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William Crawford III papers, 1805-2016

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Crawford, William, III, 1932-2013
Title
William Crawford III papers
Dates
1805-2016 (inclusive)
Quantity
9.7 cubic feet (11 boxes)
Collection Number
6152 (Accession No. 6152-001)
Summary
Collection of rare music scores, research, correspondence and other materials from William Crawford III
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

William Crawford III (August 18, 1932-August 13, 2013) was born in New York City to Anne King Weld (1910-1982), of the famed Weld family of Massachusetts, and William Crawford, Jr. (1908-1972), the manager of Boston’s department store Bonwit Teller. Crawford III was educated at The Brunswick School, a private school in Connecticut, where he was immersed in drama and stage performances. Similarly, he was involved in the performing arts at Bard College, from which he received his bachelor’s degree in 1955. He continued singing after he graduated, playing the role of Giorgio Germont in Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata in community productions. After his graduation from Bard, Crawford joined the Navy and worked for a bank. In 1960, he returned to the performing arts and became the general manager of the US division of the Festival of Two Worlds of Spoleto, Italy. Crawford traveled to Italy every summer to help manage the Festival. Crawford worked directly with Gian-Carlo Menotti, the composer who founded the Festival. Menotti trusted Crawford, and his letters were full of discussions of fund-raising, hiring, and arranging trips for the performers, and on occasion, Menotti asked Crawford to check out performers and performances held in New York. In 1968, Crawford left Spoleto and became the Artistic Administrator of the Santa Fe Opera. After two years, Crawford joined the American Ballet Company in 1970 as general administrator until its dissolution in 1971. He then joined the Joffrey Ballet as its general manager in September 1971. He remained at the Joffrey Ballet until the late 1970s, when he became the manager for Peter Schickele (P.D.Q. Bach). In that capacity, he produced P.D.Q. Bach’s Black Forest Bluegrass recording (1989), and was co-editor of The Peter Schickele Rag.

Crawford spent his retirement years stepping up his collecting first-edition scores and compiling a Catalogue of his printed scores.

Crawford had a lifelong passion for opera and was a long-time subscriber to the Metropolitan Opera. Crawford had many close friends in the performing arts, including composers Samuel Barber and Gian-Carlo Menotti, conductor and music director at the Spoleto Festival Thomas Schippers, choreographer Glen Tetley, stage designer Rouben Ter-Arutunian, pianist John Browning, music biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz, and musicologist and antiquarian dealer Nigel Simeone.

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Content Description

Crawford's research notes, correspondence, and invoices related to his collecting activities, as well as his personal and business correspondence.

The collection consists of Crawford’s printed music collection of rare music scores, bibliographic history of the scores, research on each of the items he purchased for his rare music collection, concert programs from performances in which Crawford took part, travel notes, autographed materials, antiquarian catalogs, letters written by Giacomo Puccini, Rossini, and Britten. This collection also includes pictures of his family, the Brunswick School, Bard College, Spoleto Festival, social occasions such as parties, receptions, and leisure time with young dancers, singers, and staff.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Status of creator's copyrights is unknown; restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Users are responsible for researching copyright status before use.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in 4 series with subseries. The materials are in Crawford's original order.

  • Series 1, Biographical, 1952-2014
  • Series 2, Rare Collection, 1805-2016
  • Series 3, Correspondence/clippings, 1904-2013
  • Series 4, Photographs, circa 1948-2010

Acquisition Information

These materials were part of a testamentary gift to the University of Washington Music Library along with 720 rare classical music scores. 2014-02-12

Separated Materials

Material Described Separately:

This collection was removed from the William Crawford III Music Collection which consists of 720 rare classical music scores that are individually cataloged and housed in Special Collections.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 


2017 (Last modified: 1/5/2024)

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