Autographs--[Griffith, Anthony C.]

autograph book, oblong 16mo, including c.119 individual names of composers (Arnold, Britten, Hindemith, Ireland, Vaughan Williams and Walton), conductors (Barbirolli, Beecham, Boult, Davis, Furtwängler, Karajan, Klemperer and Kubelik), pianists (Barenboim, Lympany, Moiseiwitch, Moore and Solomon), singers (Dietrich, Ferrier, Gigli, Pears, Schwarzkopf and Tauber), violinists (Busch, Menuhin and Heifetz) and others (Day Lewis, etc.), occasional letters or cards tipped in with adhesive tape, original morocco, worn; nine signed photographs including Ferrier ("with best wishes | Kathleen Ferrier"), Schwarzkopf ("let's hope for many / nice notes from me - / and (a lot of helping) / knob-twiddlings / from you"), Lipatti and Karajan; together with other material (unsigned photograph, typed letter signed from Shirley Beecham, an inscribed portrait album for a Vienna Philharmonic Ball ("Damenspende", 16 January 1950), signed by most members of the orchestra including Furtwängler (1950), final programme from the Queen's Hall), etc. [16 items], for a complete list of the artists, please see online

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The autograph book includes:

Composers (Richard Arnell, Malcolm Arnold, Benjamin Britten, Peter Racine Fricker, Paul Hindemith, Imogen Holst, John Ireland, Alan Rawsthorne, Ralph Vaughan Williams and William Walton)

Conductors (Ernest Ansermet, John Barbirolli, Thomas Beecham, Sidney Beer, Anthony Bernard, Arthur Bliss, Adrian Boult, Guido Cantelli, Laurance Collingwood, Colin Davis, Christopher Finzi, Wilhelm Furtwangler, Alceo Galliera, Pierino Gamba, Reginald Jacques, Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, Paul Kletzki, Andre Kostelanetz, Rafael Kubelik, Nicolai Malko, Igor Markevitch, Malcolm Sargent, Hermann Scherchen, Georg Szell, Vilem Tausky and Bruno Walter)

Singers (Erna Berger, Hans Braun, Gre Brouwenstijn, Boris Christoff, Victoria De Los Angeles, Marlene Dietrich, D. Keith Falkner, Kathleen Ferrier, Gabriella Gatti, Benjamino Gigli, Hilde Guden, Roy Henderson, Hans Hotter, Sena Jurinac, Eric Kunz, Adele Leigh, Maria Olscewska, Peter Pears, Aulikki Rautawaara, Aksel Schiutz, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Harry Secombe, Muriel Smith, Bernhard Sonnerstedt, Richard Tauber and Eva Turner)

Pianists (Gina Bachauer, Daniel Barenboim, Shura Cherkassky, Joseph Cooper, Issay Dobrowen, Edwin Fischer, Fou Ts'ong, Walter Gieseking, Louis Kentner, Lili Kraus, Moura Lympany, Witold Malcuzinski, Denis Matthews, Yaltah Menuhin, Benno Moiseiwitch, Gerald Moore, Joel Ryce, Rudolf Serkin, Solomon, Halina Stefanska and Friedrich Wuhrer)

Violinists (Harry Blech, Hyman Bress, Adolf Busch, Giaconda De Vito, Zino Francescatti, Ida Haendel, Jascha Heifetz, Emanuel Hurwitz, Ivor McMahon, Yehudi Menuhin, Theo Olof, Bruno Straumann and Tibor Varga)

Cellists (Hermann Busch, Pierre Fournier, Tauno Hannikainen, Enrico Mainardi, Paul Tortelier and Terence Weil)

Other instrumentalists (Richard Adeney [flute], Cecil Aronowitz [viola], Clifford Brown [trumpet], Ossian Ellis [harp], Leon Gooseens [oboe], Hugo Gottesmann [viola], Peter Graeme [oboe], Anton Heiller [organ], Erna Heiller [organ], Anton Karas [zither], Gervase de Peyer [clarinet] and Segovia [guitar])

and others (Betty Beecham, Cecil Day Lewis and Stephen Murray)

Anthony C. Griffith (1915-2005) had a long relationship with the EMI Group and became one of the most respected and knowledgeable engineers and producers in the industry. His earliest recordings for EMI were made in 1934 and he rejoined HMV and Columbia after the war, working alongside Walter Legge on recordings made throughout Europe with the leading artists of the day. In the 1950s he became famous for his expertise in transferring 78rpm records to the then-new microgroove long-playing medium: hundreds of LPs were issued bearing his imprimatur and achieved world-wide acclaim. In the 1960s he became recording manager of World Record Club (a subsidiary of EMI) and produced and engineered many new recordings with Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Arthur Bliss and other great musicians of the day. Although Griffith retired in 1979, for a number of years he continued to act as a consultant for EMI.