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Olcott-Bickford (Vahdah) Collection
IGRA.VOB
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Vahdah Olcott-Bickford Collection
Creator:
Olcott-Bickford, Vahdah, 1885-1980
Identifier/Call Number: IGRA.VOB
Extent:
88.71 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1800-2008
Date (bulk): 1923-1979
Abstract: Vahdah Olcott-Bickford, née Ethel
Lucretia Olcott, was an professional teacher of the Guitar, most well known for her
influential
Guitar
Method, Op. 25, and the
Advanced
Course
, Op. 116. She also wrote numerous articles about the guitar, and
corresponded with other musicians and enthusiasts about the instrument throughout her long
career. The
Vahdah Olcott-Bickford Collection documents
Olcott-Bickford's professional life as a classical guitarist, an avid member of various
organizations in the United States, her work with guitarists around the world, and her
personal life. The collection includes scores, letters, photographs, newspaper clippings,
receipts, articles, lecture notes, and guest books, and dates from 1874-1980.
Language of Material:
English,
French,
German,
Spanish; Castilian,
Italian,
Portuguese
Ethel Lucretia Olcott was born on October 17, 1885 in Norwalk, Ohio. She was three years
old when she and her parents moved to Los Angeles, California. At the age of eight she
started guitar lessons with George Lindsay, a well-known classic guitarist. From 1903-1904
she lived in Berkeley with Manuel Y. Ferrer, where she expanded her repertoire to include
European guitar techniques. In 1914 she moved to New York where she gave concerts and
lessons, and assisted Philip J. Bone with the publication of his book
The Guitar and Mandolin.
She married Myron Bickford (Zarh), a well-known mandolinist and astrology enthusiast, in
1915. Once married, they both changed their names to Vahdah and Zarh Bickford. Vahdah was
well known in the world of astrology. Astrological enthusiasts from various parts of the
country would request astrology readings from her.
When she returned to Los Angeles in 1923, Vahdah, along with other local guitarists,
started the American Guitar Society (AGS), then known as the Los Angeles Guitar Society. She
was a major contributor to the AGS and
The Crescendo
magazine, and was the secretary and Musical Director of the AGS for many
years. As secretary she would receive personal and professional correspondence from all over
the world. As a passionate contributor of AGS, Olcott-Bickford and her husband combined
their names to make the Zarvah Publishing Company. Zarvah Publishing Company worked together
with AGS to provide new and renewing members with published music every year.
An avid teacher of the Guitar, Olcott-Bickford is well known for her influential
Guitar
Method, Op. 25, and the
Advanced
Course
, Op. 116. Olcott-Bickford also wrote numerous articles about the guitar, and
corresponded with other musicians and enthusiasts about the instrument.
She continued to live in Los Angeles, and when Zarh Bickford passed away in 1961, she was
devastated. She later remarried Robert Revere, once again changing her name to Vahdah
Olcott-Bickford Revere. Olcott-Bickford played guitar, and was associated with the AGS and
the Astrological Society until her death in 1980. Over the course of her long and prominent
career, her work influenced guitarists around the world.
The
Vahdah Olcott-Bickford Collection documents
Olcott-Bickford's professional life as a classical guitarist, an avid member of various
organizations in the United States, her work with guitarists around the world, and her
personal life. The collection includes scores, letters, photographs, newspaper clippings,
receipts, articles, lecture notes, and guest books, and dates from 1874-1980, with the bulk
of materials from 1923-1979. It is divided into seven series:
Scores
(1800-2008),
Correspondence (1884-1987),
Personal and Subject Files (1882-1994),
Periodicals (1893-2004),
American Guitar Society Files
(1924-1980),
Photographic Material (1892-1970), and
Sound Recordings.
Series I,
Scores (1800-2008), consists of approximately 7,000
music scores of varied instrumentation, almost always including a guitar, written by a wide
variety of composers. They date primarily from the 19th and 20th centuries. Some of these
scores are referenced in the correspondence, especially when Olcott-Bickford received them
in the mail. Some are signed by Olcott-Bickford, possibly to show her ownership, and others
include personal notes. The scores were published in various parts of the world including
Germany, Italy, Spain, Argentina, and are filed by identification number.
Series II,
Correspondence (1884-1987), is sorted in three
subseries:
Personal, Musicians and Music Organizations, and
Astrological. These documents date between the early 1900s and late
1970s. The
Personal subseries documents Olcott-Bickford's
relationships with friends and family not affiliated with the guitar. The
Musicians and Music Organizations subseries documents
Olcott-Bickford's interactions with other professionals, and includes commentary about
performances, programs, and other music-related topics. The
Astrological correspondence documents Olcott-Bickford's interest in astrological
matters, and includes correspondence between famous astrologers and friends. Many of these
friends were guitarists who were also interested in astrology. Each subseries is arranged
alphabetically.
Series III,
Personal and Subject Files (1874-1994), documents
the broad scope of Olcott-Bickford's professional and personal interests. It contains
drafts, lectures, speeches, newspaper clippings, programs, catalogs, family records,
ephemera, and other notes created for Olcott-Bickford and her husband's various professional
and personal obligations as musicians, composers, arrangers, guitar historians, teachers,
and astrologers. These materials date across her entire career as a guitarist and
astrologer, and include personal notes and unrecorded lectures which provide a view into her
life as a teacher. A few records of the Zarvah Publishing Company are included in this
series, as well as some Robert Revere and Zarh Bickford's personal correspondence and other
materials. The series is filed alphabetically.
Series IV,
Periodicals (1893-2004), includes serial
publications about the guitar that Olcott-Bickford collected throughout her life. This
series consists of two sub-series
Complete Issues and
Loose Articles.
Complete Issues contain
periodicals, dating from 1893-2004, which are closely related to guitar, banjo other plucked
instruments.
Loose Articles are clippings or tear outs from
periodicals or newspapers dating from 1887-1994; they are articles highlighting the guitar
or guitarists that Olcott-Bickford enjoyed reading about. Olcott-Bickford consistently and
regularly added to her collection, and frequently wrote to magazines and periodicals that
have since been discontinued. This series includes some articles that are specifically
referred to in the
Correspondence series. Periodicals range in
date from the late 19
th to late 20
th
century. Materials are filed alphabetically.
Series V,
American Guitar Society Files (1924-1980), consists
of items that Olcott-Bickford collected during her work founding and leading the AGS, which
includes correspondence, minutes, programs, catalogs, and guest books. All of these items
demonstrate the growth and development of AGS from a small organization in Los Angeles to a
large society with international associations. Materials in the series date from a time when
Olcott-Bickford was an active member in the early 1920s, serving as the Secretary and
Musical Director of the Society, until the late 1960s.
Series VI,
Photographic Material (1892-1970), contains personal
and professional photographs of Olcott-Bickford, as well as photographs of people who
corresponded with her and guitars. It is divided into two subseries:
Loose Photographs and
Albums and Scrapbooks. The series
includes photographic prints, slides, negatives, photo albums, and scrapbooks. Each
subseries is arranged alphabetically by file title.
Series VII,
Sound Recordings, consists of recordings that
Olcott-Bickford personally collected or were given to her. Some of these sound recordings
include items that have a label indicating they are from the Zarvah Publishing Co., and the
rest are from Olcott-Bickford and Bickford's personal collection of sound recordings. They
are dated approximately early to mid-20
th century. Many
recordings have not been identified because they are unlabeled. Sound recording are filed by
identification number.
Series I: Scores, 1800-2008
Series II: Correspondence, 1884-1987
Subseries A: Personal, 1884-1969
Subseries B: Musicians and Music Organizations, 1891-1987
Subseries C: Astrological, 1915-1961
Series III: Personal and Subject Files, 1874-1994
Series IV: Periodicals, 1893-2004
Series V: American Guitar Society Files, 1924-1980
Subseries A: Correspondence, 1924-1980
Subseries B: Minutes, 1935-1965
Subseries C: Programs and Other Files, 1926-1980
Series VI: Photographic Material, 1892-1970
Subseries A: Loose Photographs, 1892-1968
Subseries B: Albums and Scrapbooks, 1937-1970
Subseries C: Copper Plates
Series VII: Sound Recordings
Digital reproductions of selected items in this collection are available electronically as
a part of the
Vahdah Olcott-Bickford Correspondence
(IGRA)
project, the
International Guitar Research Archives Score
Catalog,
the
IGRA Guitar Scores,
and the
International
Guitar Research Archives Discography.
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Vahdah Olcott-Bickford, 1976
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival
Materials
guide.
Julieta Garcia, 2012
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Albums (Books)
Documents
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Audiovisual materials