Charlotte Lansing Papers, 1924-1984
Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Lansing, Charlotte.
- Abstract:
- The Charlotte Lansing Papers contains materials documenting Lansing’s personal and professional life.
- Extent:
- 2 boxes (2.5 linear feet)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Charlotte Lansing Papers,
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Charlotte Lansing Papers document aspects of Lansing’s personal and professional life. Highlights of the collection include correspondence, mainly consisting of letters written to her from her husband; a large number of newspaper clippings that report on theatrical productions in which Lansing performed; photographs, playbills and programs from her performances; and three scrapbooks full of newspaper clippings, photographs, and programs. There are eight audio recordings, mostly of music, but only one--a 1937 recording--appears to be of Lansing.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Charlotte Lansing Snyder was born on December 14, 1899 in Brainard, New York, and spent her childhood and adolescence in Central New York. She attended Syracuse University, graduating in 1920 with her bachelor’s degree in music from the College of Fine Arts. While a student at Syracuse, she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, the Glee Club, the Consumer’s League, and the Class Executive Committee for two years. Ten years after her graduation, in 1930, she married Edward Hillyer Mackenzie.
Under the stage name of Charlotte Lansing she had a successful career in theater, performing in musical comedies and light operas. She traveled across the country and sang for the St. Louis Municipal Opera Company, the Chicago Civic Opera, and the Los Angeles Opera. Her performances in productions such as Blossom Time and My Maryland in 1938 and 1939 were well received by critics and audiences alike. She also performed on Broadway multiple times, in productions of Desert Song, New Moon, Showboat, and East Wind. Along with her stage performances, Lansing also sang on a weekly NBC radio program every Sunday afternoon in the 1930s.
After her acting career, Lansing worked as a cotton broker. She was the first woman to register with the New York Cotton Exchange, and she worked for Hirsch & Co., and then later for Carl M. Moeb, Rhoades & Co.
Charlotte Lansing died on October 31, 1983.
- Acquisition information:
- Some of the materials in the Charlotte Lansing Papers were transferred to the Archives from the Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center in 2005. The origin of the other materials is unknown.
- Processing information:
-
The materials have been processed and placed in acid-free folders and boxes.
- Arrangement:
-
The items are arranged in alphabetical order.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.
Please also note that the Archives does not have the equipment to enable researchers to listen to the audio recordings in the Lansing Papers.
- Terms of access:
-
Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
- Preferred citation:
-
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Charlotte Lansing Papers,
- Location of this collection:
-
Special Collections Research CenterSyracuse University LibrariesBird Library, Room 600Syracuse, NY 13244, United States
- Contact:
- 315.443.2697scrc@syr.edu