Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1763-1981 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
9 boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Archival history
Co-founder of the Dancing Times, 1910, the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, 1920, and The Camargo Society, 1930. Richardson also founded and organized the "Sunshine" Charity Matinées and the All England Sunshine Stage Dance Competitions. As an editor, Richardson contributed to a number of books and periodicals, but in 1946 he published A History of English Ballroom Dancing (1910-1945) and in 1960, Social Dances of the Nineteenth Century. Richardson's interest in the history of dancing led him to become an avid collector of rare books on the subject. His personal library collection was bequeathed to the RAD after his death in 1963.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The collection includes scrapbooks, notebooks, articles and illustration alongside Richardson's personal collection of ballroom and charity matinée programmes. Photographs were added to the collection in 2021 and given by the Dancing Times who also donated Richardson's typewriter and bookcase.