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Finding Aid of the Mary Desti papers
2055
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Title: Mary Desti Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1918-1930
Collection number: 2055
Creator:
Desti, Mary
Extent:
7 boxes (3.5 linear ft.)
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Mary Desti (1871-1931) was the owner of Desti Beauty Products cosmetics firm and New York City studio which sold art objects,
perfumes, and clothing. She wrote
The untold story: the life of Isadora Duncan, 1921-1927 (1929). The collection consists of general and business correspondence, papers related to organizing clubs in London and
Paris, facsimiles and notes for two projected magazines, bills, receipts, legal documents, photographs, press clippings, programs
and flyers for performance and art events, and manuscripts of her biography, other non-fiction, plays, poems and short stories.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including
copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], Mary Desti Papers (Collection 2055). Department of Special Collections, University Research Library,
UCLA.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
4432654
Desti was born on October 10, 1871 in Quebec, Canada; became owner of Desti Beauty Products cosmetics firm; also owned a New
York City studio which sold art objects, perfumes, and clothing; mother of Preston Sturges and friend of Isadora Duncan; wrote
The untold story: the life of Isadora Duncan, 1921-1927 (1929); died April 12, 1931 in New York City.
Collection consists of general and business correspondence, papers related to organizing clubs in London and Paris, facsimiles
and notes for two projected magazines, bills, receipts, legal documents, photographs, press clippings, programs and flyers
for performance and art events. Includes manuscripts of biography and memoirs of Isadora Duncan and other non-fiction, as
well as manuscripts of plays, poems and short stories. Also includes papers and correspondence related to Preston Sturges
& Company and Desti Beauty Products. Includes Mary Desti's correspondence with Isadora Duncan and her daughter Irma, and with
Desti's son Preston Sturges and his wife Eleanor.
Arranged in the following series:
- Business enterprises (Boxes 1,7).
- Correspondence (Box 1).
- Ephemera, mostly bills and receipts (Boxes 2,7).
- Manuscripts (Boxes 3-7).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the repository's online public access catalog.
Desti, Mary--Archives.
Duncan, Isadora, 1877-1927--Correspondence.
Sturges, Preston--Correspondence.
Women authors--20th century--Archival resources.
Businesswomen--United States--Archival resources.
Preston Sturges papers (Collection 1114). Available at Department of Special Collections, UCLA.