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).

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.

9 manuscript boxes, 4 oversize boxes (9.6 Linear Feet)

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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.