Guide to the Papers of Jamie and Michael Kassler

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MS 10371

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Created: April 2024

Collection Summary

Creator
Kassler, Jamie Croy
Kassler, Michael
Title
Papers of Jamie and Michael Kassler
Date Range
1790 - 2021
Collection Number
MS 10371
Extent
3.8 metres (11 ms boxes + 1 medium folio box + 1 large folio box + 3 map folios)
Language of Materials
English
Repository
Special Collections (Manuscripts)

Introduction

Scope and Contents

The collection features correspondence, music scores, artworks, manuscripts, printed and published works and related papers. The correspondence is primarily with composers, music scholars and musicologists, as well as scientists working in the field of robotics.

Correspondents include Clarence Adler, Samuel Ashkensi, Ingmar Bengtsson, Noam Chomsky, Helen Coates, Aaron Copland, George W. Corner, Ernest Crome, Alfred Durr, Malcolm Elwin, Joseph F. Engelberger, Reis Wenger Flora, Allen Forte, Vittorio Giannini, Harry Glickman, Kerry Grant, Alfred D. Hagle, Sidney Harth, Olwen Hedley, Joyce Hemlow, Yehoshua Bar-Hillel, Peter Isaac, Stella D. Jenkins, Charles Jones, Slava Klima, Robert Koff, Howard Chandler Robbins Landon, Douglas Leedy, Roger Lonsdale, Bohuslav Martinu, Arthur Mendel, Gian Carlo Menotti, Darius Milhaud, Maboth Moseley, Nils J. Nilsson, Claude V. Palisca, Vincent Persichetti, Walter Piston, Alois Podhajsky, Edmund Poole, Alvaro Ribeiro, Wallingford Riegger, George Rochberg, Albi Rosenthal, A.L. Sachar, William Sacksteder, Percy A. Scholes, Peter Sculthorpe, Jose Serebrier, Elie Siegmeister, Herbert A. Simon, Vladimir Sokoloff, Meredith Wooldridge Thring, Alan Tyson, Sir Jack Westrup and John Young.

Other material in the collection includes published music scores for works by Aaron Copland and Walter Piston; a manuscript by John Claudius Loudon; an extract from a sermon by Carleton M. Fisher; a translation of 'Treatise on Cryptography' by Andre Lange and E.A. Soudart; correspondence relating to new editions of writings by Charles Burney and his daughter, Frances Burney d'Arblay; a copy of 'Universal history of music, compiled from diverse sources, together with various original notes on Hindu music' by Raja Sir Sourindro Mohun Tagore; papers relating to the Spanish Riding School in Vienna; works by Stan Symonds; 'A bibliography of Thomas Holcroft' by Elbridge Colby; an undeciphered shorthand manuscript found inside book published in England in the 1890's; a dry point etching by Charles Wells of the composer Alban Berg; a watercolour cartoon entitled 'Kentucky Colonel', inscribed by the artist 'Jeff'; a collotype copy of Thomas Gainsborough's painting of Karl Friedrich Abel and a copy of William Hogarth's print 'Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism'; Centenary Medal to Dr Jamie Kassler.

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn5977647).

Conditions Governing Use

Please note that copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. Further information about copyright and the use of manuscript material is available from the Library's website.

Preferred Citation

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item],Papers of Jamie and Michael Kassler, National Library of Australia, MS 10371, [class/series/file/items number(s)]

Provenance

The collection has been acquired from Jamie and Michael Kassler in instalments received in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023.

Related material in the Library's Manuscript Collection:

- Papers of Michael Kassler (MS 6295)

- Records of the Australian Robot Association (MS 7974)

Material donated by Jamie and Michael Kassler is also held in the Library's Published, Maps and Pictures Collections.

Biographical Note

Michael Kassler is an Australian musicologist and computer consultant. Research interests include: computers and music; the English composer Samuel Wesley; the English Bach awakening; Heinrich Schenker's theories of tonality; and music entries at Stationers' Hall, 1710-1818. Also involved with the Australian Robot Association and has published a guide to the Australian robot marketplace.

Jamie C. Kassler was elected a fellow (1991) of the Australian Academy of Humanities for contributions to musicological theory and received the Centenary Medal for service to Australian society and the humanities in the study of philosophy. Her interests include the use of musical models in the history of science; physical theory and metaphysics in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries; and the writings of the polymath, Roger North.

Item Descriptions

Class 1. Consignment received 2012

Bound manuscript written by John Claudius Loudon in Paris

Bound manuscript (File 1) - Folio-Box 1 (MS 10371)

Bound manuscript entitled 'On the establishments for public education in Bavaria, Wurtemburg & at Baden...', written by John Claudius Loudon in Paris, 1829, with remarks on educational improvements made in Germany with a view to their adoption in France, England and other countries. Loudon was a Member of the Society for Elementary Instruction in Paris, and of the Linnaen Horticultural, Zoological & Geological Societies in London. Inscription on preliminary page 'John F.M. Dovaston, Westfelton, 30 January 1830'.

Class 2. Consignment received 2013

Correspondence and papers

Correspondence, 1965-1983 (File 2) - Box 2 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Jamie and Michael Kassler with several persons involved in the preparation of new editions of writings of the Burney family, particularly Charles Burney (1726–1814), Mus.Doc. and his daughter Frances Burney d'Arblay (1752–1840). The correspondents include Joyce Hemlow (1906–2001), Slava Klima (1922–1999), Alvaro Ribeiro (1947–2013) and Kerry S[cott] Grant (b1945)

Spanish Riding School, Vienna, 1962 (File 3) - Box 2 (MS 10371)

Signed programme, dated 25 November 1962, and typed letter, dated 9 November 1962, to Miss Jamie Towle Croy (later Jamie C. Kassler), from Alois Podhasjsky, Director of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria, together with documents about the School

Ernest and Virtie Crome, 1975-1978 (File 3) - Box 2 (MS 10371)

Autograph letter dated 2 March 1977 from Ernest A. Crome to Jamie and Michael Kassler ; Painting 'Morning Light'(oil on board) made by Ernest A. Crome in 1975, and inscribed on back to Jamie and Michael Kassler from the artist and his wife, depicting an area near Tugun, Queensland; Copy of the booklet Crossing the Pacific (BibID 2795885), inscribed in 1978 by Ernest A. Crome to Jamie and Michael Kassler, with Mr Crome's manuscript note to them dated 9 June 1978 on inside front cover

Fisher, Carleton M., 1961 (File 3) - Box 2 (MS 10371)

Typed extract from a sermon delivered 26 February 1961 in Wausau, Wisconsin, USA entitled 'The spiritual nature of non-conformity', describing the visit by Australian composer Percy Grainger to that city. [Rev. Carleton Fisher was pastor of the First Universalist Church of Wausau from 1953 to 1963]

Treatise on Cryptography, by André Lange and E. A. Soudart (File 4) - Box 2 (MS 10371)

Typescript translation, from the French, of Treatise on Cryptography

Stan Symonds, Australian 'modernist' architect, 1987-1998 (File 5) - Box 2 (MS 10371)

Painted sketch and architectural drawings relating to 2 West Crescent Street, McMahons Point NSW, and the extension to Unit 2 (former residence of Jamie and Michael Kassler); also included are pictures of some other homes designed by this architect

Universal history of music, compiled from divers sources, together with various original notes on Hindu music, by Raja Sir Sourindro Mohun Tagore (File 6) - Box 2 (MS 10371)

Copy inscribed by the author's nephew Maharajah Pradyot Kumar Tagore (1873?–1942), although he calls himself the author's son

Watercolour cartoon, signed 'Jeff' (File 7) - Map-Folio MS 10371 - File 7

Watercolour cartoon entitled 'Kentucky Colonel – 75th Kentucky Derby – a Yankee up'. 'Kentucky Colonel' was the name of one of the horses that ran in the 75th Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky, on 6 May 1949; face of Abraham Lincoln (from a US banknote) shown as jockey; inscribed by the artist, 'Jeff', to Jamie Towle Croy (later Jamie C. Kassler); Lincoln was a 'Yankee', i.e., northerner; the artist was a southerner in Kentucky

Wells, Charles (1935–) (File 8) - Map-Folio MS 10371 - File 8

Dry point etching of the composer Alban Berg, no. 18 of an edition of 210 copies; inscription by the artist below the etching; a catalogue of an exhibition in 1969 of the artist's works is held by the National Library of Australia.

William Hogarth (File 9) - Map-Folio MS 10371 - File 9

Copy of Hogarth's satirical print entitled Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism; original engraved in London, 1761; it seems likely that this copy is from The Works of William Hogarth from the original plates restored by James Heath, 2nd ed., c1837

Class 3. Consignment received 2015

Correspondence with composers and music scholars, together with published music scores for works by Aaron Copland and Walter Piston

Correspondence and music scores (File 10) - Box 3 (MS 10371)

Correspondence with composers Aaron Copland, Darius Milhaud, Bohuslav Martinu, Gian Carlo Menotti, Walter Piston and Wallingford Riegger, mostly concerning Michael Kassler's studies in the United States in the 1950s; correspondence with music scholars Reis Wenger Flora regarding Raja Sir Sourindro Mohun Tagore; and a letter from music scholar and dealer Albi Rosenthal. There are also published music scores of 'Piano Fantasy' and 'Piano Variations' by Aaron Copland, and 'Serenata for Orchestra' by Walter Piston.

Class 4. Consignment received 2017

Corrrespondence of Jamie and Michael Kassler

Correspondence, 1970-1997 (File 11) - Box 3 (MS 10371)

Michael Kassler with: musicologist and Haydn scholar Howard Chandler Robbins Landon and musicologist and editor Sir Jack Westrup regarding the discovery of how Haydn's 'Surprise' symphony got that name (1970); musicologist Alan Tyson regarding the 1805 London performance of a Beethoven symphony (1973); and robotics researcher Meredith Wooldridge Thring (1997). Letters to Michael Kassler from: computer scientist and robotics researcher Nils J. Nilsson (1982); musicologist and J.S. Bach scholar Alfred Durr (1988) and Olwen Hedley of the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, author of a biography of Queen Charlotte (1977).

Notes and Christmas cards, 1993-2009 (File 12) - Box 3 (MS 10371)

From Joseph F. Engelberger, regarded as the 'father of robotics'.

Correspondence, 1981-1992 (File 13) - Box 3 (MS 10371)

Jamie Kassler with musicologist Claude V. Palisca. National Library of Australia holdings of books inscribed by Palisca: The Florentine Camerata : documentary studies and translations and Humanism in Italian Renaissance musical thought.

Class 5. Consignment received 2018

0.06 metres,

Book titled 'Memorials of the Wesley Family: including biographical and historical sketches of all the members of the family for 250 years', written by George J. Stevenson (London, 1876) (File 14) - Box 3 (MS 10371)

This collection comprises a book titled 'Memorials of the Wesley Family: including biographical and historical sketches of all the members of the family for 250 years', written by George J. Stevenson (London, 1876), with annotations by Rev. Louis Henry Wellesley Wesley (Anglican clergyman, 1844-1931). The book includes an additional autograph note by Wellesley Wesley. This copy was inscribed to Evelyn Katrine Gwenfra Wellesley nee Williams (1855-1939), Duchess of Wellington and wife of Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington, and it bears the bookplate of her brother-in-law Arthur Richard Wellesley (1849-1934), 4th Duke of Wellington from 1900. This copy lacks Preface pages vii-x, and is stamped 'The Wellesleys' in gold lettering on the spine and front cover.

Arrangement

Letter originally enclosed within the book has been removed and placed in mylar in a separate folder. Both the book and the folder have been placed in one large archival bag together. Book has been labelled volume 14 and letter folder 14A.

Class 6. Consignment received June 2019

This instalment includes a copy of A bibliography of Thomas Holcroft (1922) by Elbridge Colby (1891–1982), together with correspondence and offprints of articles.

Colby, Elbridge (1891-1982). A bibliography of Thomas Holcroft. New York, New York Public Library, 1922, 1922 (File 15) - Box 4 (MS 10371)

The author's annotated copy, with loosely inserted notes and correspondence (including a 23 January 1922 letter from W. Clark Durant, editor of a 1927 edition of the Memoirs of Mary Wollstonecraft, held by the Library at https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1754828).

IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 2000 (File 16) - Box 4 (MS 10371)

Vol. 22, No. 4, Oct-Dec 2000. Includes an article entitled 'Allan Bromley explores [Charles] Babbage's Analytical Engline plans 28 and 28a'. Front cover inscribed by Allan Bromley to Jamie and Michael Kassler.

Correspondence, 1971 (File 17) - Box 4 (MS 10371)

Letter to Michael Kassler from Waldemar Cordeiro (1924–1973, 'computer artist') and newspaper cuttings regarding the Brazilian exhibition Arteônica, which he organised in São Paulo, Brazil that year.

Correspondence, 1963-1976 (File 18) - Box 4 (MS 10371)

Comprises: letters to Michael Kassler from Alfred D. Hagle of the Library of Congress, Marjorie S. Hooper of the American Printing House for the Blind, and Stella D. Jenkins of the Perkins School for the Blind, regarding the potential development of a computer system to scan printed music and to convert it into Braille music notation, 1963; correspondence of Michael Kassler with the authors Maboth Moseley (1906–1975) and Malcolm Elwin (1902–1973) concerning references by Charles Babbage (1791–1871) or Ada Augusta King, Countess of Lovelace (1815–1852) to the use of Babbage's planned Analytical Engine to process musical data, 1966 ; correspondence of Michael Kassler with Alan Noel Latimer Munby (1913–1974) concerning his catalogue of book sales, 1974; letters from Arthur Mendel (1905–1979) to Michael Kassler regarding computers and music, 1974 and 1976; letters from Peter Isaac (1921–2002), 1975; and copy of a letter from Michael Kassler to Ivan Page, then First Secretary (National Library) at the Australian High Commission, London, suggesting that subscription lists in the National Library's holdings of 18th-century British books be included in a computer database being compiled at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the U.K., 1976.

Correspondence, 1974-1976 (File 19) - Box 4 (MS 10371)

Correspondence between Michael Kassler and Rudolf [Kh[afizovich]] Zaripov (1921–1991) and Boris Bizjukov in the USSR, regarding research and publications relating to computers and music.

Correspondence, 1977-1989 (File 20) - Box 4 (MS 10371)

Comprises: letters from Olwen Hedley (author of biography of Queen Charlotte), 1977-1978; letter from Michael Kassler to The Editor, Times Literary Supplement, London, proposing computer storage of texts and editions, 1980; letter from Michael Kassler to The Editor, Times Literary Supplement, London, proposing computer storage of texts and editions, 1980; copy of form letter from Dr Graham Chataway, Manager, Technology Policy & Development, Queensland Department of Industry Development, requesting senior members of Queensland Government departments to meet Michael Kassler to discuss current and potential uses of robots in Queensland, 1986; and fax from Michael Kassler in Bordeaux, France to be sent to Joe Williams of the Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce, Canberra, regarding Australian membership in the International Advanced Robotics Programme, 1989.

Correspondence and papers, 1981-1997 (File 21) - Box 4 (MS 10371)

Comprises: correspondence with Dr Jacob 'John' Rose (1917–2007), Director-General of the World Organisation of General Systems and Cybernetics, concerning robotics. In the 20 May 1982 letter Michael Kassler suggested the name Robotica for the journal of that name published by Cambridge University Press from 1983 (BibID 4388293), of which Dr Rose was the foundation editor and to which Michael Kassler contributed and edited special issues, 1981-1982; proposal prepared by Michael Kassler, then National Co-ordinator, Australian Robot Association, recommending that OECD conduct a study of existing or proposed national robotics/automation policies, 1990; and letter and certificate from William R. Low, Acting Manager, Business Assistance Branch, Queensland Department of Tourism, Small Business and Industry, certifying that Michael Kassler is approved as a specialist operations-improvement consultant, 1997.

Offprints, 1973-1992 (File 22) - Box 4 (MS 10371)

Article 'Kinematic optics: a study of the wave theory of light in the seventeenth century' by Alan E. Shapiro (b1942), inscribed by the author to Jamie C. Kassler, 1973; article 'Aspects of the L'Homme arme tradition' by Lewis Lockwood (b1930), inscribed by the author to Michael Kassler, 1976; and article 'Was Galileo's father an experimental scientist?' by Claude V[ictor] Palisca (1921–2001), inscribed by the author to Jamie C. Kassler, 1992.

Class 7. Consignment received October 2019

Manuscript in shorthand, c1890s (File 23) - Box 4 (MS 10371)

Undeciphered shorthand manuscript found inside book published in England in the 1890's. Written on laid paper (vertical lines) with the watermark 'van' - in the form of a gothic letter. Paper is machine made and was called SYLVAN. It was made in the UK by John Dickinson and Co. Ltd. throughout the 1880s and 1890s.

Class 8. Consignment received March 2020

This consignment comprises Centenary Medal and accompanying diploma from the Commonwealth Government to Dr Jamie Kassler received in 2001; correspondence and papers of Michael Kassler relating to robotics, music and other topics, and correspondence between Jamie Kassler and several scholars including Edmund Poole, William Sacksteder and Douglas Leedy.

Correspondence and papers, 1981-1982 (File 24) - Box 5 (MS 10371)

Correspondence and papers of Michael Kassler relating to a study funded by the Australia Council to investigate potential support for an Australian institute to study the world's musical languages. The study was carried out by Computer Music Company, a business name of Michael Kassler and Associates Pty Limited, and involved overseas visits by Michael Kassler to discuss the proposed institute with relevant persons. Includes: Article by Nicholas Rothwell (1950– ) describing the project, published in The Australian, 26 January 1982; Media release describing the project and November 1982 report of the study by Michael Kassler to the Australia Council; Research report by Dr (now Professor) Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan describing publications relating to the proposed institute, and an article by her inscribed to Jamie and Michael Kassler; Correspondence with Professor Sir Frank Callaway (1919–2003) and others concerning the proposed institute; letter dated 6 August 1982 from Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan to Michael Kassler (restricted)

Correspondence, 2001-2012 (File 25) - Box 5 (MS 10371)

Mostly by or to Jamie C. Kassler with Doreen Bridges (1918– )

Correspondence, 1972-2006 (File 26) - Box 5 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Jamie and Michael Kassler with H[erbert] Edmund Poole (1912–1984), historian of printing, and his wife Anne Rosemary Dorothea ('Posy') Poole (1918–2015)

Correspondence, 1999-2004 (File 27) - Box 5 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Jamie C. Kassler with Robert E. Crane (1919–2003), composer and professor of music in the University of Wisconsin

Correspondence, 1987-2000 (File 28) - Box 5 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Jamie C. Kassler with William Sacksteder (1925–2000), professor of philosophy in the University of Colorado at Boulder

Correspondence, 1999-2015 (File 29) - Box 5 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Jamie C. Kassler with Douglas Leedy (1938–2015), composer and musical scholar

Correspondence, 1999-2012 (File 30) - Box 5 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Jamie C. Kassler with Ivor Grattan-Guinness (1941–2014), historian of mathematics and logic

Correspondence, 1984-2001 (File 31) - Box 5 (MS 10371)

Correspondence (1984–2001) of Jamie C. Kassler with Warren D Anderson (1920–2001), scholar of ancient Greek music

Correspondence, 1983-1999 (File 32) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Correspondence (by or to Jamie C. Kassler) with Sam Bass Warner Jr (1928– )

Correspondence, 1972 (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler regarding publication of the report Music in Australia (Bib ID 484076) by Roger Covell (1931–2019)

Offprint of article 'Hippocrates' complaint and the scientific ethos in early modern England' (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

By Professor Richard Yeo of Griffith University, inscribed by the author to Jamie C. Kassler

Correspondence, 2000 (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Jan Fullerton AO, Director-General of NLA, with Jamie and Michael Kassler

Correspondence, 1993 (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Francis Sevila (1950–2010) of the Centre National du Mechanisme Agricole du Génie Rural des Eaux et des Forêts, France, with Michael Kassler

Correspondence, 2013 (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Email from the English conductor and musicologist Christopher Hogwood (1941–2014) to Michael Kassler, regarding Michael Kassler's edition of The Memoirs of Charlotte Papendiek

Correspondence, 1981 (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Lesley A. Albertson of the Telecom Australia Research Laboratories with Michael Kassler, regarding an article he wrote published in Rydge's magazine

Correspondence, 2005 (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Letter from Professor Donald Burrows of The Open University, U.K., to Michael Kassler regarding a man in England named Handel

Correspondence, 2009 (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Email submission by Michael Kassler to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy regarding regulatory reform of telecommunications

Correspondence, 2007 (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Letter from Michael Shenstone (1928–2019), earlier a Canadian ambassador, to Michael Kassler regarding Shenstone's ancestor, the author Lewis Engelbach

Correspondence, 1992 (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Letter from Takeo Kanade (1945-), Director, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, to Michael Kassler regarding a novel camera

Programme, 1994 (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Programme of 1994 workshop at the University of Sydney on An Automation Policy for Australia, at which Michael Kassler spoke on 'International Models of Automation Policies'

Correspondence, 1973-1974 (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler concerning the English music theorist Alfred Day (1810–49), in connection with a planned article about him for the 6th edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, which ultimately was written by Patricia Collins Jones, from whom a 1975 letter is included. Correspondents include the music theorist Erwin R[euben] Jacobi (1909–79), John Tyrrell (1942–2018) and John [Hamilton] Warrack (b1928), as well as the British Homeopathic Association and other sources thought to have information about Day, who was a homeopathic physician in London

Correspondence, 1977 (File 33) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Letter by Michael Kassler to the Managing Editor of Creative Computing magazine, and 1979 letter by him to the editor of Computer Music Journal

Correspondence and other documents relating to Robo Foods Pty Limited, 1985-1999 (File 34) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Correspondence and other documents relating to Robo Foods Pty Limited (initially Robo Foods Limited), a company of which Michael Kassler and Paul Charles Wong were directors and principal shareholders.The documents concern, amongst other projects, the Robosorter system developed with the CSIRO Division of Manufacturing Technology and delivered to Buderim Ginger Limited, the Robosandwich system proposed to Qantas Flight Catering, and several other proposals of this company, including the February 1985 concept description of Roboburger, a system for robotic ordering and preparation of hamburgers. Also included is a Collaborative Research and Development and Licence Agreement between the CSIRO and Robo Foods

Correspondence of Michael Kassler & Associates Pty Ltd, 1980-1996 (File 35) - Box 6 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler & Associates Pty Ltd regarding robots and mining, ethical aspects of robots, robots for the service industries, and other topics, including a proposed book about robots, which never eventuated. Includes the June 1996 quality manual of this company (such a manual was required by the Queensland Government)

Correspondence, October 1994 (File 36) - Box 7 (MS 10371)

Fax inviting Michael Kassler to participate in the French-Australian Industrial Research mission to France

Paper presented by Michael Kassler to the Landsat for Primary Industry seminar, July 1981 (File 36) - Box 7 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler and Associates Pty Ltd, 1989-1991 (File 36) - Box 7 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler and Associates Pty Ltd relating to Australian opportunities in construction robotics

Correspondence and proposals of Michael Kassler and Associates Pty Ltd, 1981-1989 (File 36) - Box 7 (MS 10371)

Correspondence and proposals of Michael Kassler and Associates Pty Ltd relating to applications of robotics in agriculture and primary industries

Correspondence and papers relating to the Robotics for Health Care Seminar, 1992 (File 37) - Box 7 (MS 10371)

Correspondence and papers relating to the Robotics for Health Care Seminar organised by Michael Kassler and Associates Pty Ltd and held at the Marriott Surfers Paradise Resort. Correspondents include Professor Pierre Rabischong (1932- ), the neurosurgeon Dr Leigh Atkinson and Lee McLean, public relations consultant

Correspondence, 1975-1996 (File 38) - Box 7 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with Dr Stanley Sadie (1930–2005) and others regarding contributions to the 6th Edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians [renamed The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians] which Dr Sadie edited

Centenary Medal and accompanying diploma awarded to Jamie C. Kassler, 2001 (File 39) - Folio-Box 1 (MS 10371)

Class 9. Consignment received February 2022

This instalment includes correspondence regarding robotics, academic grants, research interests, music theory, computer-based music printing and the PAM (Parallel Array Manipulator) project. The correspondents include Ernest Alfred Crome, Noam Chomsky, Alvaro Ribiero, Felix Salzer and Peter Sculthorpe. Other items include conference guides and reports.

Correspondence, 1975 - 1979 (File 40) - Box 8 (MS 10371)

Letters from Ernest Alfred Crome (1902-1987) written between 1975 and 1979 to Michael and Jamie Kassler regarding various matters. The 19 March 1978 letter enclosed and refers to two issues of the Ansett Airlines journal Panorama that includes his annotations.

Related Materials

The National Library of Australia holds the papers of Ernest and Virtie Crome (MS 1925 Papers of Ernest and Virtie Crome [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn742484]).

Correspondence, June 1976 - July 1976 (File 41) - Box 8 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with Professor Chappell White (1920-2004) regarding letters of the Chinnery family that Ernest Crome donated to the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney. Includes printed obituary from the online Emory Magazine, Spring 2005.

Correspondence, 1977 - 1979 (File 42) - Box 8 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with Professor Ingmar Bengtsson (1920-1989) regarding computer programs to analyse the rhythms of musical performance. Includes print out of Wikipedia biography.

Correspondence, 1990 - 1995 (File 43) - Box 8 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler regarding robotic fuel dispensing and the possibility of its application in Australia, including a brochure of the Tankomatic system developed in Sweden.

Correspondence, 1991 - 1992 (File 44) - Box 8 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with Joseph Engelberger (1925-2015) concerning Australian interest in robotics for health care. According to Kassler, Engelberger is regarded as the 'father of robotics'.

Correspondence, 1974 (File 45) - Box 8 (MS 10371)

Two letters. One from Gordon N[orton] Ray (1915-1986, author and scholar) informing Michael Kassler that he has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. The other is from J[ohn] R[oss] Quinlan of the Basser Department of Computer Science, University of Sydney, informing Michael Kassler that office space and computer time would be available for him to carry out his research project.

Correspondence, 1996 (File 46) - Box 8 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with Dr Murat Balaban, then of the University of Florida, regarding his proposal for funds to investigate machine vision applications to shrimp.

Correspondence, 1995 (File 47) - Box 8 (MS 10371)

Correspondence from the Department of Industry, Science and Technology offering Michael Kassler a grant to attend the Fourth Workshop on Robotics in Agriculture and the Food Industry held in Toulouse, France. Patrons are advised several of the items are faded. Darker photocopies have been included.

Correspondence, 1971 - 1996 (File 48) - Box 8 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with Dr Frank Baker (1910-1999), editor-in-chief of the Oxford Edition of [John] Wesley's Works, regarding Wesley correspondence in Australia and letters of the musician Samuel Wesley (1766-1837); 1983 letter from Baker relating to his 1980 trip to Sydney and Michael Kassler's research on Samuel Wesley's correspondence; and 1996 letters from Michael Kassler resuming contact with Dr Baker.

Correspondence: Dr Alvaro Ribeiro, 1974 (File 49) - Box 8 (MS 10371)

Letter from Dr Alvaro Ribeiro, S.J. (1947-2013) to Michael Kassler regarding areas of research and planned travel.

Postcard, 1976 (File 50) - Box 8 (MS 10371)

Postcard from the book collector and author Dr Mary Hyde, later Viscountess Eccles (1912-2003), to Michael Kassler (whom she mistakenly calls 'Professor'), which refers to the fourth David Nichol Smith Memorial Seminar held in Canberra.

Correspondence, 1979 (File 51) - Box 8 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with Stanley Sadie (1930-2005, editor of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and The Musical Times) and Natasha Spender, Lady Spender (1919-2010, pianist and author, wife of the poet Sir Stephen Spender and mother-in-law of Barry Humphries). Discusses amusia and musical grammars.

Correspondence, 1989 - 1990 (File 52) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with the University of Western Australia and the Australian Wool Corporation. Includes report by Michael Kassler regarding discussions in France with Gérard Fraize of the Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, regarding the utilisation of robotic sheep-shearing technology for remote handling of radioactive materials.

Correspondence, 1976 (File 53) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Letter from Catherine Santamaria (1943-2012), Manuscript Librarian, National Library of Australia, to Michael Kassler, regarding his interests in the musicians Samuel Wesley and Charles Burney.

Correspondence, 1971 - 1972 (File 54) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with the Haydn scholar Anthony van Hoboken (1887-1983) regarding scores with Haydn's manuscript corrections.

Correspondence, 1970 (File 55) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with the American author and columnist John Gould (1908-2003) regarding an authority on British army officers.

Correspondence, 1996 (File 56) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with Alvaro Ribiero of The Burney Papers project regarding material from the Burney collection and Samuel Wesley.

Correspondence, 1964 (File 57) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Letter and attachment from D. Stempel AG to Michael Kassler regarding music type symbols made by Gebrüder Klingspor in Offenbach am Main, Germany.

Correspondence, 1976 (File 58) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Letter and attachment from Larry Rittenhouse of IBM Canada regarding their advertisement of the use of computers to process musical data. 

Correspondence, 1979 (File 59) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Letters to Michael Kassler from [Avram] Noam Chomsky (1928- ), Professor of Linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and from his secretary, Bonnie Walker Stephens, regarding 'music as a language'.

Correspondence, 1970 (File 60) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with the Austrian/American music theorist Felix Salzer (1904-1986) regarding Heinrich Schenker's theory of tonality. 

Correspondence, 1975 - 1976 (File 61) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with John Myhill (1923-1987), Professor of Mathematics in the State University of New York at Buffalo, regarding the explication of Heinrich Schenker's theory of tonality.

Correspondence, 1973 (File 62) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with Dr John Henry de La Trobe (1923-2002) regarding letters of his ancestor Christian Ignatius Latrobe (1757-1836). 

Correspondence, 1976 - 2003 (File 63) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler relating to his article 'The Chinnery/Viotti papers in Sydney' published in Musicology V (Sydney, Musicological Society of Australia, 1979, pp. 237–241).

Correspondence, 1978 (File 64) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Note to Michael Kassler from the Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe (1929-2014) and Australian pianist and composer Thomas 'Tommy' Tycho (1928-2013) regarding the introduction of computer-based music printing to Australia.

Related Materials

The National Library of Australia holds MS 9676 Papers of Peter Sculthorpe [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn109182].

Computers and Music, ABC Radio 2, 1979 (File 65) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Printed announcement of three talks on ABC Radio 2 by Michael Kassler on Computers and Music. 

Correspondence, 1978 (File 66) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Letter to Michael Kassler with enclosures from Knud Dalbøge Andersen, Managing Director of Dataland, Århus, Denmark, describing that company's Scan-Note system for printing music. 

Related Materials

Futher material regarding the Scan-Note System can be found in the Overseas ephemera collected by Michael and Jamie Kassler for the National Library of Australia collection [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn6485534].

Correspondence, 1977 (File 67) - Box 9 (MS 10371)

Letter to Michael Kassler and enclosure from Garry Wittlich (b.1934), Indiana University, regarding encoding the rhythm of performed music.

Correspondence, 1977 - 1978 (File 68) - Box 10 (MS 10371)

Letter to Michael Kassler and enclosure from Peter Comerford (1934-2018), University of Bradford, regarding the Bradford Computing Organ.

PAM (Parallel Array Manipulator) Project, 1989 - 1995 (File 69) - Box 10 (MS 10371)

Papers and letters relating to the PAM project, a joint venture of Michael Kassler and Associates Pty Ltd, Applied Robotics Pty Ltd, and the University of Wollongong to develop a parallel array manipulator. Includes agreement drafts, meeting minutes, agenda, correspondence, Australian market analysis, diagrams, proposals, project plans and reports.

Correspondence, 1987 (File 70) - Box 10 (MS 10371)

Letter to Michael Kassler from Rupert Murdoch (1931- ) declining an invitation to deliver the opening address to the 19th International Symposium on Industrial Robots held in Sydney in 1988.

Correspondence, 1981 (File 71) - Box 10 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler with Miss J. Kuek of the Department of Computer Science, University of Queensland, regarding automatic production of staff notation from recorded music.

Correspondence, 1979 - 1980 (File 72) - Box 10 (MS 10371)

Letter of Michael Kassler to Stanley Sadie (1930-2005, editor of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and The Musical Times proposing a letter to the editor regarding the first making of the suggestion that a computer could compose music. The suggested letter was published in the January 1980 edition of The Musical Times (copy attached).

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics university courses, 1981 - 1985 (File 73) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Papers relating to courses in artificial intelligence and robotics taught by Michael Kassler in the Basser Department of Computer Science, University of Sydney, and also in the New South Wales Institute of Technology. Includes correspondence, test and exam questions, class timetable, assignment instructions, syllabus and reading lists.

Correspondence, 1999 - 2003 (File 74) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Michael Kassler relating to his membership of the editorial board of the journal Robotica.

Musicological Society of Australia study weekend, 1979 - 1980 (File 75) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Includes programme of the 1980 Musicological Society of Australia study weekend in Canberra at which Michael Kassler spoke and Jamie Kassler was a panelist; preamble of Michael Kassler's remarks on child music acquisition; and correspondence with Stephen Wild (1941- ) of the Australian Institute of Aboriuginal Studies relating to this event. 

Science Bookshop, ABC Radio, 1980 (File 76) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Talk by Michael Kassler broadcast on the ABC radio 'Science Bookshop' programme which reviewed the book Language and Learning: The Debate between Jean Piaget and Noam Chomsky edited by Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini.

'Robot gingers up production at Buderim', Australian Financial Review, 19 January 1994 (File 77) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Article by Helen Meredith with photograph of Michael Kassler mentioning his work on the Robosorter machine delivered to Buderim Ginger Limited in Yandina, Queensland. 

Correspondence, 1988 (File 78) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Letter from Brian Johnston, operations manager of B. Seppelt & Sons Limited, 'to whom it may concern', commending the consultancy services of Michael Kassler and Associates.

Correspondence, 2021 (File 79) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Email correspondence from Nick DiBeradino of the Curtis Institute of Music inviting Michael Kassler to compose music celebrating the Institute's centenary, and Michael Kassler's reply giving reasons for declining this invitation.

Correspondence, 1967 (File 80) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Letter from Arthur Mendel (1905-1979) of Princeton University identifying Michael Kassler as a scholar who holds a PhD from that university.

Correspondence, c.1970 (File 81) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Card to Jamie and Michael Kassler from June and Julian Russell, the latter a musician and music critic. The card includes a painting by June Russell. The Kasslers met the Russells in Vienna c.1970, a few years before they arrived in Australia in 1974.

Related Materials

The National Library of Australia holds Biographical cuttings on Julian Russell, musician and music critic, containing one or more cuttings from newspapers or journals [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn492914].

Northern Prawn Fishery Pre-Season Workshop, 1991 (File 82) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Annotated program and papers of the Northern Prawn Fishery 1991 Pre-Season Workshop (Cairns, 19-20 February 1991), including paper by Michael Kassler entitled 'Development of a System for Automatic Grading and Packing of Prawns'. 

Correspondence, 1978 (File 83) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Letters to Michael Kassler from Henry Schwarzschild (1925-1996) of the American Civil Liberties Union, concerning the violinist George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower (1778-1860).

Speech abstract 'Where do we go from here?', 1981 (File 84) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Typewritten abstract of speech by Michael Kassler entitled 'Where do we go from here?', presented to the LANDSAT for Primary Industry seminar in Sydney.

Correspondence, 1977 - 1978 (File 85) - Box 11 (MS 10371)

Correspondence of Jamie C. Kassler with Denise Bacon (1920-2013, obituary enclosed), piano teacher (including of Jamie) and founder of the Kodály Center of America which promotes the system of music education developed by the Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967). Reference is made to Deanna Hoermann, founder of the Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia.

Class 10. Consignment received February 2023

This consignment comprises correspondence, photographs and ephemera relating to music and musical composition and composers. Correspondents include Vladimir Sokoloff, Professor of Computer Science and Technology Herbert A. Simon, Elie Siegmeister, Composer Jose Serebrier, A.L. Sachar, Vincent Persichetti, Director of Publications George Rochberg, Robert Koff, Charles Jones, Sidney Harth, Harry Glickman, Vittorio Giannini, Allen Forte, Helen Coates, Yehoshua Bar-Hillel, Samuel Ashkensi, and Clarence Adler.

Correspondence, 1998 - 2014 (File 86)

Correspondence with Robin Myers, 10 January 2002 - 1 September 2002 (Item 86.1) - Box 12

Correspondence of Michael C. Kassler with Honorary Archivist Ms Robin Myers.

Correspondence with Lesley Adamson, 2002 - 2003 (Item 86.2) - Box 12

Correspondence of Michael C. Kassler with the Secretary of the Hinrichsen Foundation, Lesley Adamson.

Correspondence with Ivor Grattan-Guinness, 11 January 2014 - 13 January 2014 (Item 86.3) - Box 12

Correspondence of Michael C. Kassler with Ivor Grattan-Guinness.

Correspondence with John Herschel-Shorland, 18 March 2002 - 29 March 2002 (Item 86.4) - Box 12

Correspondence of Michael C. Kassler with John Herschel-Shorland, relating to Sir William Herschel's correspondence on music.

Correspondence with Michael J. Crowe, 11 May 1998 - June 1998 (Item 86.5) - Box 12

Correspondence of Michael C. Kassler with Professor Michael J. Crowe, Professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Correspondence, 1963 - 1973 (File 87)

Correspondence with Roger Lonsdale, 3 June 1976 - 18 April 1977 (Item 87.1) - Box 12

Correspondence of Michael C. Kassler with Roger Lonsdale, Professor at Balliol College in Oxford.

Correspondence with H.C. Robbins Landon, 7 May 1971 (Item 87.2) - Box 12

Correspondence of Michael C. Kassler with American musicologist, historian and journalist, H.C. Robbins Landon.

Correspondence with George W. Corner, 12 June 1968 - 10 June 1970 (Item 87.3) - Box 12

Correspondence of Michael C. Kassler with Executive Officer of The American Philosophical Society, George W. Corner.

Correspondence with Ingmar Bengtson, 26 February 1968 - 9 July 1968 (Item 87.4) - Box 12

Correspondence of Michael C. Kassler with Dr Ingmar Bengtsson, Professor at the Institutionen for Musikforskning in Sweden.

Correspondence with Arthur Mendel, 3 January 1963 - 1 July 1973 (Item 87.5) - Box 12

Correspondence of Michael C. Kassler with Arthur Mendel, from the Department of Musicology at Princeton University, New Jersey. Includes a postcard and two short music scores.

Picture engravings, c.1819 - 1830 (File 88) - Box 12

Includes two picture engravings of Old Queens Head in Inslington and Old Queens, Head and Artichoke, Regents Park.

Pamphlet and information sheets, c.1836 - 1908 (File 89) - Box 12

Includes an information pamphlet on Gloucester Composer, John Stafford Smith and two informational manuscripts on violin specifications.

The Isotonic Notation by John Stephan, c.1950s (File 90) - Box 12

Includes a typescript by Don John Stephan relating to the essay "The Isotonic Notation". Also includes an announcement of the Sydney Lee edition of the Isotonic Notation and two cards signed by Stephan illustrating how a passage of music by the composer Max Reger looks in conventional and isotonic music notation.

Correspondence and manuscripts, 1952 - 2021 (File 91) - Box 12

Correspondence of Michael C. Kassler with various composers, university professors and editors including Vladimir Sokoloff, Professor of Computer Science and Technology Herbert A. Simon, Elie Siegmeister, Composer Jose Serebrier, A.L. Sachar, Vincent Persichetti, Director of Publications George Rochberg, Robert Koff, Charles Jones, Sidney Harth, Harry Glickman, Vittorio Giannini, Allen Forte, Helen Coates, Yehoshua Bar-Hillel, Samuel Ashkensi and Clarence Adler. Also includes manuscript on violist Peter Randal Marsh and a photograph.

Manuscripts relating to engraver Isaac Taylor, c.1790-2023 (File 92) - Folio-Box 13

Includes a Wikipedia printout on Isaac Taylor, a photocopy of the cover to the "Encyclopedia: or, an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences" and a mechanic's article titled "Mechanic's Tab: III", with several mechanical illustrations.

Picture of Karl Friedrich Abel, n.d. (Item 93) - Folio-Box 13

Picture collotype copy of Thomas Gainsborough's painting of Karl Friedrich Abel.

Catalogue of the musical library of the late Wm. Euing, Esq., bequeathed to Anderson's University, Glasgow, (now called Anderson's College) (1878) by the Euing Musical Library, compiled by Thomas Henderson (Item 94) - Folio-Box 13

Inscribed 'F. G. Edwards, 19th September 1893'. Includes a tipped-in letter from John Young, Secretary of The Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College, 18 September 1893.

A list of books about music in the English language : prepared as an appendix to The Oxford Companion to Music (1939) by Percy A. Scholes (Item 95) - Folio-Box 13

Includes a tipped-in letter by Percy A. Scholes, 4 June 1934.


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