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Helen Tetlow

Helen Ingersoll Tetlow was a music teacher (piano) and collector. She was the daughter of John Tetlow and Elizabeth Ingersoll Harrington. She graduated from Girls Latin School in Boston in 1895 and graduated from Radcliffe in 1899.

She attended NEC from approximately 1898-1901. Tetlow was the author of From a Dana Hill Window: [The Life of Henry Francis Harrington, Pastor of the Lee Street Church, 1854-1864]. She was also co-editor with Constance Huntington Hall of the book Helen Hopekirk (1856-1945), privately printed in 1954.

Archival Collection

1 clamshell box containing 8 file folders

Gift of Frances Tetlow, 1976-1977; indexed by Geraldine Ostrove. The 1975 certificate was located later and added to the collection.

Access to the Helen Tetlow Papers is granted by the NEC Archivist. Appointments must be scheduled in advance. There are no restrictions on this collection.

All copyrights to this collection belong to the New England Conservatory. Permission to publish materials from this collection is granted by the Archivist. For a detailed inventory of the collection, click here. This collection should be cited as NECA 18.31. Helen Tetlow Papers, New England Conservatory Archives, Boston, MA.

The Tetlow Papers, which span the years 1878-1945, belonged to Helen Ingersoll Tetlow, collector and piano teacher, and were donated to NEC by Frances Tetlow in 1976-1977. Included are forty-five pieces of correspondence (including letters, postcards, and calling cards), the majority of which are from Helen Hopekirk, composer and member of the NEC piano faculty, to Helen Tetlow.  In addition, there are letters from Arthur Foote, Heinrich Gebhard, Ethel Leginska, Ernst Perabo, and others. The Tetlow collection also contains photographs of several persons including Harold Bauer, Helen Hopekirk, Ethel Leginska, Theodor Leschetizsky, Helena Modjeska, Friedrich Niecks, Xaver Scharwenka, Antoinette Szumowksa, Felix Weingartner, and Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler. Also included is a certificate from NEC received by Tetlow in 1975, signed by Gunther Schuller and the President of the Alumni Association. For a detailed inventory of the collection, click here.

  • Folder 1:  Correspondence, Items 1-10
  • Folder 2:  Correspondence, Items 11-15
  • Folder 3:  Correspondence, Items 16-20
  • Folder 4:  Correspondence, Items 21-30
  • Folder 5:  Correspondence, Items 31-45
  • Folder 6:  Photographs, Items 46-50
  • Folder 7:  Photographs, Items 51-55
  • Folder 8:  Photographs, Items 56-59