Research Catalog

Title

Helene Obolensky papers, 1910-1994 (bulk 1976-1984)

Author

Obolensky, Helene

Supplementary Content

Finding Aid

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Lifar, Serge, 1905-1986
• Nureyev, Rudolf, 1938-1993
• De Mille, Agnes
• Barnes, Clive, 1927-2008
• Waldman, Max
• Helene Obolensky Enterprises, Inc

Subject

• Obolensky, Helene
• Lifar, Serge, 1905-1986 > Photographs
• Nureyev, Rudolf, 1938-1993 > Photographs
• Ballet > Publication and distribution
• Women publishers > New York (State) > New York
• Publishers and publishing

Genre/Form

• Clippings.
• Contracts.
• Correspondence.
• Galley proofs.
• Manuscripts for publication.
• Photographs.
• Mechanicals (camera-ready copy)

Source (note)

• Obolensky, Helene

Biography (note)

• Helene Obolensky (born 1919) began her varied career in fashion, marketing, public relations, and publishing in Paris during the 1940s. She worked initially as a personal assistant to designer Coco Chanel and later as a magazine editor while living in France. Obolensky immigrated to the United States, where she became fashion editor for Town & Country and Redbook. Drawing on her social connections, Princess Obolensky (she was married to Prince Alexander Petrovich Obolensky, a scholar of Slavonic languages), was able to secure the endorsements of celebrities, such as Princess Grace of Monaco, on a wide assortment of projects. She established Helene Obolensky Enterprises, Inc. as a multiple interest corporation and was active in publishing dance books under her own imprint (frequently working out distribution deals with established publishing houses) during the 1970s and 1980s. Among these lavish coffee table works were The Bolshoi Ballet (1975), Clive Barnes's Inside American Ballet Theatre (1977), America Dances (1980) by Agnes De Mille and Nureyev (1982), also by Barnes. During this period, Obolensky also began to become involved with co-producing ballet films and television specials.

Language (note)

• English is predominant language in the collection; there are some letters in French and Russian.

Indexes/Finding Aids (note)

• Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Call Number

(S) *MGZMD 213

OCLC

191735391

Author

Obolensky, Helene.

Title

Helene Obolensky papers, 1910-1994 (bulk 1976-1984)

Description

9.79 linear feet (12 boxes)

Arranged in series: I. Project files, 1975-1994; II. Subject files, 1910-1983; III. Oversized material, 1985.

Summary

The Helene Obolensky Papers document Obolensky's activities in the field of dance book publishing. The bulk of the collection consists of Project files which detail editorial and production matters relating to two titles published under the imprint of Helene Obolensky Enterprises, Inc. during the early 1980s, America Dances (1980) by Agnes De Mille and Nureyev (1982) by Clive Barnes. Materials in these files include clippings, contracts, correspondence, galley proofs, invoices, manuscripts, and photographs. Correspondence is almost entirely limited to professional concerns. Notable correspondents represented in the Project Files include De Mille (although she is represented by only a few items). There are also some letters from the former Diaghilev dancer and choreographer, Serge Lifar, contained in the Subject files series. The Lifar materials apparently were collected by Obolensky as part of separate efforts to publish his memoirs and to persuade Lifar to participate in a documentary on the Diaghilev era. Also of note are several snapshots of Lifar at a house party, with other identifiable Ballets Russes alumni (including Alexandra Danilova) in attendance, as well as some photographs that show Lifar at the Diaghilev exhibition held at the Metropolitan Museum of Ar's Costume Institute. There also is a small set of studio portraits of Lifar taken by Max Waldman, some of them with a woman (most likely Obolensky). Oversized materials chiefly consist of production mechanicals for the Nureyev book.

Biography

Helene Obolensky (born 1919) began her varied career in fashion, marketing, public relations, and publishing in Paris during the 1940s. She worked initially as a personal assistant to designer Coco Chanel and later as a magazine editor while living in France. Obolensky immigrated to the United States, where she became fashion editor for Town & Country and Redbook. Drawing on her social connections, Princess Obolensky (she was married to Prince Alexander Petrovich Obolensky, a scholar of Slavonic languages), was able to secure the endorsements of celebrities, such as Princess Grace of Monaco, on a wide assortment of projects. She established Helene Obolensky Enterprises, Inc. as a multiple interest corporation and was active in publishing dance books under her own imprint (frequently working out distribution deals with established publishing houses) during the 1970s and 1980s. Among these lavish coffee table works were The Bolshoi Ballet (1975), Clive Barnes's Inside American Ballet Theatre (1977), America Dances (1980) by Agnes De Mille and Nureyev (1982), also by Barnes. During this period, Obolensky also began to become involved with co-producing ballet films and television specials.

Language

English is predominant language in the collection; there are some letters in French and Russian.

Indexes

Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Connect to:

Request Access to Special Collections (Dance Division) material

Finding Aid

Occupation

Women publishers.

Added Author

Lifar, Serge, 1905-1986.

Nureyev, Rudolf, 1938-1993.

De Mille, Agnes.

Barnes, Clive, 1927-2008.

Waldman, Max. Photographer

Helene Obolensky Enterprises, Inc.

Research Call Number

(S) *MGZMD 213