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John Franceschina papers
MS 422
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Title: John Franceschina papers
Date (inclusive): circa 1875-2017
Collection Number: MS 422
Creator:
Franceschina, John Charles, 1947-
Extent:
33.90 linear feet
(35 boxes, 2 flat file folders)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: The collection consists of materials from author and theater history scholar John Franceschina relating to three of his publications,
Incidental and Dance Music in the American Theatre from 1786 to 1923,
Hermes Pan: The Man Who Danced with Fred Astaire, and
Ross Alexander: The Life and Death of a Contract Player. His personal musical compositions and plays as well as those of other composers and musicians are also included. Items in
the collection include research files, musical scores, programs, photographs, news clippings, edited and unedited play scripts,
publications, and videos.
Languages: The collection is in English.
This collection is partially processed. Please contact Special Collections & University Archives regarding the availability
of materials for research use.
Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives.
Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission
of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable
rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
[identification of item], [date if possible]. John Franceschina papers (MS 422). Special Collections & University Archives,
University of California, Riverside.
Gifts of John Franceschina, 2018, 2021.
Processed by Serena Rodholm, Student Processing Assistant, 2018.
Processing of the John Franceschina papers was completed by undergraduate students from the University of California, Riverside
as part of the Special Collections & University Archives Backlog Processing Project started in 2015. This project was funded
by the UCR Library and administered by Jessica Geiser, Collections Management Librarian.
The collection consists of materials from author and theater history scholar John Franceschina relating to two of his publications,
Incidental and Dance Music in the American Theatre from 1786 to 1923, and
Hermes Pan: The Man Who Danced with Fred Astaire. Items in the collection include research files, musical scores, programs, photographs, news clippings, publications, and
videos. Much of the material within the Incidental and Dance Music series contains information and sheet music by composer
Rudolph Friml. The series consisting of musical and theatrical compositions houses play scripts, audio/visual recordings of
songs, and sheet music both handwritten and printed. Much of this piece of the collection holds sheet music composed by the
donor Mr. John Franceschina in his work as a professor and musician. Some of the original folders contained notes on which
school the donor used the pieces for or which theaters they were performed at. These notes were placed at the item level.
The collection also includes an unprocessed accrual, containing more original compositions, scores, and arrangements by Franceschina,
and research materials from Franceschina's book
Ross Alexander: The Life and Death of a Contract Player. Those research materials include articles and reviews, screenplays and playscripts, and film stills related to the career
of Alexander, a theater and film actor during the 1920s and 1930s.
Books, DVDs, and VHS tapes apart of the original collection are cataloged in UCR's Special Collections. Any folders with a
bracket were provided by the finding aid author and not the creator.
The collection is arranged into four series as follows:
- Series 1. Incidental and dance music, circa 1875-2017
- Series 2. Hermes Pan, circa 1882-2011
- Series 3. Musical and theatrical compositions, circa 1929-2012
- Series 4. Unprocessed Accrual, circa 1930-2000
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Alexander, Ross, 1907-1937
Astaire, Fred
Pan, Hermes, 1905-1990
Rogers, Ginger, 1911-1995
Arrangers (Musicians)
Choreographers
Choreography
Composers
Dance
Dance music -- United States
Incidental music
Motion picture actors and actresses
Musical films
Musicals
Musicals -- Scores
Musicals -- United States -- History and criticism
Biographies (documents)
Diaries
Programs
Publications
Research notes
Scores
Video recordings