Scope and Contents
The Henri Chopin Papers document the work and life of French avant-garde poet and musician Henri Chopin. The papers consist of personal and professional correspondence, subject files, writings relating to various publications, artwork, writings of others, photographs, audiovisual materials, and posters spanning the years 1948 to 2009.
Dates
- 1948 - 2009
- Majority of material found within 1960 - 2007
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Boxes 37-53 and 72 (sound recordings): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Boxes 54-71 and 73-80 (sound and video recordings): Use of originals is restricted. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Box 81 and 122 (computer disks): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies of electronic files may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Henri Chopin Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from John Benjamins Antiquariat b.v. and Philippe Luiggi on the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2011 and 2013, and gift of Philippe Luigi, 2015.
Arrangement
Organized into ten series: I. Correspondence and Subject Files, 1960-2004. II. Cinquième Saison and OU Files 1960-2009. III. Artwork, 1967-2006. IV. Works by Others, 1948-2006.V. Photographs, circa 1960-2000. VI. Writings, 1952-2007. VII. Audiovisual Material, 1957-2007. VIII. Posters, 1967-2006. IX. September 2013 Acquisition, 1963-2007. X. August 2015 Acquisition, 1965-1987.
Extent
34.34 Linear Feet ((90 boxes) + 9 record album storage, 31 broadside, 5 art.)
Language of Materials
French
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.chopin
Abstract
The Henri Chopin Papers document the work and life of French avant-garde poet and musician Henri Chopin. The papers consist of personal and professional correspondence, subject files, writings relating to various publications, artwork, writings of others, photographs, audiovisual materials, and posters spanning the years 1948 to 2009.
Henri Chopin (1922-2008)
Henri Chopin, primarily a French avant-garde poet and musician, but also a painter, graphic artist and designer, typographer, independent publisher, and filmmaker. He was born in Paris on June 18, 1922 and died in Dereham, England on January 3, 2008.
Chopin was a French practitioner of concrete and sound poetry and created recordings using tape recorders, various studio technologies, and the sounds of the human voice. Chopin's published works include the books Le Dernier Roman du Monde (1971), Portrait des 9 (1975), The Cosmographical Lobster (1976), Poésie Sonore Internationale (1979), Les Riches Heures de l'Alphabet (1992) and Graphpoemesmachine (2006); the magazines Cinquième Saison and OU (1958-1974); and typewriter poems, also known as dactylopoèmes.
Language(s)
In French and English.
Processing Information
According to the dealer description, "[the archive] was taken directly from [Chopin's] Studio and living quarters in the house of his daughter...in Dereham, UK" and "extensive work [was] done [by the dealer] to sort, organize and describe the thousands of pieces [of the archive], which were left by Henri in total disorder, and on which no work whatsoever had been done before...the archive [was divided] into 4 major subdivisions: 1. correspondence 2. original works of art (both of Henri and by others) 3. manuscripts for books by Henri 4. audio material (both produced by Henri and by others)."
This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and description, in 2012. The collection was largely maintained in the order in which it was received by the library.
Information included in the Description of Papers note and Collection Contents section is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are based on those provided by the dealer. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles have been supplied by staff during initial processing.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- Artists, France -- 20th Century
- Audiovisual materials
- Born digital
- Chopin, Henri, 1922-2008
- Concrete poetry, French -- 20th Century
- Design -- 20th Century
- Drawings (visual works)
- French poetry -- 20th Century
- Graphic arts -- 20th Century
- Musicians -- France -- 20th Century
- Musicians -- France -- 20th Century -- Archives
- Photographs
- Poets -- France -- 20th Century
- Poets, French -- 20th Century -- Archives
- Posters
- Printing
- Publishing -- 20th Century
- Realia
- Sound poetry, French -- 20th Century
- Sound recordings
- Video recordings
- Title
- Guide to the Henri Chopin Papers
- Author
- by Danijela True, Jennifer Meehan, and Molly Wheeler; Brooke McManus
- Date
- 2012. Revised: October 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.