Fantel, Hans (1922-2006), Papers, c. 1925-2006 (C4003)
3.2 linear feet, 5 video cassettes, 1 DVD, 7 CDs
RESTRICTED
INTRODUCTION
The papers of Fantel, a freelance writer, contain the articles he wrote for the New York Times and many other publications about high fidelity, home electronics, and music. Correspondence, photographs, and audio-visual materials make up the remainder of the collection.
DONOR INFORMATION
The Hans Fantel Papers were donated to the University of Missouri by Lois C. Zell on 16 January 2007 (Accession No. 6137).
RESTRICTION
Consult the reference staff for information about the restriction on this collection.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Hans Fantel was born in Vienna, Austria on 1 March 1922. When the Nazis took over the country in 1938, his father was arrested for having vocally opposed Germany’s rearmament in the preceding years. Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that Hans’ paternal grandmother was Jewish and he was expelled from school.
Fantel escaped to Czechoslovakia and served in the underground for a time before making his way to Tunisia and befriending the American consul, who helped secure him passage on a Red Cross ship to the United States in 1941.
He worked at a picture frame factory in New York while learning English and then received a scholarship to study biology at the University of Missouri. After his graduation in 1946, he worked as a technical translator for the U.S. Air Force in Ohio and enrolled in history and philosophy classes at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio.
He moved to New York in the 1950s and became a freelance writer covering high fidelity and home electronics for a variety of publications. In 1958, he helped found the magazine, Hi-Fi/Stereo Review, now known as Stereo Review. From 1977 to 1995, he had two syndicated columns in the New York Times, on both audio and video home electronics. A lifelong lover of classical music, he also wrote concert reviews and profiled musical conductors. He published nine books, most notably biographies of Johann Strauss and William Penn.
In 1998, the government of Austria and city of Salzburg awarded Fantel medals of appreciation for his efforts at building goodwill between Austria and the United States.
He met his wife Shirley “Shea” Smith, a senior copy editor for Seventeen magazine, in Greenwich Village in the early 1950s and they married a short time later.
Hans Fantel died on 21 May 2006 and Shea died on 22 June 2006.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The papers of Fantel, a freelance writer, contain the articles he wrote for the New York Times and many other publications about high fidelity and home electronics. Correspondence, photographs, and audio-visual materials are also included in the collection. The papers are divided into three series:
FOLDER LIST
The Personal series contains correspondence, photographs, publicity clippings, and miscellaneous materials, and is arranged alphabetically by topic. The Fantels kindness and hospitality to friends, neighbors, and family is reflected in their correspondence. They even hosted a friend's wedding at their home in 1969. The photographs mostly document their travels to Europe and their home life in Sheffield, Massachusetts. The photograph scrapbooks were disassembled for preservation purposes.
In the correspondence and photographs, users will find references to Bun and Schehi-type or S-type. These were the Fantels' pet names for each other (Bun was Hans and Schehi-type was Shea).
| f. 1 | Austria medals, 1998 |
| f. 2 | Berkshire Community College music class, 2005 |
| f. 3 | Biography |
| f. 4-9 | Conway Correspondence, 1968-1984 |
| f. 10-24 | Correspondence |
| f. 10 | 1930s-1969 |
| f. 11 | 1970-1973 July |
| f. 12 | 1973 August-1974 |
| f. 13 | 1979 March-September |
| f. 14 | 1979 October-1982 |
| f. 15 | 1983-1999 |
| f. 16 | 2000-2001 March |
| f. 17 | 2001 May-December |
| f. 18 | 2002 |
| f. 19 | 2003-2006 January |
| f. 20-23 | 2006 February-October |
| f. 24 | n.d. |
| f. 25 | Keusch/Kovalsky wedding, 1969 |
| f. 26 | Levy, Alan, 1988-2004 |
| f. 27 | Miscellaneous, n.d. |
| f. 28-34 | Photographs |
| f. 28 | Scrapbook, Austria, 1958, 1962 |
| f. 29 | Scrapbook, Switzerland, 1986 |
| f. 30 | Scrapbook, Austria, 1998 |
| f. 31 | 1920s-1960s |
| f. 32 | 1970s |
| f. 33 | 1980s-1990s |
| f. 34 | 2000s |
| f. 35 | Publicity clippings, 1951-2006 |
| f. 36-37 | WMNR Radio, 1997-2005 |
The Writings series is divided into two subseries:
The Articles subseries consists of the articles Fantel wrote for various publications including the New York Times, Opera News, and Hi-Fi Stereo Review. He often recycled or revised articles for use in multiple publications. The bulk of the series is comprised of his columns for the Times which focused on home electronics. However, his Christmastime columns for the Times were often poignant pieces reminiscing about his childhood love of music and the rise of Nazism in Vienna. And a Fourth of July article in Newsday recounts his sailing into New York harbor in 1941 and seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time.
In addition to home electronics, Fantel wrote several travel pieces and articles on concert hall acoustics. Notes and correspondence with editors is included in this subseries, which is arranged alphabetically by name of publication. Indexes exist for the Times, Hi-Fi Stereo Review, Opera News, and Ovation articles. Several unidentified articles and proposals are located at the end of the sub-series, as well as story leads and research on compact disc permanence.
| f. 38 | Audio, 1981 |
| f. 39 | Audio Fan, 1966 |
| f. 40 | Austria Kultur, 1992 |
| f. 41 | Austrian Information, n.d. |
| f. 42-45 | Berkshire Record, 1991-2006 |
| f. 46 | Bravo, 1964-1965 |
| f. 47 | Catalyst, 1993 |
| f. 48 | Columbia Records, n.d. |
| f. 49 | Conde-Nast Traveler, 1991-1992 |
| f. 50-52 | Connoisseur, 1982-1985 |
| f. 53 | Country Music, 1975, 1978 |
| f. 54 | Der Standard, 1994 |
| f. 55 | Discover, 1988 |
| f. 56 | Diversion, 1985 |
| f. 57 | Electronic Experimenter, n.d. |
| f. 58 | Electronics Illustrated, 1963 |
| f. 59 | EMI Records, 1996 |
| f. 60 | Family Circle, n.d. |
| f. 61 | FM, 1964-1965 |
| f. 62 | Gallery, 1982-1983 |
| f. 63-69 | Hi-Fi Stereo Review, 1960s-1980s |
| f. 70 | Hi Fidelity, 1970s |
| f. 71 | High Performance Review, 1992-1996 |
| f. 72 | House and Garden, 1980s |
| f. 73 | KeelyNet BBS, 2001 |
| f. 74 | The Lively Artist, 1967 |
| f. 75 | Mainliner, 1978 |
| f. 76 | Mechanix Illustrated, 1963 |
| f. 77 | Modern Bride, 1966/1967 |
| f. 78 | Modern Electronics, 1978 |
| f. 79 | Modern Hi-Fi, 1960 |
| f. 80 | MPC World, 1992 |
| f. 81 | Music Magazine, n.d. |
| f. 82-117 | New York Times |
| f. 82 | 1963-1975 |
| f. 83 | 1977 |
| f. 84 | 1978 |
| f. 85-86 | 1979 |
| f. 87-88 | 1980 |
| f. 89-90 | 1981 |
| f. 91-92 | 1982 |
| f. 93-94 | 1983 |
| f. 95-96 | 1984 |
| f. 97-98 | 1985 |
| f. 99-100 | 1986 |
| f. 101-102 | 1987 |
| f. 103-104 | 1988 |
| f. 105-106 | 1989 |
| f. 107-108 | 1990 |
| f. 109 | 1991 |
| f. 110 | 1992 |
| f. 111 | 1993 |
| f. 112 | 1994 |
| f. 113 | 1995-1997 |
| f. 114 | n.d. |
| f. 115-116 | Correspondence, 1955-2002 |
| f. 117 | Index |
| f. 118 | Newsday, 1996 |
| f. 119 | Next, 1980 |
| f. 120-130 | Opera News, 1963-2002 |
| f. 131-133 | Ovation, 1980-1985 |
| f. 134-135 | Pageant, 1964-1966, n.d. |
| f. 136 | Physicians’ Lifestyle, 1982-1993 |
| f. 137 | Playboy Guide to Electronic Entertainment, 1982 |
| f. 138 | Popular Electronics, 1956-1979 |
| f. 139-143 | Popular Mechanics, 1964-1982, n.d. |
| f. 144 | Popular Photography, 1964 |
| f. 145-146 | Popular Science, 1964-1977, n.d. |
| f. 147 | Premiere, n.d. |
| f. 148 | Radio-TV Experimenter, 1965 |
| f. 149 | Reader’s Digest, 1964-1967 |
| f. 150-151 | Rolling Stone, 1984-1989, n.d. |
| f. 152 | Science and Mechanics, 1964-1966 |
| f. 153 | Science Digest, 1957-1968 |
| f. 154 | Show, 1967 |
| f. 155-160 | Sky, 1995-2004, n.d |
| f. 161 | Stereo Review, 1982-1998 |
| f. 162 | Tape Recording Magazine, 1964, n.d. |
| f. 163 | TT, n.d. |
| f. 164 | Town and Country, 1997-2000 |
| f. 165-167 | Unidentified articles |
| f. 168 | Unidentified proposals |
| f. 169 | Leads |
| f. 170 | Research- CD permanence |
The Other Writings subseries contains books, unpublished manuscripts, poems, and miscellaneous writings, and is arranged chronologically. Fantel collaborated on the book, Feminine Forever, with Dr. R.A. Wilson, but his contributions are unattributed in the bibliographic information.
| f. 171 | Early writings, 1940s |
| f. 172 | Poetry, 1955-2000 |
| f. 173 | ABC’s of Hi-Fi Stereo, 1963, 1975 |
| f. 174 | Feminine Forever, 1966 |
| f. 175 | Unexpected Treasure, 1968 |
| f. 176-178 | The Waltz Kings, 1972 |
| f. 179 | The True Sound of Music, 1973 |
| f. 180-181 | William Penn: Apostle of Dissent, 1974 |
| f. 182 | The Doctor, 1976 |
| f. 183 | Durable Pleasures, 1976 |
| f. 184 | Better Listening, 1978 |
| f. 185 | The New Sound of Stereo, 1986 |
| f. 186 | Program notes, 42nd Annual Viennese Opera Ball, 1996 |
| f. 187 | High fidelity booklet, n.d. |
| f. 188 | Portraits of Austria, “The Land of the Waltz,” n.d. |
The Audio-Visual series consists of video cassettes, most of which document the Fantels' home life and their vacations to Japan and China in the 1980s. There is also an oral history interview done with Hans in 2000 in which he discusses his family history, his childhood and escape from Vienna, and his experiences in the Czech underground.
| v.c. 1 | The Bun and the S-Type, Sheffield, Massachusetts, c. 1962, 1978; Crete, 1977 |
| v.c. 2 | The Bun in Japan, 1981 |
| v.c. 3 | Christmas, 1987 |
| v.c. 4 | The Bun and Schehi-Type in China, 1989 |
| v.c. 5 | A Conversation with Hans Fantel, 2000*Use DVD copy |
INDEX TERMS
These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.
| Acheson, Dean Gooderham (1893-1971) | f. 10 |
| Adultry | f. 6-9 |
| Albert, Prince, Consort of Victoria, Queen of Great Britain (1819-1861) | f. 178 (pictorial material) |
| Antisemitism | f. 13; v.c. 5 |
| Apollo project | f. 143 |
| Architecture and energy conservation | f. 10, 141 |
| Armstrong, Edwin Howard (1890-1954) | f. 13, 61, 108 |
| Assisted suicide | f. 20 |
| Austria--Description and travel | f. 11, 26, 27, 43, 49, 51, 52, 111, 113, 136, 149, 155, 156, 168 |
| Bernstein, Leonard (1918-1990) | f. 42, 71 |
| Bernstein, Leonard (1918-1990) | f. 33 (pictorial material) |
| Black, Algernon D. (1900-1993) | f. 10 |
| Brainwashing | f. 134 |
| Carson, John R. (1886-1940) | f. 13 |
| Conductors (Music) | f. 42, 48, 51, 52, 61, 62, 64, 71, 165, 168, 169 |
| Czechoslovakia, Prague--Description and travel | f. 156 |
| Dance | f. 178 (pictorial material) |
| Death | f. 20-23 |
| Digital media--Preservation | f. 170 |
| Divorce | f. 15 |
| Domestic relations | f. 6-9; v.c. 5 |
| Drug abuse--Law and legislation | f. 135 |
| Edison, Thomas Alva (1847-1931) | f. 15 |
| Electronic apparatus and appliances | f. 138, 152, 165 |
| Emigration and immigration--Psychological aspects | f. 92, 118 |
| Epstein, Daniel (1946- ) | f. 14 |
| Fantel family | f, 27, 35, 99; v.c. 5 |
| Fantel, Hans H. (1922-2006) | f. 1, 25, 28-34; v.c. 1-5 (pictorial material) |
| Fantel, Hans H. (1922-2006) | f. 1-27, 35-188 |
| Fantel, Shirley (1929-2006) | f. 7, 20-23, 27 |
| Fantel, Shirley (1929-2006) | f. 28-34; v.c. 1-4 (pictorial material) |
| Feminism | f. 4 |
| Foreman, George (1949- ) | f. 33 (pictorial material) |
| Germany--Description and travel | f. 12 |
| Household electronics | f. 39, 42-47, 51-58, 62-69, 71, 72, 75-80, 82-114, 119-128, 131-133, 136-151, 155, 156, 161-169, 173, 179, 183-185, 187 |
| Keusch, Ellen Marie | f. 25 (pictorial material) |
| Keusch, Ellen Marie | f. 25 |
| Kovalsky, Rom Mordechai | f. 25 |
| Kovalsky, Rom Mordechai | f. 25 (pictorial material) |
| Lanner, Josef (1801-1843) | f. 176 |
| Lanner, Josef (1801-1843) | f. 178 (pictorial material) |
| Lehmann, Lotte (1888-1976) | f. 10 |
| Levy, Alan (1932-1994) | f. 26, 35 |
| Loomis, Mahlon (1826-1886) | f. 168 |
| Medicine--Research | f. 134, 139, 140, 146, 154 |
| Menopause | f. 165, 174 |
| Mitropoulos, Dimitri (1896-1960) | f. 10 |
| Mormon Tabernacle Choir | f. 156 |
| Mueller, Carol Conway (1940-1988) | f. 4-9 |
| Music festivals | f. 42, 44-46, 51, 52, 156, 168 |
| Music therapy | f. 136 |
| Music--Acoustics and physics | f. 49-51, 70, 71, 156, 168 |
| Music--Analysis, appreciation | f. 36-38, 40, 42-44, 46, 59, 61, 64, 70, 74, 87, 88, 90, 92, 94, 99, 106, 136, 149, 165, 166, 168, 169, 188 |
| National Women's Conference, Houston, Texas, 1977 | f. 4 |
| Nazism, 1930s | f. 35, 45, 88, 94, 99, 106, 113; v.c. 5 |
| Nuclear submarines | f. 139 |
| Orient Express (Express train) | f. 140 |
| Parental kidnapping | f. 16, 19 |
| Penn, William (1644-1718) | f. 180 |
| Penn, William (1644-1718) | f. 181 (pictorial material) |
| Petritsch, Wolfgang (1947- ) | f. 17 |
| Project Sealab | f. 153 |
| Radio frequency modulation | f. 13, 61 |
| Radio--History | f. 168 |
| Renewable energy sources | f. 140, 141, 152, 153 |
| Research aircraft | f. 73, 139 |
| Speed listening | f. 24 |
| Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York and New Jersey | f. 118 |
| Stokowski, Leopold (1882-1977) | f. 10 |
| Strauss family | f. 149, 156, 166, 176, 188 |
| Strauss family | f. 178 (pictorial material) |
| Tesla, Nikola (1856-1943) | f. 45 |
| Tobacco--Physiological effect | f. 134, 153 |
| Victoria, Queen of Great Britain (1819-1901) | f. 178 (pictorial material) |
| Wald, George (1906-1997) | f. 10 |
| Walter, Bruno (1876-1962) | f. 10, 52, 165, 169 |
| Waltzes | f. 149, 156, 166, 176, 188 |
| Weddings, 1969 | f. 25 (pictorial material) |
| Wells, Malcolm B. (1926- ) | f. 10 |
| Wildlife refuges | f. 175 |
| Women--History | f. 4 |
| Women--Social conditions, 1970s | f. 4 |
| World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, Germany, Dresden | f. 149 |
| World War, 1939-1945--Czechoslovakia | f. 35, 38, 43, 88, 94; v.c. 5 |
| World War, 1939-1945--Germany, Dresden | f. 149 |
| World War, 1939-1945--Refugees | f. 92; v.c. 5 |
| World War, 1939-1945--Underground movements, Czechoslovakia | f. 35, 38; v.c. 5 |
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