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Inventory of the Eugene Olshansky Photographs, 1935-1986, bulk 1935-1941
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Lisa Janssen, 2008. ©2008. |
Descriptive Summary of the Collection |
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Creator |
Olshansky, Eugene |
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Title |
Eugene Olshansky Photographs, |
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Dates |
1935-1986 |
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Dates |
bulk 1935-1941 |
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Extent |
0.5 cubic ft. (1 box) |
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Abstract |
Photographs of productions staged by the Original Ballets Russes (aka the Ballet Russes du Col. W. de Basil) and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo between 1935 and 1941, taken by Chicago businessman and balletomane Eugene Olshansky. Also, two operatic portraits, a few personal photographs, and several pieces of ephemera. |
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Language |
Materials are in English. |
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Repository |
Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections |
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Collection Call Number |
Dance MS Olshansky |
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Collection Stack Location |
3a 48 11 |
Eugene Olshansky Photographs , Midwest Manuscript Collection, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Bequest of Eugene Olshansky, 1996.
Virginia H. Smith, 2007.
The Eugene Olshansky Photographs are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
The Eugene Olshansky Photographs are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
Chicago businessman and photographer.
Eugene Olshansky attended the City College of New York, and in the 1930s he began taking pictures of ballets staged at the Metropolitan Opera House. Having gotten himself appointed as a supernumerary, Olshansky situated himself in the prompter’s box and managed to capture many performances of the Ballet Russe. In 1937 he moved to Chicago to enroll in the University of Chicago, where he received an advanced degree in chemistry in 1939. While a student, he continued to photograph dance companies that came to Chicago, including the Original Ballet Russe (i.e. the company managed by Col. W. de Basil), the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (i.e. the company headed by Leonide Massine), and the Littlefield Ballet.
Olshansky had pictures published by numerous newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Tribune. While photography was Olshansky’s avocation, industrial chemistry was his business. He established and ran a company called Science Products, which manufactured garden pesticides. Olshansky died in 1996.
Collection is mainly photographs by Eugene Olshansky of the Original Ballet Russe and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, taken from a prompter’s box or backstage in the 1930s and 1940s. Many performances are identified and dated, though some dates may be approximate. Also in the collection are two operatic portraits, a few personal photographs including two of Olshansky, some miscellaneous notes and the poster which accompanied an exhibition of Olshansky’s pictures at the University of Chicago in 1939.
Arranged alphabetically by title of ballet production, followed by portraits of two opera singers, personal photographs and ephemera.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.
Container List |
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| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Photographs: Original Ballet Russes. Après Midi d'un Faune, 1936 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Photographs: Original Ballet Russes. Aurora's Wedding, 1935-1936 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Photographs: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Beau Danube, ca. 1936-1940 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Photographs: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Bogatyri, 1938; 1940 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Photographs: Original Ballet Russes. Les Cent Baisers, 1935 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Photographs: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Coppelia, 1938 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Photographs: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Gaité Parisienne, 1938-1939 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Photographs: Original Ballet Russes. Les Noces, 1936 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Photographs: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Nutcracker, 1941 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Photographs: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Petrouchka, 1941 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Photographs: Original Ballet Russes. Les Presages, 1936 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Photographs: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Prince Igor, 1941 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Photographs: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. St. Francis, 1938-1940; 1941-1942 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Photographs: Original Ballet Russes. Scheherezade, 1936; 1937 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Photographs: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Seventh Symphony, 1940; 1941 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Photographs: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Swan Lake, 1935-1940 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Photographs: Original Ballet Russes. Les Sylphides, 1936 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Photographs: Original Ballet Russes. Symphonie Fantastique, 1936 | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Photographs: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Tricorne, 1938 | |||||||||
| 1 | 20-21 | Photographs: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo/Original Ballet Russes. Unidentified | |||||||||
| 1 | 22 | Photographs, Operatic: Lazzari, Virgilio, undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 23 | Photographs, Operatic: Pinza, Ezio, undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 24 | Photographs, Personal, 1961-1964 and undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 25 | Miscellaneous: Clipping of performance photos published in The Boston Herald, Nov. 22, 1936 | |||||||||
| 1 | 26 | Miscellaneous: Ephemera (Notes on photograph numbers; nametag), 1964-1986 | |||||||||
| 1 | 27 | Miscellaneous: Olshansky Exhibition Poster, University of Chicago, 1939 | |||||||||