TABLE OF CONTENTS


Descriptive Summary

Collection Overview

Restrictions

Online Catalog Headings

Administrative Information

Detailed Description of the Collection

Series 1. Manuscripts.

Series 2. Interviews with Cage.

Series 3. Fan Mail and Mail Art.

Series 4. Cage Ephemera.

Guide to the John Cage Papers, 1937 - 1992


Special Collections and Archives
Olin Library
Wesleyan University
252 Church Street
Middletown, CT 06457 USA
(860) 685-3864
(860) 685-2661
Email: sca@wesleyan.edu
URL: http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/schome/

Descriptive Summary

Repository Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan University
Creator Cage, John.
Title John Cage Papers,
Dates 1937 - 1992
Linear Feet 14.25 (currently described)
Archival Boxes 29 (currently described)
Abstract John Cage (1912-1992) was an experimental musician, composer, and writer.
The John Cage papers described in this document include manuscripts, interviews, fan mail, and ephemera. Other material, including clippings, gallery and exhibition catalogs, a collection of Cage's books and serials, posters, objects, exhibition and literary announcement postcards, and brochures from conferences and other organizations are also part of the Wesleyan Cage collection, and will be described in this finding aid in the future.
Call Number 1000-72
Location For current information on the location of these materials, please consult Special Collections & Archives staff.
Language of Material Material in English

Collection Overview

The first series, Manuscripts, contains manuscripts and corrected typescripts created by John Cage and used in speeches, performances, and published articles. Most were later collected by Cage for publication in his books. In many instances, both the original text and a later version corrected for publication exist and are housed together. This series is arranged alphabetically by title. In some instances, short pieces as well as individual book titles appear within the arrangement. Therefore, when searching for a particular piece, one should look for it under both its title and the title of the book in which it may have appeared.

The collection was arranged by Cage himself before transfer to Wesleyan, and this arrangement has been retained in nearly every instance. Folder titles that appear in quotation marks are Cage’s original folder titles for each piece, in which he also included the title of the book in which it was later published, i.e. "Composition (Silence)." Cage also noted unpublished pieces, i.e. "Listening to Music (unpublished)" and this convention has been retained in the finding aid. Many pieces noted as unpublished by Cage have subsequently appeared in print, notably in "John Cage, Writer: Previously Uncollected Pieces, Selected and Edited" by Richard Kostelanetz. New York: Limelight Editions, 1993. Folder titles not appearing in quotation marks were either not labelled by Cage or are later additions to the manuscripts series and have been added by the archivists.

Cage often typed a short note of explanation to accompany each piece that would supply background information, such as original titles or the context of its first appearance in print or when/where it was delivered. He called these notes "headnotes" and they have been noted or transcribed in the finding aid, within quotation marks, where they occur. Some folder titles had been changed by Cage or crossed out; these are also noted in the finding aid.

Other items described here are Series 2, Interviews with Cage; Series 3, Fan Mail and Mail Art; and Series 4, Cage Ephemera.

This finding aid does not presently include clippings, gallery and exhibition catalogs, a collection of Cage's books and serials, posters, objects, exhibition and literary announcement postcards, and brochures from conferences and other organizations. These are also part of the Wesleyan Cage collection and will be described in additional series.

Return to the Table of Contents


Restrictions

Access Restrictions

No restrictions

Copyright Notice

Copyright for Official University records is held by Wesleyan University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Return to the Table of Contents


Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Cage, John.

Return to the Table of Contents


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], John Cage Papers, Collection #1000-72, Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Gifts of John Cage.

Processing Information

Processed primarily by Leon Julius Hilton (Wesleyan class of 2007), 2007, with help from James Dutcher ('2005), Burke Giordano (’2006), Brian McKenna (’2004), and Jeffrey Makala

Encoded by Leon Julius Hilton, 2007

Return to the Table of Contents


Detailed Description of the Collection

Series 1. Manuscripts.
Box Folder
1 1-5 “45’ For a Speaker (Silence)”
Corrected typescript (headnote), 3 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 45 p., n.d.
Notebook, 1954.
Typescript, 3 p., 1959. In Italian, dated Milan 1959.
Corrected typescript, 3 p., 1954-55. Draft of letter in Italian concerning concert management.
Folder
6 “200 Words,” annotated typescript, 1 p., n.d. Essay later published in Art News.
Folder
7-8 “1000 Words (Silence)”
Autograph manuscript, 47 p., n.d. Written on the versos of Cage concert posters. Original folder note reads: “Some of this incorporated in Comp. as Process: Communication.”
Corrected typescript, 6 p., n.d. Titled: “One Thousand Words.” Includes headnote: “This is my article for Journal of Beaux Arts, current issue.”
Folder
9-14 Anarchy (lecture and book manuscript)
Contents list and presentation order, typescript, 5 p., n.d.
Introduction, corrected typescripts, 13 p., n.d.
Mesostics, corrected typescripts (4 folders), n.d.
Folder
15 “Art and Technology (Published?),” corrected typescript, 2 p., 1969
Folder
16 “Arts In Dialogue (Kostelanetz),” annotated typescript, 1 p., April 1964. Titled: “Honolulu Academy of Art, April 64.”
Folder
17-19 “Audience (AYFM)”
Steno pad, n.d. Notes for “Diary: Audience 1966.”
Annotated typescript, 4 p., May 1966. Draft of “Diary: Audience 1966.”
Corrected typescript, 2 p., 1966. Final draft.
Box Folder
2 1 “Bruxelles,” annotated photocopy, 6 p., 1954. Pages numbered 79-84, document and annotations both in French. On final page: “Benedicte Pesle, Dominique De Ménil / Bk XIV Pt II Sect VII ¶ 3.”
Folder
2 “Cartridge Music (Kostelanetz),” annotated typescript, 3 p. 1962. Sections appear in Silence.
Folder
3 Chapters on Music (Music in Context with Other Goings On), steno notebook, after 1973.
Folder
4-6 “Commitment (AYFM)”
28 typed index cards with annotations, February 21, 1961. Written for Beta Symposium, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, Feb. 23, 1961. The lecture is to be given by shuffling cards at random to determine order, content, and duration.
Corrected typescript, 5 p., February 21, 1961. Typed version of lecture. Includes headnote. Original folder reads: “This has been given to an editor of an anthology (as yet unpublished).”
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d. Note to printers describing basic layout of the text.
Folder
7 “A Composer’s Confessions (Unpublished),” corrected typescript, 31 p., February 28, 1948. Address given at the National Inter-Collegiate Arts Conference, Vassar College, February 28, 1948.
Folder
8-9 “Composition (Silence)”
Page layout sketch, 2 p., n.d. Titled: “To Describe the Process of Retitled Four Musicians At Work.” Includes annotated headnote.
Corrected photocopy, 3 p., 1952. Printed article appearing as “Four Musicians at Work” in trans/formation Vol.1, #3, 1952. Includes headnote.
Folder
10-12 “Composition As Process and Communication (Silence)”
Typescript, 13 p., n.d. Includes headnote. Includes printer’s corrections.
Typescript, 6 p., n.d. Titled: “Rutgers Original.” Includes small attached note: “From Rutgers version of Composition as Process – III, Communication.”
Page layout sketch, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Communication.”
Folder
13-14 “Composition As Process and Indeterminacy (Silence)”
Corrected photocopy, 23 p., n.d. Titled: “Darmstadt II (Indeterminacy).” Includes headnote.
Corrected photocopy, 12 p., May 22, 1961. Titled: “Replaced by retyped copy 5/22/61.”
Folder
15-17 “Composition As Process With Changes (Silence)”
Corrected typescript, 22 p., September 1958. Lectures given at Darmstadt, September 1958. The lectures, which are carefully planned out on a timeline, are to be periodically interrupted by Music of Changes.
Corrected typescript, 1 p., May 24, 1961. Description of the 3 lectures.
Page layout sketches, 3 p., n.d. Titled: “Changes,” “Indeterminacy,” “Thoughts on Experimental Music.”
Folder
18 “Cunningham Stories (Kostelanetz),” annotated typescript, 5 p., n.d.
Folder
19-23 “4 Statements on Dance (Silence)”
Corrected typescript, 4 p., ca. 1939. Titled: “Goal: New Music, New Dance.” Includes general headnote, a headnote for this section, a magazine clipping in which the article first appeared (Dance Observer, 1939), and a page layout sketch.
Magazines, November 1944. Two copies of Dance Observer (Nov. 1944) in which “Grace and Clarity” appeared. Includes headnote.
Autograph manuscript, 10 p., autumn 1956. Speech written by Cage to be delivered in St. Louis and at Principia College. It later appeared as “In This Day…” in the January 1957 Dance Observer. Includes headnote.
Magazine clipping, 1 p., January 1957. “In This Day…”, Dance Observer (Jan. 1957).
Magazine, 1957.Titled: “2 Pages, 122 Words On Music and Dance.” Dance Magazine (Nov. 1957) in which the article appeared. Includes headnote.
Folder
24 “Defense of Satie (Kostelanetz),” corrected typescript, 11 p., 1951. Given at the first Satie festival, 1951.
Folder
25-26 “To Describe the Process of Composition Used in ‘Music for Piano 21-52’ (Silence)”
Corrected typescript, 5 p., n.d. Includes headnote by Cage.
Annotated article, 1959. A copy die Reihe, No. 3, in which the essay was published.
Folder
27-47 “Diary (AYFM)”
Autograph manuscript, 7 p., n.d. Titled: “…included in Document #5 Comprehensive Design Strategy.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d.
Autograph manuscript, 19 p., n.d.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d.
Autograph manuscript, 7 p., n.d. Story written on back of dry cleaning lists.
Corrected typescript, 18 p., 1967. Final draft of “Diary…1967.” Includes headnote and coversheet.
Page proofs, 9 p., 1967. From Something Else Press, Great Bear Pamphlet series edition of “Diary…1967.”
Autograph manuscript, 5 p., n.d.
Autograph manuscript, 3 p., n.d.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d.
Autograph manuscript, 3 p., n.d. Titled: “Intentions for Pt. II.”
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 1 p., 1966. First page of “Diary...1966.”
Typed letter signed, 1 p., August 25, 1966. To Cage from Jose de la Torre Bueno, Editor of the Wesleyan University Press, discussing ideas for A Year From Monday. Notes by Cage on verso.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., 1966. On back of envelope postmarked August 26, 1966.
Autograph manuscript, 2 p., 1967. Outline for “Diary…1967.”
Steno pad diary, 1966. Labeled: “A.”
Box Folder
3 1 Steno pad diary, 1966. Labeled: “B.”
Folder
2 Steno pad diary, 1967. Labeled: “1.”
Folder
3 Steno pad diary, n.d. Labeled: “III.”
Folder
4 Steno pad diary, n.d.
Folder
5 Steno pad diary, n.d.
Folder
6 Steno pad diary, 1966-67.
Folder
7 Steno pad diary, 1967. Labeled: “2.”
Folder
8 Steno pad diary, 1965.
Folder
9 Photocopy of annotated typescript, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Headnote: How to Improve I.”
Folder
10 Typescript, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Headnote: How to Improve II.”
Folder
11 Typescript, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Headnote: How to Improve III.”
Folder
12 Corrected typescript, 19 p., early September 1966. Final draft of “Diary…1966.” Includes headnote and coversheet.
Folder
13 Typescript, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Note to Ray Grimaila.”
Folder
14 Corrected typescript, 3 p., 1966. Final draft of “Diary…Audience 1966.” Includes headnote.
Folder
15 Corrected typescript, 1 p., n.d. Headnote by Cage on “Diary…1965”.
Folder
16 Corrected typescript, 16 p., November-December 1965. Draft of “Diary: How to Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse) 1965,” with title page.
Folder
17 Corrected typescript, 1 p., n.d. Labeled: “This is example.”
Folder
18 Sample mockup of final printed copy.
Folder
19 Typescript, 15 p., n.d. Final draft of “Diary…1965.”
Corrected typescript, 15 p., n.d. Corrected photocopy of previous document.
Box Folder
3 20-27 “Diary (M)”
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 24 p., n.d. “Diary…1969.”
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d. Notes for “Diary…1970-71.”
Typescript photocopy, 13 p., May 1971.“Diary…1970-71.” Includes notes to printer.
Page proofs photocopy, 14 p., 1971. “Diary…1970-71.”
Corrected typescript, 6 p., n.d. Titled: “RE and Not RE Fuller and Mao.”
Autograph letter signed, 1 p., February 11, 1971. Signed: “Dick.” Used in “Diary…1970-71.”
Box Folder
4 1 Steno pad, n.d. Titled: “Diary V, Spring/Thanksgiving.” Labeled: “I.”
Folder
2 Steno pad, n.d. Titled: “Diary V.” Labeled “I.”
Folder
3 Steno pad, n.d. Notes for “RE and Not RE Fuller and Mao.”
Folder
4 Steno pad, 1971-72. Titled: “VII, 1971-72.” Labeled: “1.” Inside cover contains rough outline of Diary as a whole.
Folder
5 Steno pad, n.d. Titled: “Black Elk Speaks.” Labeled: “2.”
Folder
6 Steno pad, n.d. Labeled: “I.”
Folder
7 Steno pad, n.d. Labeled: “II.”
Folder
8 Steno pad, n.d.
Folder
9 Steno pad diary, 1970-71. Original folder reads: “Also fragments of ________ re M.C. / Foreword to M.”
Folder
10 Typed letter signed, 1 p., October 15, 1969. To Cage from John Russell, writer for Art News. Notes by Cage on front and back.
Box Folder
4 11-15 “26 Statements Re Duchamp (AYFM)”
Notebook, 9 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 3 p., n.d. Includes headnote.
Page layout sketch, 2 p., n.d. Includes attached note to printer.
Magazine article, 2 p., n.d. “These Verses are Music.” Includes 36 mesostics.
Magazine, 1963. Complete copy of Mizue: A Monthly Review of the Fine Arts (Tokyo), September 1963, in which “26 Statements Re Duchamp” was printed.
Box Folder
4 16-17 “Electronic Souls (Kostelanetz)”
Typed letter signed, 1 p., January 12, 1966. Letter to the Village Voice regarding an article Cage had enjoyed.
Newspaper clipping, 1 p., January 20, 1966. Village Voice clipping in which the above letter was printed.
Box Folder
4 18-23 “Emma Lake (AYFM)”
Autograph manuscript, 20 p., 1965. Notes for “Diary: Emma Lake Music Workshop 1965.”
Autograph manuscript, 13 p., 1965. Notes.
Autograph manuscript, 9 p., August 15-21, 1965. Early draft.
Typescript, 1 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 7 p., n.d. Final draft of essay. Includes headnote and attached note to printer. Original folder reads: “appearing soon in Canadian Art.
Page layout sketch, 1 p., n.d.
Box Folder
5 1-7 Empty Words
Dedication, manuscript, 1 p., n.d.
Headnotes, corrected typescripts, 14 p., ca. 1979
“The Future of Music”
Manuscript (fragment), 13 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 20 p., n.d.
“How the Piano Came to be Prepared”
Typescript, 5 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 5 p., n.d.
Wesleyan University Press Correspondence, 1977-1979
Incoming correspondence regarding the production process, permissions, and corrections to the manuscript (approx. 75 pieces), with some copies of outgoing correspondence and annotations by Cage. Includes copy of original book contract.
Box Folder
5 8 “Experimental Music (Silence),” corrected typescript, 10 p., Winter 1957. Address given to the convention of the Music Teachers National Association in Chicago in the winter of 1957. Includes headnote by Cage.
9-10 “Experimental Music: Doctrine (Silence)”
Corrected typescript, 2 p., n.d. Titled: “The Material of Music and Actions Relevant to Its Nature.”
Magazine, 1955. Includes headnote by Cage and complete copy of The Score and I.M.A. Magazine, June 1955, in which the article appeared.
Box Folder
5 11 “On Film,” manuscript, 10 p., 1956. Address to Creative Film Foundation, April 6, 1956.
12 Forerunners of Modern Music (Silence),” magazine, 1949. Includes headnote by Cage and complete copy of The Tiger’s Eye 7(1), March 1949
13 “The Future of Music: Credo (Silence),” corrected typescript, 3 p., 1939. Includes headnote by Cage.
14-25 “Series Re Morris Graves”
Corrected photocopy, 24 p., 1973. Titled: “Series Re Morris Graves.” Includes printer’s instructions and headnote by Cage.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., 1973. Rough draft of coversheet for “Series Re Morris Graves.”
Corrected typescript, 1 p., 1973. Coversheet, signed.
Corrected photocopy, 1 p., 1973. Coversheet.
Corrected typescript, 1 p., 1973. Titled: “Directions for Printing Series Re Morris Graves.”
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d. Diary entries.
Corrected typescript, 27 p., 1973.
Steno pad, 1973. Labeled: “Series Re (Morris) Graves I.”
Steno pad, 1973. Labeled: “Morris Graves II.”
Steno pad, 1973. Labeled: “Morris Graves III.”
Steno pad, 1973.
Steno pad, 1973.
Box Folder
6 1 Steno pad, 1973.
Folder
2 Steno pad, 1973. Includes envelope with additional notes.
Folder
3 “Morris Graves (Kostelanetz),” typescript, 2 p., 1957. “Museum of Art of Ogunquit / Fifth Annual Exhibition / June 29 – September 9, 1957.”
Folder
4-8 “Happy New Ears (AYFM)”
Typescript, 2 p., n.d. Titled: “Headnote With Title for Two Japanese Texts.”
Autograph manuscript, 3 p., 1963. Short address given on Japanese radio in December 1963.
Steno pad, n.d.
Corrected typescript, 9 p., n.d. Final draft of essay. Includes two-page headnote.
Page layout sketch, 1 p., n.d.
Folder
9-10 “On the History of Experimental Music In the United States (Silence)”
Corrected typescript, 15 p., ca. 1959. Includes headnote by Cage.
Spiral-bound notebook, n.d. Includes five pages of additional notes.
Folder
11-17 “How to Pass, Kick, Fall, and Run (AYFM)”
Typescript, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Headnote: How to Pass, Kick, Fall, and Run.” Headnote by Cage describing his role in the dance by Merce Cunningham of the same title.
Autograph manuscript, 7 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 2 p., n.d.
Annotated typescript, 71 p., n.d. Collection of anecdotes Cage used when performing the piece, some of which were published in A Year From Monday. Includes headnote.
Pocket notepad, n.d.
Pocket notepad, n.d.
Pocket notepad, n.d.
Folder
18 “Indeterminacy (Stories) (Silence)”
Corrected typescript, n.d. Over 150 pages.
Box Folder
7 1-3 Corrected typescript, 68 p., ca. 1959. Includes headnote.
Corrected typescript, 8 p., n.d. French translation of selected stories.
Corrected typescript, 8 p., n.d. Labeled “(Histoires diverses à utiliser en bas de pages, etc.)” French translation of selected stories.
Box Folder
7 4 “Interview (Iona),” corrected magazine clipping, 10 p.,1969. Titled “Things To Do,” North American Review, Winter 1969.
Folder
5-6 “Interview by Larry Austin Re HPSCHD”
Corrected photocopy, 9 p., June 19, 1968. Interview transcript. Original folder reads: “Published in Source Magazine.
Corrected photocopy, 11 p., n.d. Interview transcript.
Folder
7-8 “Interview with Mimaroglu”
Typed letter signed, 1 p., May 25, 1965. To Cage from Ìlhan Mimaroglu regarding their interview.
Corrected photocopy, 9 p., n.d. Titled: “John Cage Interview.” Transcription of Cage interview.
Folder
9-23 “Two Statements on Ives (AYFM)”
Autograph manuscript, 6 p., n.d. Draft.
Typescript, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Headnote: Two Statements on Ives.”
Corrected typescript, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Headnote: Two Statements on Ives.”
Typescript, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Headnote: Two Statements on Ives.”
Typescript, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Headnote: Two Statements on Ives.” Published version.
Typed letter, 1 p., September 13, 1965. Letter to Irving Glick from Cage requesting a transcript of remarks Cage made about Ives.
Typed letter signed, 1 p., September 24, 1965. Response to Cage’s transcript request from Irving Glick.
Corrected photocopy, 3 p., 1965. Copy of transcript requested from Irving Glick with Cage’s additions.
Typed letter, 1 p., September 27,1965. Letter to Irving Glick from Cage thanking him for sending the transcript.
Autograph manuscript, 10 p., n.d. Copy of the transcript written in blue and red ink by Cage. Includes breath and pause notation.
Autograph manuscript, 2 p., n.d. Copy of transcript including breath and pause notation. Nearly identical to version reproduced in A Year From Monday. Sheets measure 11” x 17”.
Autograph letter signed, 2 p., April 7, 1964. To Michael Zahn from Cage. Reproduced in A Year From Monday. (p. 37-40).
Autograph letter signed, 4 p., April 8, 1964. To Zahn from Cage.
Typed letter signed , 1 p., September 29, 1965. To Cage from Michael Zahn.
Typed letter signed, 1 p., January 12, 1967. To Michael Zahn from Cage with Zahn’s response (January 14, 1967).
Folder
24-44 “Johns (AYFM)”
Index cards in French and English, 30 cards, n.d. Includes quotes from published sources about Jasper Johns.
11”x23” poster, 1 p. with 1 p. supplement, 1963.
Clippings, 3 p., 1959, 1964.
Notes, 4 p., n.d.
Corrected magazine article, 1 p., March 1963. Article about Johns in Arts and Architecture with highlighting by Cage
Typescript, 1 p., Jan. 20, 1958. Press release about Johns by Leo Castelli.
Notes, 1 p., n.d.
Notes, 2 p., n.d.
Notes, 2 p., n.d.
Booklet, 8 p., Sept. 1961. French, English, German and Spanish translations of brief biography of Johns by Piere Restany.
Notes, 81 p., n.d. Notes in prose and mathematical calculations. Includes preliminary text for “Jasper Johns: Stories and Ideas.” Pages organized in groupings assembled by Cage in their original folder.
Notes, 4 p., n.d.
Notes, 1 p., n.d.
Notes, 1 p., n.d.
Notes, 1 p., n.d.
Typescript, 5 p., n.d. Interview transcript with Jasper Johns.
Autograph manuscript, 9 p., n.d. Early drafts.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d. Early draft.
Notes, 5 p., n.d. Notes, drafts, and calculations.
Corrected typescript, 4 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 19 p., 1964. Final draft of essay. Includes two-page headnote, coversheet, and attached note to printer.
Box Folder
8 1-4 “Julliard Lecture (AYFM)”
Typescript, 1 p., n.d. Headnote.
Autograph manuscript, 46 p., n.d. Lecture text written on the versos of posters from The Living Theater of concerts featuring Cage’s “Music of Changes.”
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d. “David Tudor’s program at piano.”
Autograph manuscript, 2 p., n.d. Lecture text.
Corrected typescript, 29 p., 1952. Final draft, with headnote and note to printer.
Folder
5 “Ladies and Gentlemen,” corrected typescript, 6 p., 1960. Includes rough and final drafts of a lecture given by Cage at the Wesleyan University Center for Advanced Studies.
Folder
6-16 Jack Lenor Larsen, Inc.
Documents reflecting Cage’s employment as art director for the Jack Lenor Larsen textile firm, including examples of advertisements he created.
Correspondence, 6 pieces, 1956-58.
Catalog proofs, 1957.
Christmas card, 1957.
Drapery advertisement, 1957.
Naugahyde advertisement, 1957.
Private Opening invitation, 1957
Stationery, ca. 1957.
Telegram advertisement, 1957.
Ticket stub advertisement, 1957.
Woolweaves advertisement, 1957.
Merce Cunningham Dance Company Program, ca. 1950s. Designed by Cage.
Folder
18 Last Evening with Marcel Duchamp, by Robert Lebel, corrected typescript, 4 p., n.d.
English translation of the article "Dernier soiree avec Marcel Duchamp,"L'Oeil 167 (November 1968), p. 18-21. Corrections not in Cage’s hand.
Folder
18-20 “Richard Lippold”
Steno pad and small plastic Batman figurine, n.d.
Corrected typescript, 4 p., n.d. Draft of “Grand St. and Monroe (for RL Twenty Years Later).”
Exhibition program, April 17-May 12, 1973. Programs for Richard Lippold Show at the Willard Gallery, New York featuring Cage’s poem.
Folder
21 “Listening to Music (Unpublished),” typescript, 7 p., 1937.
Folder
22 “Looking at Painting from a Musical Point of View (Unpublished),” autograph manuscript, 6 p., n.d.
Folder
23-25 M
Corrected typescript and accompanying Wesleyan University Press correspondence, 1973-74.
Jacket art and corrected page mockup drawings, n.d.
Corrected printer’s proofs (blues), 1973.
Folder
26-29 M Foreword”
Autograph manuscript, 13 p., n.d.
Autograph manuscript, 20 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 9 p., n.d.
Annotated typescript, 8 p., n.d. Final draft.
Box Folder
9 1-2 Typescript, 8 p., n.d. Final draft.
Notes, 1 p., n.d.
Box Folder
9 3-4 M Front and Back Master”
Corrected typescript, 6 p., n.d.
Dust jackets, 5 copies.
Folder
5-6 M Mesostics re and not re Duchamp”
Corrected photocopy, 1 p., n.d. Dummy from Vogue (UK) with notes on verso.
Corrected photocopy, 1 p., after 1970. Notes and instructions for printer.
Folder
7-11 M Mesostics re Merce Cunningham”
Notebook, 12 p., March 1971. Contains 62 draft mesostics.
Notebook, 13 p., n.d. Notebook of mesostics and one loose page.
Notes, 39 p., n.d. Notes and calculations.
Corrected printouts, 25 p., n.d. Notes, mesostic drafts and calculations added to I Ching-based computer printouts.
Corrected typescript, 6 p., March 1971. Complete proof sheet with added numerical codes.
Box Folder
9 12 “M Press Reviews,” correspondence, clippings, and magazine issues, 1971-73.
13 “M Six Mesostics,” corrected typescripts, 3 p., n.d.
Folder
Folder
14 “Jackson MacLow (Something Else Press),” autograph and corrected typescripts, 2 p., n.d. Original folder reads “used for Stanzas for Iris Lezac.”
Box Folder
9 15-16 “Manifestos and Dedication (Silence)”
Corrected typescript, 1 p., n.d. Printer’s instructions for Silence’s dedication page.
Corrected theater program, 16 p., March 2-May 18, 1951-52. Program for performances at The Living Theater. Includes “Manifesto” later included in Silence.
Box Folder
9 17 “McLuhan’s Influence,” corrected typescript, 2 p., Jan. 11, 1967.
Folder
18 “Mesostics (Miscellaneous),” autograph manuscripts and corrected typescripts, 11 p., 1970-73.
Folder
19-22 “Miró (AYFM)”
2 notebooks, 12 p. each, n.d.
Autograph manuscripts, 3 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 5 p., n.d. Includes headnote.
Corrected typescript, 4 p., September 1966. Final draft. Includes headnote.
Folder
23 “Misc. Notes on Music and Dance (Unpublished),” Corrected typescripts and autograph manuscripts, 8 p., n.d. Drafts.
Box Folder
9 24-29 “Mosaic (AYFM)”
Autograph manuscript, 17 p., n.d. Early draft.
Corrected typescript, 1 p., Sept. 1966. Draft of headnote.
Corrected typescript, 12 p., April 21, 1965. Includes a copy of “Mosaic” and a submission letter to David Madden, The Kenyon Review.
Notes, 12 p., n.d. Notes and calculations.
Notebooks, 2 steno pads, n.d.
Corrected typescript, 10 p., n.d. Final draft of essay. Includes headnote.
Folder
30-32 “Mureau”
Steno pad, 60 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 21 p., Nov. 1970.
Magazine, 33 p., after April 1971. Copy of Misc [n.d.] in which “Mureau” appears.
Box Folder
10 1-4 “Mushroom Book (M)”
Autograph manuscripts, 18 p., n.d. 12 pages are laminated.
Autograph manuscripts and corrected typescripts, 6 p., n.d.
Typescript, 6 p., n.d. Photocopy of “Re and not re Fuller and Mao.”
Steno pad, 1972.
Folder
5-6 “Music and Films”
Corrected typescripts, 3 p., after Jan. 1951. Draft of “A Few Ideas About Music and Films,” with notes to printer.
Magazine, Jan. 1951. Issue of Film Music Notes, including a corrected copy of “A Few Ideas About Music and Films.”
Folder
7 “A Music Lover’s Field Companion (Silence),” corrected typescript, 3 p., n.d. Includes headnote.
Folder
8-11 “Nam June Paik (AYFM)”
Notebook, n.d.
Corrected typescript, 4 p., Oct. 1965. Includes headnote.
Corrected typescript, 4 p., 1965. Final draft of essay. Includes headnote.
Exhibition catalog, 8 p., November 23 – December 11, 1965. Catalog for Nam June Paik show, Galeria Bonino, NY, in which “Nam June Paik: A Diary” was printed.
Folder
12-17 “Not Wanting to Say Anything About Marcel (8 Plexigrams, 2 Lithographs)” 6 steno notebooks, n.d.
Box Folder
10 18-20 “Notations (Dustwrapper)”
Catalog, 78 p., 1973-74. Artist Books, Moore College of Art exhibition, March-April 1973, including Cage’s “Diary: How to Improve the World” and “Notations.”
Corrected typescript, 1 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 2 p., n.d.
Folder
21 Notebook, 1980. Pocket notebook includes annotated schedule to “Word of Mouth” lecture series, January 1980.
“Lecture on Nothing (Silence)” Corrected typescript, 50 p., n.d. Includes headnote and afternote.
Folder
23 “Other People Think (Kostelanetz),” Corrected typescript, 4 p., n.d.
Folder
24 “René Pomerleau,” notes, 3 p., n.d.
Folder
25 “Problem (maybe published in Japan),” corrected typescript, 6 p., n.d.
Folder
26-30 “Program Notes (not published in a book)”
Corrected typescript, 3 p., n.d. Labeled “#A.”
Corrected typescript, 1 p., n.d. Labeled “#B,” “omit in favor of #A.”
Corrected typescript, 3 p., n.d. Labeled “#C.”
Typescript, 3 p., n.d.
Magazine clipping, n.d. Notes on verso.
Box Folder
10 31 “Rauschenberg (Kostelanetz),” autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d.
Folder
32 “Rauschenberg (Silence),” corrected typescript, 16 p., Feb., 1961. Includes headnote.
Folder
33-37 “Remarks before a Recital (Unpublished)”
Notebook, n.d. Includes notes and drafts.
Corrected typescript, 5 p., n.d. Draft of remarks for a recital of David Tudor’s piano works.
Corrected typescript, 4 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 6 p., n.d. Includes headnote.
Corrected program, 2 p., March 19, 1959. “David Tudor,” La Maison Francaise at New York University.
Box Folder
11 1 “Remarks before a visit to Japan (Published in Sogetsu Program, Tokyo),” photocopied article, 1 p., Sept. 14, 1962.
Folder
2-3 “Remarks on Winslow’s Music (Published in Wesleyan Cardinal)”
Autograph manuscript, 9 p., Nov. 1960.
orrected typescript, 7 p., Nov. 1960. Includes note cards, one reading: “Do not use—too localized.”
Folder
4-5 “A Response to Lithgow’s Remarks (Unpublished)”
Autograph manuscript, 2 p., Oct. 1961. Prepared for a panel discussion on “Art and Responsive Action,” Princeton NJ.
Typed letters signed, 2 p., October 7 and 9, 1961. Arrangements for speakers on panel.
Folder
6-7 “Rhythm Etc. (AYFM)”
Autograph manuscripts and corrected typescripts, approximately 100 p., n.d. Notes and drafts.
Corrected typescript, 21 p., April 1962. Final draft of essay. Includes headnote and attached notes. Original folder reads: “To be published soon in G. Kere’s volume “Module” in series Vision + Value.
Folder
8-10 “Richards, M.C.”
Corrected typescripts, 9 p., n.d. Book review.
Uncorrected proofs, 2 p., n.d.
Cpy of published book review in Voice Literary Supplement, Dec. 27, 1973.
Folder
11-12 “Erik Satie (Silence)”
Page layout sketch, 1 p., 1958.
Corrected typescript, 9 p., 1958. Includes headnote.
Folder
13 “Satie Controversy (Kostelanetz),” typed letter from Cage to Cecil Smith, 2 p., Nov. 22, 1950.
Folder
14 Scores, 9 p., n.d. 9 typeset scores (1st page of each only) on newsprint with accompanying description of the piece. Includes: “Construction in Metal,” “Music for Carillon I,” “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra,” “Quartet: Twelve Tom Toms,” “Imaginary Landscape No. 1,” “Solo with Obbligato to the Accompaniment of 2 Voices in Canon,” “The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs,” “Williams Mix,” and “She is Asleep.”
Folder
15-16 “Seriously Comma (AYFM)”
Autograph manuscript, 20 p., n.d.
Typescript, 5 p., September 1965. Final draft of essay. Includes headnote and note to printer. Original folder note: “To be published in French in a magazine.”
Folder
17-22 “Silence”
Correspondence, 3 items, Sept.-Nov., 1961. Letters of congratulations on Silence’s publication.
Correspondence, 5 items, Sept.-Oct., 1961. Correspondence with Wesleyan University Press, including contract for Silence.
Correspondence, 2 pieces, 1961, 1967. Correspondence with M.I.T. Press and Andre Deutsch Limited. Includes 1967 M.I.T. Press sales figures.
Documents, 28 pieces, 1961-64. Copyright assignments and permissions granted to reproduce Cage’s essays in Silence.
Catalogs and book announcements, 7 items, 1961-67.
Catalogs and book announcements, 7 items, 1961-67.
Documents, approximately 100 p., ca. 1961-67. Reviews and announcements, clippings, 1961-67.
Box Folder
11 23-24 “Silence (Foreword)”
Corrected typescript, 8 p., n.d. Titled: “Notes for Recording (Folkways).”
Corrected typescript, 4 p., n.d. Final draft.
Folder
25 “Silence (Front Material),” 35 p., n.d. Layout designs and corrected proofs.
Folder
26 "Six Arts and Technology," corrected typescript, 3 p., n.d.
John Cage, writer: previously uncollected pieces, selected and introduced by Richard Kostelanetz. (New York: Limelight Editions, 1993).
Folder
27-28 “Sixty Replies to 30 Questions”
60 typed index cards, n.d.
Offprint, 1968. “Soixanté Résponses à Trente Questions de Daniel Charles” from Revue d’esthétique containing article.
Folder
29-32 “Lecture on Something (Silence)”
Autogragh manuscript, 15 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 29 p., n.d. Includes headnote.
Corrected typescript, 8 p., n.d. Titled: “Title “Lecture on Something.” Performance copy.
Corrected typescript, 9 p., n.d. Performance copy on versos of Merce Cunningham Summer Course flyers.
Box Folder
12 1 “Songs (Song Books: Peters),” corrected typescript, 7 p., n.d.
Folder
2 “Stories,” corrected typescripts and correspondence, 31 p., ca. 1966-67.
Original folder note: “There are many duplicates here but I think they aren’t the stories in Silence.”
Folder
3-4 “Talk I (AYFM)”
Corrected typescript, 3 p., n.d. Notes.
Corrected typescript, 7 p., September 1965. Final draft of text. Includes headnote.
Folder
5-10 “Tape Music (Unpublished)”
Corrected typescript, 2 p., n.d. Titled: “Music for Magnetic Tape: Relation to the Field of Music.”
Corrected typescript, 2 p., n.d. Titled: “Music for Magnetic Tape: History.”
Corrected typescript, 2 p., n.d. Titled: “Music for Magnetic Tape: History.”
Corrected typescript, 6 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 1 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 1 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 11 p., n.d. Titled: “Dartmouth Spring 1955.”
Folder
11-12 “These Days (Kostelanetz)”
Corrected typescript, 4 p., n.d.
Corrected photocopy of previous typescript, 4 p., 1968.
Folder
13-14
Typed letter, 1 p., January 26, 1972. To Ms. Elga Duval from Mimi Johnson, secretary to John Cage. Short note re: submission of a manuscript.
Typescript, 1 p., January 1972. Recollection of Dylan Thomas.
Folder
15-16 “Thomson (Original)”
Corrected typescript, 185 p., spring 1956. Titled: “The Works of Virgil Thomson / A Study by John Cage.”
Autograph manuscript, 5 p., n.d. Notes.
Folder
17 “Music of Virgil Thomson,” corrected typescript, 251 p., n.d. Later draft of “The Works of Virgil Thomson.”
Folder
18 “Tobey (Published in Barol Catalog),” typescript, 2 p., n.d. Recollections of Mark Tobey.“Tobey (Published in Barol Catalog),” typescript, 2 p., n.d. Recollections of Mark Tobey.
Folder
19 “University in Motion (Unpublished),” corrected typescript, 3 p., n.d. Titled: “University in Motion: Matrix for the Arts.”
Folder
20 “Edgard Varèse (Silence),” corrected typescript, 3 p., September 23, 1958. Published in Nutida Musik (Stockholm), Fall 1958. Includes headnote.
Folder
21 Varèse, corrected typescript, 2 p., after 1972. Book review by Cage of Louise Varèse, Varèse, W. W. Norton, 1972.
Folder
22 Variations III (Unpublished),” corrected typescript, 1 p., n.d. Original folder note: “Written during Berlin performance.”
Folder
23-26 “Wesleyan Papers (Misc., Unpublished)”
Corrected typescript, 4 p., n.d. Titled: “Statement on Fellowship in the Wesleyan Center for Advanced Studies (1960-1961).”
Cage’s fellowship report.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d. Notes.
Corrected typescript, 9 p., n.d. Titled: “Gentlemen of the Wesleyan Glee Club.” Address to the Wesleyan Glee Club.
Typescript, 6 p., summer 1963. Proposal by Cage and David Tudor for Wesleyan to establish a Center for Experimental Music.
Folder
27-29 “What Are We Eating?”
Steno pad, n.d. Titled: “What Are We Eating? And What Are We Eating? (38 Variations on a Theme by Alison Knowles).”
Steno pad, n.d. Labeled: “I.” Includes four loose sheets of notes.
Steno pad, n.d. Labeled: “II.”
Box Folder
13 1-6 “Where Are We Going? and What [Are We Doing?] (Silence)”
Photocopied letter, 2 p., n.d. From Cage to Wesleyan University Press commenting on “Where Are We Going? and What Are We Doing?”
Steno pad, n.d.
Steno pad, n.d. Labeled: “I / Blue / 933.”
Steno pad, n.d. Labeled: “II / Green / 926.”
Steno pad, n.d. Labeled: “III / Red / 848.”
Steno pad, n.d. Labeled: “IV / Orange / 914.”
Folder
7-10 “Where Are We Going? etc. (Silence)”
Autograph manuscript, 3 p., n.d. Draft of headnote.
Autograph manuscript, 1 p., n.d. Notes.
Autograph manuscript, 2 p., n.d. Notes.
Corrected typescript, 90 p., April 26, 1961. Complete draft of “Where Are We Going? and What Are We Doing?” with headnote.
Folder
11-14 “Where Do We Go From Here? (A Year From Monday)”
Corrected typescript, 12 p., n.d. Originally titled “From a Starting Point.”
Typescript, 8 p., n.d. Final draft. Includes headnote.
Corrected typescript, 9 p., 1963. Final draft of essay. Includes headnote, notes to printer, and printer’s corrections.
Magazine, 1963. Copy of Dance Perspectives 16 in which the essay was published.
Folder
15-16 “A Year From Monday”
Book production documents, 6 items, 1966-68. Includes: original contract for A Year From Monday, July 18, 1966; letter to from J.R. de la Torre Bueno [Wesleyan University Press] regarding recent copyright assignments, February 21, 1968; three copyright assignments from various magazines; and press release from Wesleyan University Press.
Book reviews, approximately 50 items, 1966-68.
Folder
17-18 “Year From Monday (Afterword)”
Steno pad, n.d.
Corrected typescript, 22 p., n.d. Drafts.
Box Folder
14 1-3 Corrected typescript, 7 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 6 p., n.d. Later draft.
Corrected proofs, 2 p., n.d.
Box Folder
14 4-5 “Year From Monday (Foreward)”
Corrected typescript, 3 p., n.d.
Corrected typescript, 3 p., October 1966.
Box Folder
14 6-11 “Year From Monday (Headnotes)”
Steno pad, n.d.
Corrected typescript, 1 p., spring 1966. Titled: “Materials by John Cage submitted spring 1966 for next book.”
Corrected typescript, 1 p., August 15, 1966. Titled: “Contents.” Proposed table of contents for AYFM.
Corrected typescript, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Headnote: Talk I.”
Corrected typescript, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Headnote: Emma Lake.”
Corrected typescript, 1 p., n.d. Titled: “Headnote: Emma Lake.”
Corrected typescript, 1 p., December 15, 1966. Titled: “Contents and Status, as of 12/15/66.”
Folder
12 Memberships and Correspondence (3 pieces), 1980, 1991-92
Series 2. Interviews with Cage.
Box Folder
15 1 Barbarber 51 Amsterdam, "Een interview met John Cage Door Michael Kirby en Richard Schechner," March 1967 (Dutch)
Revue d'Esthetique, "Soixante réponses à trente questions de Daniel Charles" (Sixty Answers to thirty questions of Daniel Charles), 1968 (French)
North American Review, "Things to Do: An Interview with John Cage," winter 1969
Folder
2 Coast FM and Fine Arts, "John Cage: Dean of the Musical Avant-Garde," by Genevieve Marcus, March 1970
Royal Albert Hall Concert Program and Interview, "John Cage and David Tudor" 22 May 1972
Prolog vol. 19/20 Zagreb, "Razgovor sa Johnom Cageom: zivot koji postaje umtjetnost," 1974 (Serbo-Croatian)
New York Arts Journal, "John Cage on his music" May 1976
Folder
3 View, Interviews with Robin White, Vol. 1 1978-1979
Folder
4 Community Arts Newsletter, "John Cage: Interview," by Joshua Harrison, February 1980
Performance, No. 7, "John Cage and Merce Cunningham in London," 1980
Conversation without Feldman (Cage and Geoffrey Barnard), Black Ram Books, 1980
Musicworks, No. 17, "A Conversation with John Cage," Fall 1981
Folder
5 Res 6, "Cage: Conversation with Morton Feldman," Autumn 1983
Issues Monthley, "Music Without Bars: An Interview with John Cage," by Olivia Birkelund and Alex Sichel, November 1984
Pratt Journal of Architecture, "Architecture and Abstraction, An Interview with John Cage," Fall 1985
Res 10, "Cage: On Collaboration in Art, a conversation with David Shapiro," Autumn 1985
Minneapolis City Pages, "Interview: New Music Pioneer John Cage on art, politics and mushrooms," by Steve A. Kvaal October 23, 1985
Folder
6 Il Gionale della Musica, "John Cage si racconta," September 1987 (Italian)
Art Meets Science and Spirituality in a Changing Economy (conference); John Cage Interview, 7 September 1989, San Francisco
The Print Collector's Newsletter, "John Cage: An Interview," by Vincent Katz, Vol XX No. 6, January-February 1990
Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, "Taking Chances: Laurie Anderson Talks with John Cage," Summer 1992 (Laurie Anderson and Cage)
Folder
7 CONNECTION (ND)
Cage/Hans G. Helms (ND, German and English)
Irving Sandler and Cage (ND, transcript with corrections)
Cage Interview, Cage/(Larry?) Austin (ND)
Conversations with John Cage/Christian Wolff, Hans G. Helms (ND, German and English)
Series 3. Fan Mail and Mail Art.
Box
16 3A. Fan Mail Without Enclosures
Box
17-23 3B. Fan Mail With Enclosures
The fan mail with enclosures is not currently arranged in a particular order, but some highlights are noted below.
Box Folder
17 15 Dick Higgins (Poetry Project) "Expressionist Manifesto" MS
Box Folder
18 2 Invitation to Andy Warhol Memorial Service
Folder
3 Portuguese Composer Augusto de Campos, "Poetamenos" (Songs) dedicated to Cage, 1973
Folder
5 Delhi and New Delhi Guide, road map of India, 1964
Box Folder
19 6 Assorted print materials associated with Buckminster Fuller projects
Box Folder
20 1 Assorted print materials by literary scholar Ihab Hassin with notes from Author to Cage
Marshall McLuhan, "The Future of Film in Canada" MS, 1964
Folder
2 Living Theater Press Folder w/ note from founder Judith Molina to Cage, 1989
Box Folder
21 5 Letter from Dick Higgins [Fluxus pioneer and poet] with poems, 1960
"Portrait of John Cage," assemblage by Mary Francis Judge, 1972
Letter from James Turrell and photos of Roden Crater Project, 1984
"Grinning Idiot Salutes Modern Dance,"; article on William de Kooning and Black Mountain College with notes, 1984
Folder
6 Fletcher Copp National Poetry Week "Poem a Day" envelope
Box Folder
22 1 "Bad News" comics periodical featuring "Indeterminacy," a comic featuring Cage as title character
"What I am Trying to Do" by Buckminster Fuller, MS addressed to Cage by author along side several other print articles signed by Fuller to Cage
Gallery guide to "Nam June Paik: Electronic Art," Galeria Bonino, New York City, 1965
Saturday Review 1 April 1967 cover article "Is Man Changing the Climate of the Earth?," cover photo of Fuller, with signed dedication from Fuller to Cage
Folder
2 Material regarding NEA funding controversy of early 1990s
Box Folder
23 4 Photograph proofs of a Cage lecture, 1987
Series 4. Cage Ephemera.
Box
24 Events, Programs, Brochures
Box
25-26 Books or Parts of Books about Cage
Box
27-28 Dedications, Honors, Related Items
Box
29 Books about Cage
Art Exhibition Catalogs including Work by Cage
Publisher's Catalogs