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Guide to the Bessie Bartlett Frankel Papers
d1959.2
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Title: Bessie Bartlett Frankel Papers
Creator:
Frankel, Bessie Bartlett
Dates: 1854-1972
Extent: 16 boxes
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library.
1090 Columbia Avenue
Claremont, California 91711
Abstract: Bessie Herbert (Bartlett) Frankel was a founder of the California Federation of Music Clubs and established the Chamber of
Music Series at Scripps College. She was also active in various music organizations in Southern California, such as the Friday
Morning Club and Young People Concerts and a founder of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hollywood Community
Chorus. The collection consists of photographs, music, and scrapbooks.
Collection Number: d1959.2
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English
Physical Location: Ella Strong Denison Library, Scripps College, Claremont University Consortium.
This collection is open for research with permission from Ella Strong Denison Library staff.
Property rights reside with Scripps College. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact Ella Strong Denison
Library staff.
[Identification of item], Bessie Bartlett Frankel Papers. Ella Strong Denison Library, Scripps College, Claremont, California.
Gift of Bessie Bartlett Frankel, 1959 or 1967.
Processed by Jennifer Bicknell for Archival Studies 311, Claremont Graduate University, Spring 2009.
No addition to the collection is anticipated.
Biography of Bessie Bartlett Frankel
Bessie Bartlett Frankel was born in an unknown year. At home she studied voice, piano and composition and dramatics at the
Cumnock School. In 1909, she went to New York to study voice with David Bispham and Herbert Witherspoon. Later she underwent
two years of study in Europe, specifically oratorio in England and opera in Italy under Carlo Sbastaino. In 1912 she married
Cecil Frankel, an insurance executive associated with Equitable Life and also known to be an accomplished cellist. Mrs. Frankel
went on to become a music composer, vocalist, music patron, business executive, and dramatic narrator.
Her father, Albert Griffith Bartlett, established the Bartlett Music Store, which later became the Southern California Music
Company. Her father brought to Los Angeles such well-known musicians as, Adelina Patti, Rosenthal and de Pachmann. Today the
Pantages Theater stands where the Bartlett Family's home used to be.
Throughout her life Bessie Frankel was active in the Arts and was a member of such groups as, the Friday Morning Club, the
Women's Committee for the Philharmonic Orchestra of Los Angeles, Young Peoples' Concerts, and many others. She founded the
California Federation of Music Clubs and became Vice-President of the National Federation of Music Clubs. She also instituted
the Hollywood Community Chorus and in memory of her father, Mrs. Frankel founded the Bartlett-Frankel String Quartet. Having
established the Chamber of Music Series at Scripps College, Bessie Bartlett Frankel was made an honorary alumna of the College
in 1931. She died in 1959. In her will she left a sizeable gift to Scripps College, which was used to build the Bessie Bartlett
Frankel and Cecil Frankel Hall.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
Collection contains scrapbooks, photographs, notebooks, postcards, correspondence, music, compositions, and ephemera related
to her travels abroad and her career as a musician, composer, and philanthropic work in the world of music.
Series 1 Notebooks, Albums, and Scrapbooks
Series 2 Publications
Series 3 Blank Postcards
Series 4 Music
Series 5 Photographs
Series 6 Education and Philanthropic Work
Bessie Herbert Frankel Papers, 1905-1959, (Collection 447). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library,
UCLA. http://www.oac.cdlib.org/data/13030/1h/kt0v19q11h/files/kt0v19q11h.pdf
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection
Frankel, Bessie Bartlett
music
Women's studies
Western Americana -- 1900-1999
musical scores
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