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John Franceschina papers
MS 422  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Processing History
  • Collection Scope and Contents
  • Collection Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: John Franceschina papers
    Date (inclusive): circa 1875-2017
    Collection Number: MS 422
    Creator: Franceschina, John Charles, 1947-
    Extent: 38.52 linear feet (41 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 four of his publications, Incidental and Dance Music in the American Theatre from 1786 to 1923, Hermes Pan: The Man Who Danced with Fred Astaire, Ross Alexander: The Life and Death of a Contract Player, and The Musical Theatre of Charles Dibdin. 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.

    Access

    This collection is partially processed. Please contact Special Collections & University Archives regarding the availability of materials for research use.

    Publication Rights

    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.

    Preferred Citation

    [identification of item], [date if possible]. John Franceschina papers (MS 422). Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.

    Acquisition Information

    Gifts of John Franceschina, 2018, 2021, 2023.

    Processing History

    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.

    Collection Scope and Contents

    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 unprocessed accruals, containing more original compositions, scores, and arrangements by Franceschina, and research materials from Franceschina's books Ross Alexander: The Life and Death of a Contract Player, and The Musical Theatre of Charles Dibdin. Those research materials include articles and reviews, screenplays, scripts, scores, notes, and drafts of Franceschina's works.
    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.

    Collection Arrangement

    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 accruals, circa 1750-2023

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

    Subjects

    Alexander, Ross, 1907-1937
    Astaire, Fred
    Dibdin, Charles, 1745-1814
    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)

    Genres and Forms of Materials

    Diaries
    Programs
    Publications
    Research notes
    Scores
    Video recordings