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Frances L. Wallace papers

 Collection
Identifier: M182

Scope and Content of the Papers

The collection documents Frances Wallace's many musical activities during her long career as a pianist and organist in Atlanta, and it provides a glimpse of Atlanta's musical scene during the middle years of the twentieth century.

The Wallace papers are organized into four series: (I) Personal records; (II) Scripts and performance notes; (III) Music; and (IV) Audio-visual materials. Series I contains appointment books, correspondence, contracts, news clippings, publicity materials and programs, as well as a few artifacts documenting Wallace's personal and professional life. Series II consists of several annotated radio scripts and scripts and performance notes from various shows. Of note are the radio scripts from WSB and WCON radio, most of which date from the late 1940s. Series III contains several kinds of music, including a significant portion of the music library of WSB (mainly printed dance arrangements and manuscript band and orchestra arrangements of popular songs), printed music for silent films, manuscript scores of band arrangements by Frank Power, a group of manuscript modulations, manuscript lead sheets of popular songs, and printed dance arrangements (non-WSB). Photographs of Frances Wallace and a group of photographs of the Southern Gentlemen Orchestra are included in Series IV.

Dates

  • Creation: 1903-1995
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1940 - 1991

Creator

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research use.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Georgia State University is the owner of the physical collection and makes reproductions available for research, subject to the copyright law of the United States and item condition. Georgia State University may or may not own the rights to materials in the collection. It is the researcher's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and obtain permission from the copyright holder before publication, reproduction, or display of the materials beyond what is reasonable under copyright law. Researchers may quote selections from the collection under the fair use provision of copyright law.

Biography of Frances L. Wallace

Frances Lee Wallace (1921-2001) grew up in the Atlanta area of Lakeland Heights. A piano student since childhood, she began playing professionally in about 1940, when she was hired to play in the basement of Davison's department store in downtown Atlanta. Soon afterwards she began performing frequently on piano and organ on WSB, WAGA and WCON radio, as well as at the Roxy theater, Rich's and Davison's department stores, nightclubs, synagogues and churches. She made notable appearances with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra during the late 1940s and 1950s; she began a long relationship with Ahavath Achim synagogue in the mid 1940s, a relationship she continued for more than 40 years; she provided the accompaniment for silent film showings in Atlanta; and she formed and directed her own musical groups, which played at a variety of venues such as weddings, nightclubs, and fashion shows from the 1940s to 1980s. Ill health forced her to abandon her long musical career in the early 1990s, but she continued to perform occasionally at private parties until about 1992.

During her musical career Wallace became good friends with Frank Power, one of the staff arrangers and brass players for the Atlanta Pops Orchestra. She performed frequently with several notable Atlanta musicians, especially Albert Coleman, and she played for many well-known Atlantans, including Ivan Allen.

Wallace was married briefly (circa 1940-circa 1942) to Walter Stokes, a singer with whom she performed frequently during this period.

Extent

8.95 Linear Feet (in 20 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract:

Frances Lee Wallace (1921-2001) grew up in the Atlanta area of Lakeland Heights. A piano student since childhood, she began playing professionally in about 1940, when she was hired to play in the basement of Davison's department store in downtown Atlanta. The collection documents Frances Wallace's many musical activities during her long career as a pianist and organist in Atlanta, and it provides a glimpse of Atlanta's musical scene during the middle years of the twentieth century.

Organization of the Papers

The collection is organized into four series:

  • Series I. Personal records
    • Subseries A: Appointment books
    • Subseries B: Correspondence
    • Subseries C: Contracts
    • Subseries D: News clippings and newsletters
    • Subseries E: Programs
    • Subseries F: Flyers and publicity materials
    • Subseries G: Artifacts
  • Series II. Scripts and performance notes
    • Subseries A: Radio scripts
    • Subseries B: Silent film accompaniments
    • Subseries C: Show scripts and performance notes
    • Subseries D: Songlists and lyrics
  • Series III. Music
    • Subseries A: WSB sheet music
      • Sub-subseries 1: Dance arrangements
      • Sub-subseries 2: Manuscript arrangements
      • Sub-subseries 3: Medleys and song classics
    • Subseries B: Silent film music
      • Sub-subseries 1: Howard Theatre silent film music
      • Sub-subseries 2: Charles silent film music library
    • Subseries C: Frank Power Arrangements
    • Subseries D: Modulations
    • Subseries E: Individual Songs and Medleys
    • Subseries F: Dance Arrangements (non-WSB)
  • Series IV. Audio-visual materials
Oversize music and other materials are listed within each series.

Offsite Storage

Collection is stored offsite. Allow at least 2 working days for retrieval.

Aquisition Information

Donated by E. Jo Baker-Henry, April 13, 2002.

Related Materials

Related materials in other repositories:

  1. Photographs relating to the Howard Theatre and Albert Coleman, Atlanta History Center
  2. Ahavath Achim Congregation Records, 1887-1988 (Mss. 21) at the Cuba Archives, William Breman Jewish Heritage Center Museum, Atlanta GA
  3. An oral history interview with Albert Coleman is available at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame's Zell Miller Center for Georgia Music Studies in Macon, Georgia

Separated Materials:

During processing various materials were separated to other Popular Music and Culture Music Collections. Consult the University Library's online catalog or contact Special Collections for access to sheet music. For rare books, consult the catalog.

Popular Music Sheet Music Collection

  1. Follow Your Heart by J. Arthur Kelly

Special Collections Rare Books

  1. Exercises on the Globes and Maps . . . Designed for the Use of Young Ladies (1824) by William Butler

Processing Information

Processed by Christine de Catanzaro at the file level, July 2004. Some of the files in this collection were grouped according to genre when Special Collections received these records. Otherwise the collection had no apparent organization on receipt. Current order was established by the Special Collections Department, based upon content. Parts of this collection suffered prolonged exposure to dust and damp conditions prior to arriving at Special Collections. These documents have been cleaned. Nevertheless, people who are very sensitive to mold and mildew may experience problems in working with the collection. Newspaper clippings, some music, programs and selected other manuscript items have been photocopied for preservation purposes.

Title
Frances L. Wallace:
Subtitle
A Guide to Her Papers at Georgia State University Library
Status
Completed
Author
Christine de Catanzaro
Date
July 2004
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
100 Decatur St., S.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
404-413-2880
404-413-2881 (Fax)