intime, Adolph Bolm Ballet, Chicago Civic Opera, San Francisco Opera, and the Ballet Theatre (later called the American Ballet Theatre). The Programs series documents Bolm’s work with touring and resident companies, including the aforementioned companies. The Advertisements and Pamphlets series contains marketing materials for Ballet Theatre’s California tour and advertisements for Bolm’s Hollywood and Chicago dance studios. The Articles series includes biographical articles, performance reviews and other press clippings. The Correspondence series contains considerable correspondence between Bolm and composer John Alden Carpenter, a frequent collaborator and family friend. The Business Papers include contracts, financial agreements, travel documents, and an address book. The Anna Pavlova Materials series includes telegrams, letters, and an homage written by Bolm about Pavlova, one of his favorite ballerinas. The Writings series provides detailed biographical information about the early parts of Bolm’s life in St. Petersburg, as well as some press materials summarizing his career in the United States. It also includes Rosalind Shaffer De Mille’s notes and drafts from interviews with Bolm and others for a biography of Bolm. The Artwork series contains costume designs and paintings. The Commemorative Items and Music Scores series includes two Igor Stravinsky published scores, one with an inscription, and autograph books containing signatures from many composers and artists.
The Adolph Bolm Collection is organized into ten series:
The Photographs series includes black and white prints of Adolph Bolm’s professional portraits. It also includes pictures of him in costume in various Michel Fokine ballets, such as
Arranged chronologically or alphabetically by title within subseries.
Choreography by Adolph Bolm; music by Igor Stravinsky; scenery and costumes by Nicolas Remisoff; premiered by Adolph Bolm Ballet with Chamber Music Society, Washington D.C.
Choreography by Adolph Bolm; music by Cassanea de Mondonville; sets by Nicolas Remisoff; premiered by Adolph Bolm Ballet with Chamber Music Society, Washington D.C.
Choreography by Michel Fokine; music by Robert Schumann; scenery and costumes by Léon Bakst; premiered by the Maryinsky Ballet at Pavlov Hall, Saint Petersburg, February 20, 1910.
Choreography by Michel Fokine; music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; scenery and costumes by Natalia Gontcharova; premiered by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes at Théâtre National de l’Opera, Paris, May 24, 1914.
Choreography by Adolph Bolm; music by Camille Saint-Saëns; directed by Dudley Murphy.
Choreography by Michel Fokine; music by Igor Stravinsky; scenery by Aleksandr Golovin, costumes by Léon Bakst and Alexander Golovin; premiered by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes at Théâtre National de l’Opera, Paris, June 25, 1910.
Choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot; music by Adolphe Adam and Friedrich Burgmüller; scenery by Pierre Ciceri, costumes by Paul Lormier; premiered by Paris Opera Ballet, Théâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique, June 28, 1841.
Choreography by Michel Fokine; music by Igor Stravinsky; scenery and costumes by Alexandre Benois; premiered by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, June 13, 1911.
Choreography by Michel Fokine; music by Aleksandr Borodin; scenery and costumes by Nikolai Roerich; premiered by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, May 19, 1909.
Choreography by Michel Fokine; music by Alexander Tcherepnin; scenery and costumes by Boris Anisfeld; premiered by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, 1911.
Choreography by Michel Fokine; music by Mily Balakirev; scenery and costumes by Léon Bakst; premiered by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in Paris, May 20, 1912.
Scrapbook page.
Curtain design by Remisoff.
Music by Johann Sebastian Bach; premiered by the San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco, 1936.
Costume design by Eugene Lourié.
Music by Franz Liszt; costumes by Eugene Lourié; premiered by the San Francisco Civic Ballet, San Francisco, 1947.
Music by Alexandre Mossolov; originally choreographed for the film
Music by Alexandre Mossolov; costumes by Corinne; premiered by the Adolph Bolm Ballet at the Hollywood Bowl, July 28, 1931.
With frame and note from Beata Bolm.
The Programs series documents Bolm’s choreographic career with several touring and resident companies. It includes programs from the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Ballet School, the Chicago Civic Opera, the Chicago Allied Arts organization, and the Adolph Bolm Ballet.
Beyond detailing his own companies, many of the programs feature Bolm’s work with major New York and European dance companies. The Ballet Theatre programs feature Bolm’s production of
Subseries arranged alphabetically and chronologically arranged therein.
The Advertisements and Pamphlets series includes Sol Hurok’s marketing materials for Ballet Theatre’s tour to California and advertisements for Bolm’s various dance studios in Chicago and Hollywood. It also includes a poster for the Maryinsky Ballet’s tour to Sweden in 1908 (which Bolm led and where he danced with Anna Pavlova).
Arranged alphabetically.
The Articles series includes photocopies of performance reviews, news features, and press clippings about Bolm’s career. It also includes articles by Bolm, including a piece on Native American dance in the
The bulk of the Correspondence series includes letters and notes from composer John Alden Carpenter from 1932 to 1950. The letters discuss artists, including Stravinsky, ballets, and music from the period. For example, in letters from 1942 and 1940 respectively, Carpenter writes positively about Anthony Tudor’s ballets
(Biographer)
The Business Papers series includes Bolm’s travel documents from Russia, France, and the United States. It also includes his passport, registration certificates for the U.S., and certificate of naturalization. In addition, it contains Bolm’s address book from the 1920s and several contracts and financial agreements with various companies, including the Ballet Theatre.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
The Anna Pavlova Materials series includes a photo of Pavlova and Bolm; telegrams sent by Bolm to others expressing his sorrow at the news of her death in 1931; an homage written by Bolm about Pavlova; and letters written by Pavlova’s family or staff that detail her passing.
The Writings series contains unpublished documents about Bolm by various authors, including notes and drafts for a Bolm biography by Rosalind Shaffer de Mille. The series also includes Bolm’s recollections of his education in St. Petersburg as told to Vera Carpary, and memories meant to be used in a film by Anna Leontovich. In addition, there is material written by de Mille about a film project on Marie Taglioni, and the making of
The Artwork series contains five pieces of original works of art. There are three costume designs by Jane Berlandina for Bolm’s 1934 ballet
The Commemorative Items and Music Scores series includes several miscellaneous items, including two published scores by Stravinsky (one with an inscription), and composer Carlos Salzedo’s piano prelude written in honor of the birth of Bolm’s son in 1920. In addition, there are two autograph books containing composers' signatures, including Dmitri Shostakovich's, and an envelope bearing Stravinsky’s honorary stamp from 1982.
Book cover, with table of contents on back.