WPA Works Progress Administration Puccini La Boheme Libretto 1898 Ruth Kemper

Description: This is one of many oddball items our father acquired in his decades of collecting. It's an early (1898) copy of the libretto for Puccini's La Boheme, which premiered in 1896. Clipped to the front page is a notice stating: "This book has been loaned to the Music Education Division of the New York City WPA Music Project through the courtesy of Miss Ruth Kemper, for reference only, and is not to be taken from this room." Condition is as shown. All pages are present. The two back leaves have separated from the rest of the booklet but are still present. The notice is clipped to the first page by an ancient paper clip, which we have not removed. The first page is coming loose from the staple-binding, but remains attached. Ruth Kemper (1902 – 1985) was director of the WPA Music School Orchestra in 1935. An American violinist, music educator, conductor, and arts administrator, she was executive director of the Turtle Bay Music School from 1956 to 1969. As a young woman, Kemper was a concert violinist based in New York. She debuted new works in the 1920s and 1930s, including compositions by Marion Bauer and Virgil Thomson. Kemper was also known as a conductor and music director. She conducted the Salzburg Orchestra as a young woman. She was founder and director of the New York Cameo Chamber Orchestra. She taught at the Brooklyn Music School Settlement in the 1920s, and at Turtle Bay Music School from the 1930s. Kemper was a founder and president (from 1955 to 1957) of the National Guild of Community Music Schools. She continued teaching violin into the 1970s. The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. It was set up on May 6, 1935, by presidential order, as a key part of the Second New Deal. In one of its most famous projects, Federal Project Number One, the WPA employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. The five projects dedicated to these were the Federal Writers' Project, the Historical Records Survey, the Federal Theatre Project, the Federal Art Project, and the Federal Music Project (to which this item relates). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our father was a bibliophile who collected rare books, letters, and ephemera for more than 60 years. For now and into the foreseeable future, we will be listing rare paper items from his estate. Take a look at all our items for sale. We combine shipping upon request. Please LET US KNOW if you’ve purchased multiple items so we can combine.

Price: 15 USD

Location: Slingerlands, New York

End Time: 2024-09-22T17:00:01.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6 USD