Letter, Dutch Barhydt to Miss Anderson, May 16,1971
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Title
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Letter, Dutch Barhydt to Miss Anderson, May 16,1971
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Description
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Dutch’s (b. 1958) letter implies that he is a dedicated collector. For a 13 year old (U.S., City Directories: Dirck Barhydt Jr, n.d.), his objective is collecting original signatures from famous and influential people, including presidents and prime ministers. The teenager successfully acquired Miss Anderson’s signature.
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The autograph is on the contralto’s picture on a self supplied cover of the Time Magazine, December 30, 1948 issue. Curiously, one wonders where Dutch got his inspiration for collecting, as the Time issue was printed and distributed before he was born in 1958. Perhaps his father, or an uncle, (see faded address label on magazine cover) was his inspiration and donated the Time issue.
Dutch graduated from Trinity College in 1981 and did additional schooling as he was listed as a student in 1983 at his Middlebury, CT residence. In August 1982 (U.S., City Directories: Dirck Barhydt Jr, n.d.) Dirck "Dutch" Barhydt (Hartford Courant 1998) married Hilary B Chittenden (U.S. Marriage Index: Dirck Barhydt Jr, n.d.). During the next decade, he became a member of the Board of Trustees of The Waterbury Foundation that oversaw the Rebecca Eliot Chittenden Fund, established in 1987. He was also a vice president for the Chittenden Insurance Agency, Inc. Though likely, it was unclear if activities with the fund or the insurance company bore familial relationship to his wife's family (Hartford Courant 1995). Also in 1990, Dutch and Hilary welcomed their son, Tyler W., born January 16th (Births: Dutch, Tyler Birth, n.d.). Dutch joined his Alma Mater's development office in 2001 and was appointed its director in 2002 (Education Briefs: Dutch Trinity College appointment, n.d.)
Letters like these reflect the breadth of Anderson’s influence on Americans across lines of geography, race, and circumstance in the mid-20th century. Born in Philadelphia, Miss Anderson's (1897 - 1993) life and legacy is well documented in books, online and in physical institutions. In 2024, a Philadelphia orchestra hall was recently rededicated to her contralto voice (Wikipedia contributors 2025). The Marian Anderson Historical Residence Museum in Philadelphia is an epicenter for the life and legacy of Marian Anderson (National Marian Anderson Museum, n.d.). Married July 17,1943, she and her husband Orpheus Fisher bought acres of property in Connecticut and called it Mariana Farm, a synthesis of her first name and that of her stepson's middle name. She lived there until 1992, a year before her death on April 8, 1993.
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Miss Anderson
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Rights
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Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.
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Date
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May 16, 1971
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Format
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Text
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Language
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eng
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Spatial Coverage
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Middlebury, Connecticut
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Contributor
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University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
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Extent
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5 pages
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Identifier
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Ms. Coll. 200 Box 124
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Subject
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Anderson, Marian, 1897-1993
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Contralto
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Personal correspondence
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Letter writing
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Fan mail
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Time (Title)
