Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/perform.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2015563152
Collection material chiefly in Swedish, French, and English
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.
Gift, Yanne Norup Schmidt and Kristian Schmidt, 2012-2015.
Further accruals are expected.
The Lars Schmidt Papers were processed by Anita M. Weber in 2015. Christopher Hartten coded the finding aid for EAD format in 2015.
Sound and video recordings from the Lars Schmidt Papers have been transferred to the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division where they are identified as part of the Lars Schmidt Collection (MAVIS collection no. 15374). An inventory of this material is available in the Music Division's collection file.
The Weslyan Cinema Archives at Weslyan University holds the Ingrid Bergman Collection.
The Arthur Laurents Papers (ML31.M38) and the Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon Collection (ML31.F72) contain Ingrid Bergman correspondence and photographs.
Materials from the Lars Schmidt Papers are governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright laws.
The Lars Schmidt Papers are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Music Division prior to visiting in order to determine whether the desired materials will be available at that time.
Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container number], Lars Schmidt Papers, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The materials in the Lars Schmidt Papers document the career of theatrical producer, director, and publisher Lars Schmidt (1917-2009) and his wife, actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982). The collection spans the period 1910 to 2010, with the bulk of the materials dating between 1941 and 1971. A large portion of these are in Swedish and French, especially the business papers and scrapbooks. There are also significant evidential gaps in the collection. Although Schmidt was active in Paris as the owner of Théâtre Montparnasse, there is minimal documentation of this activity. There is also little substantive material regarding the actual production and/or direction of his plays, an exception being
Schmidt operated several business enterprises over the course of his career, beginning with Lars Schmidt & Company. The Business Papers series contains information about some of these entities, with coverage of AB Teaterbåten's operation of the theater boat in Gothenburg being the most extensive. Among the other corporate entities are Lars Schmidt Teaterförlaget, AB Lars Schmidt, Nordiska Teaterförlaget AB, and Prodartisticas SA. A clear business "genealogy" does not exist; there may be overlaps between the English and Swedish company names, particularly Lars Schmidt & Company, Lars Schmidt Teaterförlaget, and AB Lars Schmidt.
The Gothenburg Teaterbåten served as a venue for Swedish musical revues. Collection materials document both the mechanical operation of the show boat and the entertainment presented. Schmidt communicated with many well-known performers of the day, including actors Anna-Lisa Baude, Lasse Dahlquist, Dix Dennie (Gosta Stenberg), and Thor Modéen; writers Kar de Mumma (Erik Harald Zetterstrom) and Karl-Ewart Christenson; and directors Sven Paddock and Nils Perne. Also included is correspondence with agents and individuals regarding their acts, and related promotional literature, contracts, and programs. Interspered are Lars Schmidt & Company agendas, meeting notes, production announcements, skits and outlines, and other material pertaining to the Teaterbåten.
There are two subseries in the Theatrical Materials series: project files and scrapbooks. The project files concern individual plays, either produced or directed by Schmidt, or those that he may have been considering for production. Materials present for each title vary widely but may include clippings, scrapbooks, programs, scripts, photographs, financial records, correspondence, and ephemera. Titles documented only by a program or a script are identified as such in the container list. Also included in this series are several scripts for Bergman television and stage productions, some of which bear her annotations. The many productions of
The scrapbooks document theatrical productions in the United States, England, France, Scandinavia, and, occasionally, Germany from 1941-1970. As a complete list of the titles to which Schmidt held European or Scandinavian publishing and production rights is not available, it is not clear whether the scrapbooks were created to document these productions or to simply document the theater world of this era. Regardless of the intent, the clippings provide not only reviews of productions throughout the U.S., England, northern Europe, and Scandinavia (including Schmidt-licensed titles) but also coverage of the critical milieu and state of the theater business, especially in France, during this period.
The Correspondence series contains both personal and business correspondence. The majority of the letters are incoming with few responses from Schmidt. Exceptions to this include his exchanges with Oscar Hammerstein II and members of the Sandrews firm. Materials cluster in two chronological periods: 1942-1952 and 1960-1990s. Significant correspondents in the early period are Dorothy and Oscar Hammerstein II, Danish theater publisher Folmer Hansen, Norwegian theater director Knut Hergel, Swedish actress Karin Kavli, and Swedish playwright Vilhelm Moberg. In the later period, there is business correspondence with Jérôme Hullot, Arne Naess, and the Sandrews firm, as well as personal correspondence with Liana Ferri, Joan Littlewood, Pauline and Philippe de Rothschild, and Ann Todd. Other notable actors and playwrights represented include Alan Ayckbourn, Christopher Fry, Lillian Hellman, Henry de Montherlant, Sean O'Casey, Cole Porter, and Peter Ustinov, although there is limited correspondence with each. Family correspondence includes letters from Schmidt’s parents Daga and Reinhold, his brother Per Reinhold (known as "Putte"), and Bergman. There is also a large group of condolence letters sent upon Bergman’s death, many of which include Schmidt's responses.
The Biographical Materials series includes curriculum vitae, lists of plays produced and directed, several articles written by Schmidt, and preparatory notes, reviews, and an English rendering of his autobiography,
The Photographs series in the collection consists of images of Bergman, Schmidt, and their family (including Schmidt’s first wife, his two sons, and Bergman’s four children) and friends. Among these are photo shoots showing Schmidt and Bergman in the early years of their marriage and production stills from several Bergman films, such as
The Lars Schmidt Papers are organized in seven series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2015563152
Records for the Teaterbåten and other Schmidt business ventures. Includes correspondence, contracts, printed material, account books, agendas, meeting notes, production announcements, and several Teaterbåten programs, skits, and outlines.
Organized as two subseries. Teaterbåten materials are arranged first as three chronological groupings and then alphabetically by correspondent surname therein. Files for Schmidt's other businesses are chiefly arranged alphabetically by corporate name.
Files and scrapbooks pertaining to Schmidt's career as a producer/director, as well as the theatrical milieu in Scandinavia, France, London, and New York from the 1940s through the 1970s. Includes clippings, scrapbooks, programs, scripts, photographs, financial records, correspondence, and ephemera, such as posters. There are significant gaps in the series.
Organized as two subseries. Project files are arranged alphabetically by play name and production location (if more than one) and chronologically by year therein. Scrapbooks are arranged first by geographical region and then chronologically by year therein.
Chiefly letters to and from family members and notable actors, playwrights, and producers.
Arranged alphabetically by surname.
Curriculum vitae and production credits, awards, writings, diaries, and other materials pertaining to Schmidt's life and career.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Bound volumes documenting Schmidt and Bergman's lives, some compiled by fans.
Arranged chronologically by year.
Portraits, family pictures, candid shots, professional photo shoots, and production stills from various Bergman films.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Miscellaneous articles and clippings about Schmidt and Bergman, including a variety of European publications with feature spreads on Bergman.
Arranged alphabetically by surname.