Nomination form International Memory of the World Register MOSES AND FRANCES ASCH COLLECTION Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution ID Code [2014-66] 1.0 Summary With the mission of representing an “encyclopedia of sound,” the Moses and Frances Asch Collection (1926-1987) serves as a unique testament to the breadth and depth of the twentieth-century human experience. The collection features material of both famous and lesser known writers, poets, documentarians, ethnographers, and grass roots musicians from around the world. The series Folkways Records includes a diversity of documentary, audio, visual, and business materials from Folkways Records, one of the most influential record labels of the twentieth century. American folk icon Woody Guthrie recorded on Folkways, and the collection includes selections of his correspondence, lyrics, drawings, and writings in the series The Woody Guthrie Papers. The collection notably contains correspondence with numerous influential individuals of the twentieth century, such as John Cage, Langston Hughes, Margaret Walker, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Peggy Seeger, Ewan MacColl, Alan Lomax, Kenneth Patchen, and others. It also includes ethnographic field notes and field photographs by Béla Bartók, Henry Cowell, Sidney Robertson Cowell, Harold Courlander, and Sam Charters. Moses Asch’s business papers from his various record labels, including but not limited to Folkways Records, offers insight to the history of the recording industry and music business. The collection prominently features audio recordings of rare and extinct documentary sounds, both man-made and natural, such as steam engines, extinct and endangered animal species, minority languages, and occupational soundscapes of years past. Moses Asch hired prominent artists and graphic designers to create album cover art for commercial recordings. Some of the significant artists for album cover art were David Stone Martin, Ben Shahn, John Carlis, and Ronald Clyne. 2.0 Nominator 2.1 Name of nominator (person or organization) Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution. 2.2 Relationship to the nominated documentary heritage The Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage includes the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, which stewards the nominated documentary heritage. 2.3 Contact person(s) (to provide information on nomination) 1 1. Dr. Michael Mason, Director, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution. 2.4.1 Contact details Name Address Dr. Michael Mason 600 Maryland Ave. SW, Suite 2001, Washington, D.C., 20024, United States of America Telephone Facsimile Email +1-202-633-1141 +1- 202-633-6475 [email protected] 2. Meredith Holmgren, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution. 2.4.2 Contact details Name Address Meredith Holmgren 600 Maryland Ave. SW, Suite 2001, Washington, D.C., 20024, United States of America Telephone Facsimile Email +1-202-633-6459 +1- 202-633-6475 [email protected] 3.0 Identity and description of the documentary heritage 3.1 Name and identification details of the items being nominated If inscribed, the exact title and institution(s) to appear on the certificate should be given Title: Moses and Frances Asch Collection Institution: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution Description: Spanning more than sixty years (1926-1987), the Moses and Frances Asch Collection includes a diversity of unique historical documentation. Comprising a total mass of approx. 841 cubic feet (24 cubic meters), the collection includes all of Moses Asch’s business papers, sound recordings, original artwork, correspondence files, production files, and photographs. Notably, the collection includes the master sound recordings for the 2,168 titles that were released by Folkways Records (1948-1986) and many original materials from American folk legend Woody Guthrie. The total collection includes approx. 5,000 instantaneous discs, approx. 6,000 unreleased recordings, and a very large collection of paper documents. Items include: 2 • Recordings owned by and produced by Moses Asch (acetate disc, 78s, LPs) • Master tapes for Folkways Records • LPs for most of the 2168 titles released by Folkways Records • Business papers and correspondence • Artwork for various Folkways records • The Woody Guthrie Papers • Photographs • Film 3.4 History/provenance Provenance: The Smithsonian Institution purchased the Moses and Frances Asch Collection directly from Frances Asch in 1987. The acquisition was chiefly steered at the Smithsonian by Ralph Rinzler (1934-1994), with Jeff Place serving as the archive director and Anthony Seeger serving as the director of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. History: The son of Yiddish writer Sholem Asch, Moses Asch was born in Poland in 1905. His childhood was spent in Poland, France, Germany, and New York. While young, Asch developed an interest in radio electronics, which led him to his life's work, recording the music and sounds of the world. The earliest materials in the Moses and Frances Asch Collection are Moses Asch’s paper documents from the 1920s. Based in New York City, Asch began making sound recordings in the 1930s. Inspired by a meeting with Albert Einstein in 1940, Asch established several record labels in succession, sometimes partnering with other record companies. Labels represented in the collection include Radio Laboratories, Asch Recordings, Disc, Asch-Stinson Records, Folkways/Verve, and Folkways Records. Series: Folkways Records (1948-1986) With a stated desire to create a sound encyclopedia of the world, Folkways Records and Service Corporation was founded in New York City in 1948 by Marian Distler (1919-1964) and Moses Asch (1905-1986). The 2,168 recording titles that were publically released on Folkways Records represent an immense diversity of traditional and contemporary sounds from around the world, including music, spoken word, documentary soundscapes, poetry, oral history interviews, rituals, and more. In addition to the published recordings, the collection contains approx. 5,000 instantaneous discs and approx. 6,000 unreleased recordings. Folkways Records grew to be one of the most prolific and influential record companies in the world. Today, both the mission and the published recordings of Folkways Records are sustained by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the non-profit record label of the national museum of the United States. Series: The Woody Guthrie Papers (1944-1949) Woodrow (Woody) Wilson Guthrie (1912-1967) was one of the most important folk composers in the history of the United States. Born in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, Guthrie is associated with the common people and those who were displaced by the Great Dust Storms of the 1930s. He was a prolific songwriter, and his song "This Land is Your Land" is considered by many to be his best known. Guthrie died of Huntington's Chorea in 1967 after a long hospitalization. 3 The Woody Guthrie Papers—including typed song lyrics, correspondence, drawings, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous items—were left with Moses Asch, and came to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections in 1987 as part of the Moses and Frances Asch Collection. 4.0 Legal information 4.1 Owner of the documentary heritage (name and contact details) Name Address Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, 600 Maryland Ave. SW, Suite 2001, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Washington, D.C. 20024 Smithsonian Institution United States of America Telephone Facsimile Email +1-202-633-6440 +1-202-633-6474 [email protected] 4.2 Custodian of the documentary heritage (name and contact details if different from the owner) (same as owner info) 4.3 Legal status The Smithsonian Institution is an independent public trust establish by Act of Congress of the United States in 1846. It is legally committed to preserving the Moses and Frances Asch Collection. Numerous legal agreements govern this stewardship, including the original acquisition/accession agreements, copyright laws, contracts, and various permission agreements. 4.4 Accessibility The Moses and Frances Asch collection has been undergoing digitization efforts for several years. Some of the collection was digitized in the 1990s, and other portions in the early 2000s and 2010-present as part of two digitization projects funded by Save America’s Treasures grants administered by the National Park Service. As of September 30, 2013, there were 133,280 digital surrogates for Moses and Frances Asch Collection materials. At the time of writing, we estimate that 43% of the collection has been digitized, and we expect roughly 48-50% of the collection to be digitized by 2017. There are portions of the collection that will not be digitized because the material is redundant or deemed insignificant, so it is important to emphasize that this collection is being digitized selectively. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections administers public access to the original collection on an appointment basis. Recording playback equipment is available for use in the archive and audio/visual materials can be accessed depending on the format and the preservation status. The archive has binders of photographs, slides, and contact sheets available to those who visit. There is an in-house database that lists the 4 archive’s holdings. Finding aids and catalog information can be found in the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System