Joseph V. Nash’s vast collection of materials on the history of African-American dance may be
broken up and sold following his death without a will:
Nash was born on Oct. 5, 1919, to a butler and a housewife who lived at 27 West 99th Street in Manhattan. As a young man, Mr. Nash performed with pioneering black dancers like Pearl Primus, and knew Katherine Dunham, another important early figure. He choreographed. But it was his energetic, determined collecting of papers, books, playbills and other items that made him so important. He amassed his archive over decades, and many of the items found a home in an array of institutions …
Now, because Mr. Nash had no heirs – and apparently left no will – the city has changed the locks on his apartment door and seized his property, in preparation for auctioning it off. Archivists, dance lovers and Mr. Nash’s friends are appalled by the possibility that the collection could be scattered to the winds.
Complete article from the New York Times (registration required).
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