Register of the Ernest Schelling papers
Finding aid prepared by Hoover Institution Library and Archives Staff
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2013, 2016
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Ernest Schelling papers
Date (inclusive): 1867-1994
Collection Number: 2012C39
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In English, French, and German
Physical Description:
9 manuscript boxes, 4 oversize boxes
(9.6 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The Ernest Schelling papers largely consist of printed matter, photographs, and memorabilia, much of it relating to Schelling's
service as a major in the United States Army during World War I and as an assistant military attaché in Switzerland during
and immediately after that war. The papers also contain materials pertaining to Schelling's long career as a classical pianist
and conductor, and especially to his friendship with the Polish musician and statesman, Ignace (Ignacy) Paderewski. There
is some personal correspondence in the collection, as well as correspondence belonging to Lucie (Lucy) Schelling (Ernest Schelling's
first wife) and Helen "Peggy" Schelling (his second wife and widow).
Creator:
Schelling, Ernest, 1876-1939
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
Boxes 5-6 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials
must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection,
they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2012 from the family of Schelling's second wife, Helen "Peggy" Marshall,
later Mrs. Helen Scholz, with incremental material received later.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Ernest Schelling papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
Known affectionately by his youngest fans as "Uncle Ernest," Ernest Schelling was an American pianist and composer, the founder
and for sixteen years the conductor of the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Young People's concerts until his untimely death
in 1939. Born in New Jersey in 1876 to a Swiss father and an English mother, Schelling was a child prodigy. His father, Dr.
Felix Schelling, a physician and a musician, was his first teacher. Ernest made his piano debut at the age of four-and-a-half
at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia; at the age of seven, he entered the Paris Conservatory, the youngest pupil ever accepted.
In 1896, Ignace Paderewski accepted the young American as his student. Schelling visited Paderewski during the summer months
in Zakopane, high in the Tatra Mountains of southern Poland, as well as in the Paderewskis' palatial villa of Riond-Bosson
in Morges, above Lake Geneva. Schelling's 1900 London and 1905 New York debuts brought him musical acclaim and fame, in no
small measure a tribute to Paderewski. The mentorship soon turned into a friendship that lasted a lifetime. Schelling had
a summer home on Lake Geneva, only a few miles from the Paderewskis', and they spent much time together. In fact, Schelling
and his wife were the organizers of the great pageant in honor of Paderewski on his name day of July 31, 1914, the eve of
the outbreak of World War I, an event movingly described in Paderewski's own memoirs.
The tragic course of World War I on the continent he considered his second homeland and his close association with Paderewski,
who soon became the leader of humanitarian relief and political information work on behalf of Poland in Allied Europe and
in the United States, were important factors in Ernest Schelling's decision to become an active participant. The event that
likely influenced his decision to enlist was the sinking of the Sussex in the English Channel by a German U-boat. Among the
eighty passengers who died were friends of both Schelling and Paderewski, the renowned Spanish pianist and composer Enrique
Granados and his wife, Amparo, orphaning six children. In the spring of 1917, Schelling took a leave from his musical career
and joined the US Army. With his intimate knowledge of European cultures and fluency in several languages, he was sent to
the Army War College and, after completing a crash course, was given a captain's commission and assigned to the military intelligence
branch of the General Staff. From September 1917 until October 1919, Schelling served as assistant military attaché at the
American Legation in Bern, Switzerland. Much of what Schelling did involved translation and analysis, but he also provided
some services for the French government, earning him the French Legion of Honor. Schelling advanced to the rank of major while
still in Europe, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal after the war. Immediately after the November 1918 armistice,
he was sent by the Army into German-occupied area to monitor troop withdrawal and by the American Red Cross to assist with
the release and repatriation of American prisoners and civilians. He then was sent into Poland to liaison with his old friend,
Ignace Paderewski, now the prime minister of the newly reestablished Polish state. Schelling's work in Poland earned him one
of Poland's highest decorations, the Order of Polonia Restituta.
| 1876 July 26 |
Born, Belvedere, New Jersey |
| 1888 |
Began studying piano with Ignace Paderewski |
| 1917 |
Commissioned as major in the United States Army |
| 1917-1919 |
Served as assistant military attaché, American Legation, Berne, Switzerland |
| 1924-1939 |
Conductor, Young People's Concerts of the New York Philharmonic Symphonic Society |
| 1936-1938 |
Music director, Baltimore Symphony |
| 1939 |
Died |
Scope and Content of Collection
The Ernest Schelling papers largely consist of printed matter, photographs, and memorabilia, much of it relating to Schelling's
service as a major in the United States Army during World War I and as an assistant military attaché in Switzerland during
and immediately after that war. The World War I materials include copies of American government publications relating to military
affairs, clippings, serial issues, and numerous photographs depicting soldiers of the American Expeditionary Forces in action
in France and Germany. There are also copies of proclamations issued by the German military in occupied Belgium. In addition,
the papers contain Schelling's translation of one volume of the official German history of World War I. Official and personal
correspondence, memoranda, reports, printed matter, and other materials relating to Schelling's service as an assistant military
attaché can also be found in the Incremental Materials (Boxes 8-13).
Also included in the collection are materials pertaining to Schelling's long career as a classical pianist and conductor,
and especially to his friendship with the Polish musician and statesman, Ignace (Ignacy) Paderewski. There are photographs
of Paderewski, including ones from his childhood, as well as programs relating to concert performances by Paderewski.
There is also some personal correspondence in the collection, as well as correspondence belonging to Lucie (Lucy) Schelling
(Ernest Schelling's first wife) and Helen "Peggy" Schelling (his second wife and widow). The collection also contains significant
memorabilia, including various awards received by Schelling, as well as his World War I army uniform.
Related Archival Materials note
Ernest Schelling collection, International Piano Archives, University of Maryland
Separated Materials
Orders, Decorations and Insignia, Military and Civil; With the History and Romance of Their Origin and a Full Description
of Each
, Robert Wyllie, 1921, given to Hoover Library.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns
Military intelligence -- United States
Paderewski, Ignace Jan, 1860-1941
United States. Army
Biographical File
1904-1937
box 1, folder 2
Letters of appointment as major in the U.S. Army
1918-1937
box 1, folder 3
Lists of awards and commissions
1920-1937
box 1, folder 4
Passport and visas
1904-1919
box 1, folder 5
Clippings relating to World War I and European politics
1918
box 1, folder 7
Riaño y Gayangos, Juan
1916-1917
box 1, folder 8
University of Pennsylvania (Edward W. Mumford, Josiah H. Penniman)
1928-1929
Declassified U.S. Government Publications
1917
box 1, folder 13
U.S. State Department
1917
box 1, folder 14
Leaflets from Germany, Poland, and Switzerland
1918-1920
box 1, folder 15
4 prints depicting Ernest Schelling in military uniform
1920
box 1, folder 16
4 prints depicting Ernest Schelling and Allied military attachés in Berne, Switzerland
1920
box 1, folder 17
1 print depicting Ernest Schelling and Allied military attachés in Berne, Switzerland
1920
box 1, folder 18
1 print depicting Ernest Schelling and Ignace (Ignacy) Paderewski at ceremony when Schelling was awarded the Distinguished
Service Medal
1923
box 1, folder 19
1 print depicting Ernest Schelling
1930
box 1, folder 20
6 prints depicting Ernest Schelling and Ignace Paderewski
1935
box 2, folder 1
7 reproductions depicting Ignace Paderewski and his family
1867-1875
box 2, folder 2
1 print and 2 reproductions depicting Ignace Paderewski
1890-1905
box 2, folder 3
11 prints depicting Ignace Paderewski and his family
1890-1905
box 2, folder 4
1 print depicting an artist's sketch of Ignace Paderewski
1891
box 2, folder 5
1 print and 1 reproduction depicting Ignace Paderewski
1900
box 2, folder 6
3 prints and 1 reproduction depicting Ignace Paderewski
1920
box 2, folder 7
1 print depicting a sculpture of Ignace Paderewski
1923
box 2, folder 8
1 print depicting a portrait of Ignace Paderewski
1930
box 2, folder 9
2 prints depicting Ignace Paderewski
1935
box 2, folder 10
6 prints depicting Ignace Paderewski
1935-1940
box 2, folder 11
3 prints depicting Ignace Paderewski and Eleanor Roosevelt
1941
box 2, folder 12
1 print depicting Alfred Paderewski
1899
box 2, folder 13
1 signed print depicting Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
1936
box 2, folder 14
30 prints of U.S. Army Signal Corps photographs depicting American soliders during World War I
1918
box 2, folder 15
29 prints of U.S. Army Signal Corps photographs depicting American soldiers during World War I
1918
box 2, folder 16
2 prints of U.S. Army Signal Corps photographs depicting women volunteers in France
1918
box 2, folder 17
12 prints of U.S. Army Signal Corps photographs depicting Allied military airplanes
1918
box 2, folder 18
3 prints depicting Lieutenant Fletcher
1918
box 2, folder 19
34 prints depicting soldiers of the Swiss army
1918
box 2, folder 20
1 print depicting a collection of weapons and armor belonging to Ernest Schelling
1930
box 3, folder 1
Proclamations issued by the German military in occupied Belgium
1914-1915
box 3, folder 2
Programs relating to concert recitals by Ignace Paderewski
1915-1942
box 3, folder 3-6
Translation by Ernest Schelling of official history of the German army in World War I,
Der Weltkrieg 1914 bis 1918, volume II
1926
box 3, folder 7
Helen "Peggy" Schelling correspondence file
1940-1994
box 3, folder 8
Lucie (Lucy) Schelling correspondence file
1924
Oversize Materials
1914-1936
box 4, folder 1
Blueprints and description of German trenches
1915
box 4, folder 2
Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur
1919
box 4, folder 2
Order Odrodzenia Polski, Polonia Restituta
1925
box 4, folder 2
Ordre du Saint-Sépulcre Orthodoxe
1929
box 4, folder 2
Distinguished Service Medal
1934
box 4, folder 2
Credentials as delegate to International Theater Congress
1936
box 4, folder 3
Letter of appointment from the U.S. Army
1918
box 4, folder 4
Maps of France, Germany, and the United States
1917-1918
box 4, folder 5
Photograph depicting Ernest Schelling at a military ceremony
1921
box 4, folder 6
Print of President Taft
1913
Scope and Contents note
Includes an inscription by Taft: "For Mr. Ernest Schelling with grateful appreciation of the wonderful music drawn from the
piano he gave us at the White House February 7th 1913."
box 4, folder 7
Print of portrait of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling (German philosopher)
undated
box 4, folder 8
Poster insert from German newspaper
1917
box 4, folder 9
Proclamations issued by the German army in Belgium and France
1914-1916
box 4, folder 10
Basler Nachrichten
1917 December 19
box 4, folder 10
Berliner Ilustrirte Zeitung
1917 November 25
box 4, folder 10
Der Bund
1918 November 1 - December 19
box 4, folder 10
L'Écho de Grèce
1918 May 23
box 4, folder 10
La Feuille
1918 January 21 - April 30
box 4, folder 10
Frankfurter Zeitung
1914 September 15
box 4, folder 10
Gazette de Laussanne
1914 December 13
box 4, folder 10
Illustrirte Zeitung
1917 December 13
box 4, folder 10
Impartial Suisse
1918 December 21 - 1919 January 4
box 4, folder 11
Lustigen Blätter, No. 37
1914
box 4, folder 11
Nachrichtenblatt für Balten
1919 March 26 - April 3
box 4, folder 11
La Nation
1918 February 24 - March 9
box 4, folder 11
Neue Zeitung
1919 February 22
box 4, folder 11
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
1917 December 16
box 4, folder 11
Neuer Freier Aargauer
1917 December 28
box 4, folder 11
Schweizer Illustrierte Zeitung
1918 March 30
box 4, folder 11
Stimmen aus dem Osten
1919 March 19-26
box 4, folder 12
La Suisse
1918 November 9
box 4, folder 12
Über Land und Meer, No. 49
1914
box 4, folder 12
Der Welt Spiegel
1914 September 13
box 4, folder 12
Die wirtschaftliche Demobilmachung
1919 February 8-9
box 4, folder 12
Die Woche
1914 September 12
box 5
Framed display of medals awarded to Ernest Schelling
1919-1934
Scope and Contents note
Includes the Ordre National de la Légion d'honneur; the Order Odrodzenia Polski, Polonia Restituta; the Ordre du Saint-Sépulcre
Orthodoxe; and the Distinguished Service Medal.
Access
Box 5 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 6
U.S. Army cap worn by Ernest Schelling
1918
Access
Box 6 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 6
U.S. Army jacket worn by Ernest Schelling
1918
Access
Box 6 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 6
U.S. Army patches
1918-1920
Access
Box 6 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 6
U.S. Army pins and insignia
1918-1920
Access
Box 6 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 6
Légion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor) medal and case
1918
Access
Box 6 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 6
Order of Polonia Restituta case
undated
Access
Box 6 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 6
Pair of stirrups and medals
1918
Access
Box 6 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 5
Medals and pins
Access
Box 5 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box 7, folder 1
Brochures relating to Ignace Paderewski
1916-1928
box 7, folder 2
Infantry Drill Regulations, United States Army
1911
box 7, folder 3
Regulations of the Army of the United States
1917
box 7, folder 4
Géographie des principales puissances du monde
1918
box 7, folder 5
Gore, James Howard,
American Legionnaires of France
1920
box 7, folder 6
To Ignace Paderewski, Artist, Patriot, Humanitarian
1928
Pamphlets relating to American and German military policy
1917
Incremental Materials
1899-1991
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, printed matter, newspaper clippings, ephemera, address books, notebooks, passports, and
photographs largely relating to Schelling's time as an assistant military attaché in Switzerland after World War I and his
friendship with Ignace Paderewski, arranged alphabetically by subject or physical form. See "Key to military file" (Box 8,
folder 1) for more information about the organization of the materials.
box 8, folder 1
Key to military file
undated
Scope and Contents note
Handwritten and typed notes provided by a relative of Schelling's, detailing the organization of Schelling's papers. There
is an item-level index indicating which items were found together under Schelling's original organizational scheme and then
a cross-reference indicating which descriptive headings the items were put under. These latter headings are what were used
as the folder titles for the Military file of the Incremental Materials, and any additional notes were added as Scope and
Content notes, in quotation marks.
box 8, folder 3
Agents
1918-1919, undated
box 8, folder 4
Biographical material
1917-1939
Scope and Contents note
Includes military identity cards, diplomatic passes and passports, certificates, travel documents, and summaries of Schelling's
military activities/rankings and decorations.
box 8, folder 5-6
Bolshevism
1918-1919, undated
box 8, folder 8-9
Official
1914-1934
Scope and Contents note
From folders labeled "Major Schelling - Official," "Major Schelling - Official - Personal," and "Poland." Largely consists
of correspondence and orders directly relating to Schelling's military duties.
box 9, folder 1
Official (continued)
1914-1934
box 9, folder 2-3
Unofficial
1912-1935
Scope and Contents note
From folder labeled "Military - Unofficial letters to Major Schelling." Largely consists of correspondence received by Schelling
during his military career or from military colleagues unrelated to his duties or of a more personal nature.
box 9, folder 4-5
General information on intelligence
1917-1924, 1954
box 10, folder 1-2
Lists
1919, undated
Scope and Contents note
"Lists of officials - Berne; official address book; M.A. ball - June 26, 1919."
box 10, folder 4
Military Intelligence Reserve
1920-1939
box 10, folder 5
Military Intelligence resumé
1923
undated
Scope and Contents note
"Report of military attaché's office."
box 10, folder 6
Military Order of the World War
1926-1938
box 10, folder 7
Miscellaneous
1916-1923, 1938, 1963
box 10, folder 8
Photographs of friends and colleagues
1919-1920, undated
Scope and Contents note
Original folder included handwritten notation: "See article,
Musical Courier, April 14, 1921."
box 10, folder 9
Reports re Austria
1918
Scope and Contents note
"1 by Major Schelling."
box 10, folder 10
Reports re Bulgaria and Turkey
1918
Scope and Contents note
"1 by Major Schelling."
box 10, folder 11
Reports re France
1914, 1918
box 10, folder 12
Reports re Germany
1918-1920
Scope and Contents note
"(?) several by Major Schelling."
box 11, folder 1
Reports re Germany (continued)
1918-1920
box 11, folder 3
Reports re Poland, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, Lithuania
1918, undated
box 11, folder 4
Reports re prisoners
1914-1919
box 11, folder 5
Reports re Russia
1917-1918
box 11, folder 6
Reports re Switzerland
1917-1919
Scope and Contents note
"At least 6 by Major Schelling."
box 11, folder 7
Reports re United States
1917-1921
box 11, folder 8
Reserve Officers Association
1920-1938
Scope and Contents note
"Includes 61st Cavalry Division."
box 11, folder 9-10
Address books and notebooks
undated
Paderewski, Ignace (Ignacy)
1899-1965
box 12, folder 1-4
Between the Schellings (Ernest, Lucie, Helen) and Paderewski/Paderewska
1899-1941
Scope and Contents note
Letters, notes, cables, telegrams, and postcards. With two exceptions, the postcards (1902-1904) are addressed to Madame [Helena]
Paderewska from Ernest Schelling. The other two are addressed to Madame Jaszowska, Paderewska's aunt.
Between Ernest Schelling and others re Paderewski
box 12, folder 6
Re "Memoirs" (Mary Lawton book)
1929, 1938-1940
box 12, folder 7
Re newspaper articles
1915-1934
Scope and Contents note
The majority of the material relates to a
Saturday Evening Post article, 7 April 1934, which disparaged Paderewski.
box 12, folder 8
Re Paderewski week (17-23 January 1937) and proposed Paderewski Fund
1936-1940
box 12, folder 9
Re Paso Robles ranch
1921, undated
box 12, folder 10
Strakacz, Sylwin
1931-1939
box 12, folder 11
Between Helen "Peggy" Schelling and others re Paderewski
1940-1965
box 12, folder 12
Between Lucie (Lucy) Schelling and others re Paderewski
1920-1934
Scope and Contents note
Includes RSVPs (acceptances and regrets) to 20 February 1921 reception for Paderewski at the Colony Club.
box 13, folder 1
Funeral
1941, 1946, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes handwritten notes regarding annoucement of funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery in 1941, invitation to
a fifth anniversary mass in 1946, and a list of friends.
box 13, folder 2
Miscellaneous
1901-1942, undated
Scope and Contents note
Notes, receipts, press release, and summaries of information relating to Paderewski, Schelling, and other topics.
box 13, folder 3
Photographs
1930s, undated
Scope and Contents note
Largely photographs of Paderewski and Schelling, but some group shots of Paderewski in domestic setting with others are included
as well. See also: Boxes 1-2.
box 13, folder 4
Tributes (by Schelling)
1915-1940, undated
box 13, folder 5
Photographs of Schelling (4 prints)
undated
Scope and Contents note
See also: Boxes 1-2.
box 13, folder 6
Schelling, Helen "Peggy,"
1939-1991
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, notes, printed matter, press release, and program relating to Schelling and his legacy, the military, and
Paderewski, received or collected by Schelling's second wife, Helen.
box 13, folder 7-8
Schelling, Lucie (Lucy)
1914-1938
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, notes, and passports of Schelling's first wife, Lucie, as well as materials relating to her death and funeral.
box 13, folder 9
Miscellaneous
1930, 1960, undated
Scope and Contents note
Consists of a cartoon, undated; a typescript draft of a concert program, undated; a zeppelin ticket, 1930; and a flyer for
a piano recital by Claudette Sorel, 1960.
box 13, folder 10-11
Aubert, Maître,
Bolshevism's Terrible Record: An Indictment, issued under the auspices of the Entente Internationale contre le IIIe Internationale
1924
box 13, folder 10-11
Flynn, John T.,
The Road Ahead: America's Creeping Revolution
1949
box 13, folder 10-11
Herzig & McLean, Inc., General Pershing's Story of the American Army in France
1919
Scope and Contents note
Reprints General Pershing's 20 November 1918 report to the Secretary of War, as well as some World War I poetry.
box 13, folder 10-11
Novik, Dmitri,
Théodore Aubert et Son Oeuvre: Le Mouvement International Contre le Bolchévisme, édition des Amis de l'Entente Internationale contre la IIIe Internationale
1932
box 13, folder 10-11
Otto Ulbrich Co.,
Catalogue of United States Martial Short Arms
1939
box 13, folder 12
Tributes
1940, 1956
Scope and Contents note
Related to Schelling's support of music and his fellow musicians, particularly through the Musicians Emergency Fund.
Declassified U.S. Government Records
1918, 1920, undated
Scope and Contents note
Formerly security-classified records of the U.S. government, released in full or in part. Arranged chronologically by date
of release by Hoover, thereunder chronologically by date of creation.
box 13, folder 13
2016 January release of records
1918, 1920, undated
Scope and Contents note
Consists of documents relating to Schelling's work as an assistant military attaché in Berne, Switzerland after World War
I:
"Synposis of Cables Between the American Minister, Berne, Switzerland, and the State Department, with Reference to McN.,"
undated.
Memorandum re the Czech delegation in Switzerland, undated.
Letter from Schelling to Colonel Van Deman, Chielf Intelligence Section, War College, Washington D.C., 2 March 1918.
"The Situation in Germany: An Interview with a German Officer in the Würtemberg Infantry (Engineer Corps), a Mining Engineer,"
25 May 1920.
