Finding Aids

Biographical Sketch

Daniel Gott Hastings was an alumnus of the University of Rochester, 1884. He took a medical degree at Harvard in 1888 and practiced in Rochester during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The nature of the material in the scrapbooks implies that he was probably a native of Rochester who studied medicine first in Boston and later made the traditional professional sojourn in Germany before returning to his native city to practice. Hastings died March 21, 1942.

Provenance

The scrapbooks were apparently donated by Hastings, but no documentation exists.

Scope and Content

The scrapbooks cover in their largest extent musical events in Rochester from 1861 to 1931, with the bulk relating to 1890-1930. They represent an outstanding resource for the study of musical life in Rochester during that period. They include programs, newspaper clippings and other informational items about music in Rochester and the musicians who performed here.

Associations

Watanabe Special Collections holds many scrapbooks relating to local music history. Almost exactly parallel are the scrapbooks of the Tuesday Musicale, which extend from 1891 to 1926. The two collections complement each other superbly. In the Anna Walker Goss scrapbook is a letter from Hastings to Fritz Kreisler and the response from Kreisler.

Restrictions and Use

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

DESCRIPTION OF SERIES

The series and collection consists of a series of scrapbooks documenting musical life in Rochester from 1861-1931. The books represent a continuous chronological sequence. The scrapbooks from 1904 on have evidently been removed from their original ring binders, but are otherwise presumably in original order. The last scrapbook is peculiar in that it reverts to a more primitive style and covers more years more superficially. Hastings’ name is stamped in the binding, precluding the possibility of a past confusion as to source.

INVENTORY