Josephine Schwarz Papers

The Josephine Schwarz Papers is a collection of the personal correspondence, photographs, writings, and memorabilia of Josephine and, to a lesser extent, the personal papers of her sister, Hermene Schwarz. The collection encompasses a wide range of topics including the Schwarz School of Dance, the Dayton Ballet, correspondence concerning dance and ballet related issues, personal correspondence with family, friends, and students, her journals, diaries and scrapbooks, ballet and family photographs, and memorabilia. Researchers should be aware that more detailed information concerning the Dayton Ballet Company is available in MS-48.

Series I consists of records related to the operation of the Schwarz School of Dance. Included in this series are lecture notes from class sessions, lectures from special summer school sessions, program and recital information, and scripts for a number of ballets. The records provide information about the content of the class instruction, as well as the progression of classes and students. Span dates are 1923 to 1990.

Series II is an eclectic collection of papers related to the Dayton Ballet Company. Included in this series is the constitution and by-laws of the Experimental Group for Young Dancers, the forerunner of the Dayton Ballet Company. Also included are the articles of incorporation for the Dayton Dancers Endowment Fund, a variety of newspaper articles about the Dayton Ballet, and a number of newsletters and programs related to the Dayton Ballet and other ballet companies. As noted previously, more extensive information about the Dayton Ballet Company can be found in MS-48.

Series III is the most extensive of the Josephine Schwarz Papers. Series III contains the correspondence of Josephine Schwarz from 1925 to 2003. The series is divided into four subseries.

Subseries IIIA contains correspondence related to the Dayton Ballet Company and the Schwarz School of Dance. In this subseries researchers will find Miss Schwarz's correspondence with ballet schools and societies, magazine editors, and book publishers. Within this correspondence there is also information about proposed ballets, performance schedules, and repertoire. Of particular interest are her notes concerning her 1983 testimony before Congress for the American Arts Alliance. This subseries also contains letters of commendation praising Dayton Ballet Company performances. The span dates for this subseries is 1920 to 1998.

Subseries IIIB contains personal correspondence received and sent to Miss Schwarz's students and friends. Much of the correspondence relates to the placement and progress of Dayton dancers in ballet companies throughout the United States and overseas. The span dates for this subseries is 1927 to 2000.

Subseries IIIC contains the family correspondence of the Schwarz family and relatives. A major part of the subseries is Miss Schwarz's letters to family members as she traveled around the United States and overseas. Of particular interest are her 1925 to 1927 letters from Chicago while she was attending the Adolph Bohm School of Dance, her 1929 to 1930 letters from Europe, and her 1932 to 1936 letters from New York when she attended the School of American Ballet. Also included in this subseries are letters from brothers, nieces and nephews, and a variety of cousins. Of particular interest are letters from Josephine's brother, Milton, while he was overseas during World War II, and letters from her other brother, Gustave or "Gus," from his home in Wyoming. The span dates for this subseries are 1925 to 2000.

Subseries IIID contains general correspondence received and sent by Josephine primarily during the 1990s. The correspondence is divided by year beginning in 1991 and ending in 2003.

Series IV contains a variety of personal and family papers spanning a period beginning in 1902 and ending in 1999. Included are such items as the Josephine's birth certificate, estate files of Joseph and Hannah Schwarz, the trust agreement of Josephine and Hermene Schwarz, and a variety of newspaper and magazine clippings. Also included is the citation for Josephine's honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Dayton and newspaper clippings concerning her honorary Doctor of Humanities degree received from Wright State University in 1982. Finally, included in this series are 27 years of "Weekly Minders" detailing her daily schedule of appointments. The "Weekly Minders" begin in 1972 and end in 1999.

Series V contains a variety of published and unpublished materials written by Josephine Schwarz. Miss Schwarz wrote a variety of articles about dance, particularly as it relates to children. Of particular note are her "Primer for Parents," "That Grand Institution: The Annual Dance Recital," and "Three Keys for Building Good Dancers," which were published in Dance Magazine. Also contained in this series are two books she was working on that were never published-"A History of Dance for Children" and an untitled work about dance. Finally, Miss Schwarz wrote a number of ballets. Included in this series is background information on two ballets written, or being written, by Miss Schwarz. The first, "I Watched Myself Grow Up" was completed in the early 1950s and first performed in 1953. The second, "American Legends and Traditions," was never completed. Span dates for this series are 1927 to 1990.

Series VI includes information concerning Miss Schwarz's membership on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Dance Advisory Panel. In this series researchers will find her correspondence with other members of the panel between 1975 and 1981, as well as copies of dance related grants written to the NEA. Miss Schwarz served on the Dance Advisory Panel in 1978-1979. Part of her duties was to review grant requests and make recommendations for funding.

Series VII contains the personal papers of Hermene Schwarz. Included in this series are her estate records, letters she wrote to her family, and a variety of photographs. Noteworthy is a section on her World War II experience as a Red Cross worker in Europe. Included in this section are her letters home, photographs of Hermene in her Red Cross uniform, and photographs of her co-workers. Finally, included in this series is a section concerning a commemorative program, "Remembrances of Miss Hermene," sponsored by Josephine in 1987, after Hermene's death in 1986. The span dates on this series are 1925 to 1987.

Series VIII contains thirteen scrapbooks. Included are several scrapbooks about the Schwarz family, Hermene's World War II scrapbook, two scrapbooks containing articles and programs pertaining to the Schwarz School of Dance, and several scrapbooks about dance in general. These scrapbooks span the period 1920 to 1990.

Series IX consists of journals and diaries written primarily by Josephine Schwarz. Miss Schwarz wrote her first diary in 1916 and her last in 1981. Most of the journals and diaries document Josephine's travels in South America, Europe, and within the United States. Also included are several travel diaries written by Hermene, a remembrance written by her mother of her mother's Lindeman years, and the travel diary of several cousins who traveled west in 1944-1945.

Series X consists of audio and visual material and is divided into four subseries. Subseries XA contains over 1400 photographs grouped into three areas. The first area documents performances of the Dayton Ballet Company and the Schwarz School of Dance. The second area contains photographs of family and friends. The last area contains photographs of Josephine's and Hermene's travels in the United States and overseas. Subseries XB contains a variety of cassette tapes documenting Dayton Ballet performances and a lecture by Miss Schwarz to the University of Southwest Louisiana. Of particular note is a recording of a special tribute to "Miss Jo." Also included in this subseries is a reel-to-reel tape of a "No Words-Cut Version" of "I Watched Myself Grow Up." Subseries XC contains a variety of VHS tapes concerning ballet and performances of the Dayton Ballet Company. Also included are three 16MM films that have been converted to VHS tape. Finally, Subseries XD contains fourteen phonograph records inscribed with performances of the Dayton Ballet Company during the 1950s. On several researchers will hear the voice of Josephine Schwarz as the narrator.

Finally, Series XI contains memorabilia related to Josephine Schwarz and the Schwarz family. Included are several autograph books and several guest books documenting special occasions. Of particular note are the honorary doctoral hoods Miss Schwarz received from the University of Dayton and Wright State University, as well as a child's dance costume from the Schwarz School of Dance. Also, of note, is the last box in the collection containing memorial service materials and information, newspaper clippings, and letters of condolences after Josephine's death in 2004.