Max Morath papers
Collection
0110-MMC
Max Morath (1926- ) is a ragtime pianist, composer, actor, and author. From 1959 to 1961, Morath wrote, performed, and co-produced 26 half-hour television programs for National Educational Television (NET). The Ragtime Era series showcased the development of the music of that period and brought him national recognition. It was followed by the Turn of the Century series, which dealt with popular music's interaction with the nation's social history. The programs were produced by KRMA in Denver and were seen on the NET network throughout the 1960s. In addition to his television series, Morath made other contributions to NPR and PBS. His papers consist of scripts, general background material, audio recordings, and video recordings.
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3.25 linear Linear Feet (2 record storage boxes; 1 LP box)
30 Tape Reels : quarter inch open reel ; 7 inch
2 Film Reels ; 16mm
4 Videocassettes : 3 VHS; 1 umatic
15 electronic_discs : compact discs
Max Morath was born in Colorado Springs on October 1, 1926. He is best known as a ragtime pianist. In 1959, he began work on a program for NET (the forerunner of PBS) to develop a series on the ragtime era. The 12 part series, The Ragtime Era was distributed nationally and is considered a classic of its genre. In the early 1960's, NET asked Morath to create a follow-up series. This program used music and popular arts to revisit life in American between 1890-1920.
In 1996, he finished work on a master's degree at Columbia University in American Studies. His master's thesis investigates the writer Carrie Jacobs-Bond who wrote "I Love You Truly" and hundreds of other classic early 20th century songs. Morath remained busy at the beginning of the 21st century, traveling all over the world with his one-man show, Max Morath the Ragtime Man.
This collection has been minimally processed. Paper material was placed in acid-free folders. Audio visual material was grouped together by format.
The collection was donated to the University of Maryland Libraries in February of 2012 by Max Morath.
This collection is minimally processed. A preliminary inventory is available and is linked in the external documents field.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives