Collection Summary
Mary Elizabeth Hallock
Greenewalt Papers
1918-1942
1918-1942
MSS24049
Greenewalt, Mary
Elizabeth Hallock, 1871-1950
1,000
items
2 containers plus 1 oversize
.8 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Musician, inventor, and
author. Correspondence, speeches, legal and financial records, draft of a book,
biographical data, printed matter, and annotated photographs primarily relating
to Greenewalt's invention of an art form called Nourathar (also Sarabet,
Light-Score) that harmonized projected patterns of colored light with concert
music.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Greenewalt, Mary Elizabeth Hallock, 1871-1950.
Greenewalt, Mary Elizabeth Hallock, 1871-1950. Nourathar, the fine art of light color playing. 1946.
Organizations
Busser & Harding--Correspondence.
Howson & Howson--Correspondence.
Subjects
Music and color.
Music.
Occupations
Authors.
Inventors.
Musicians.
Provenance
The papers of Mary Elizabeth Hallock Greenewalt, musician, inventor,
and author, were given to the Library of Congress by Greenewalt from 1941 to
1943.
Processing History
The collection was processed in 1975. The finding aid was revised in
2012.
Transfers
A photograph of a portrait of Greenewalt with biographical sketch and a printing plate of an unidentified woman have been transferred to the Library's Prints and Photographs Division where they are identified as part of these papers.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Mary Elizabeth
Hallock Greenewalt is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title
17, U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Mary Elizabeth Hallock Greenewalt are open to research.
Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to
visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to
retrieve these items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Mary Elizabeth Hallock Greenewalt
Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1871, Sept. 8
Born, Beirut, Lebanon, then part of Syria
1882
Arrived in Philadelphia, Pa.
1893
Graduated, Philadelphia Musical Academy, Philadelphia, Pa.
1897
Studied piano with Theodore Leschetizky, Vienna, Austria
1898
Married Frank L. Greenewalt
1905
Began investigation of how gradated colored lighting might
enhance the emotional expression of music
1918
Published
Light: Fine Art the Sixth; A Running Nomenclature to Underly
the Use of Light as a Fine Art.
Philadelphia: Westbrook Publishing Co.
Filed her first patent, “Illuminating Means”
1920
Columbia records released her performance of Chopin's
Preludes in
E Minor, C minor, A Major
and
Nocturne in G
Major
1920
1934
Sued for and won infringement of patent cases relating to her invention
of a color organ device named "Sarabet" after her mother
1946
Published
Nourathar, the Fine Art of Light Color Playing.
Philadelphia: Westbrook Publishing Co.
1950, Nov. 26
Died, Wilmington, Del.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Mary Elizabeth Hallock Greenewalt (1871-1950) span the years 1918-1942 and relate
primarily relating to Greenewalt's invention of an art form called Nourathar (also
Sarabet, Light-Score) that harmonized projected patterns of colored light with
concert music. Included in the collection are correspondence, speeches, legal and
financial records, drafts of her book
Nourathar, the Fine Art of Light Color
Playing
, biographical data, printed matter, and annotated photographs.
Correspondents include Greenewalt's attorneys in Philadelphia, Howson & Howson
and Busser & Harding, and various government agencies.
Arrangement of the Papers
The papers are organized by type of material.
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Correspondence,
1918-1942, undated
1918-1942, undated
(12 folders)
1
Speeches,
1935-1941
1935-1941
1
Financial papers,
circa 1918-1941
circa 1918-1941
1
Patent and copyright material,
1918-1931, undated
1918-1931, undated
1
Agreements, annotated photographs,
notes, biographical material, etc.
2
Writings
2
Nourathar, the Fine Art of Light Color
Playing
2
First draft,
Oct.1939
Oct.1939
2
Drafts,
1940
1940
2
Mimeograph copy,
1942
1942
2
Book draft
2
Notebook
2
“Biggest Steal of the
Ages”
2
“The Inventor Lets a Few Cats Out
of the Bag,” draft
2
Printed matter
2
Clippings, with folio of newspapers
and carbon copy of an article