Collected Works

Pursuant to the wishes of Dean Robb and his wife Harriet in their wills, their personal papers and correspondence, photographs, musical scores, field recordings, videos, tapes, and other materials were donated to the University Libraries.

​There are three distinct collections housed in the Center for Southwest Research which is located in the Zimmerman Library on the UNM Campus. Click here to visit the CSWR web site for hours of operation and information on accessing and using the collections.         
  • Manuscripts
  • Photographs
  • Folk Music Recordings
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MSS 497 BC consists of Robb's personal papers and includes correspondence, scrapbooks, manuscripts of his two books, newspaper clippings, lecture notes, taped interviews with Dean Robb, all of his musical scores, programs, and cd's of performances of his works. There are 122 boxes of materials. The inventory is now available online. Click here to visit the inventory.
Following is a small sampling of the many photographs and manuscripts available at the Center for Southwest Research.
Manuscript sample
Archival Document, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research
Manuscript sample
Archival Document, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research
Manuscript sample
Archival Document, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Manuscript sample
Archival Document, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research
Manuscript sample
Archival Document, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research
Manuscript sample
Archival Document, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research
Pictorial Collections (PICT 000-497) houses photographs donated by Dean Robb and other family members.
Following is a small sampling of the many manuscripts available at the Center for Southwest Research.
Nadia Boulanger
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Certificate signed by Nadia Boulanger
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Letter to Robb from Nadia Boulanger
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Friend, John Jacob Niles (1892-1980) Composer, singer, and “Dean of American Balladeers”
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Friend, Gregor Piatigorsky (1903-1976) Russian Cellist
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Friend, Peter Hurd (1904-1984) with his guitar Famed SW artist, folksinger
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Letter from Peter Hurd
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Letter from Vincent Persichetti
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Letter from Paul Hindemith
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Letter from Conductor Leopold Stokowski
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
A young John Robb in robe
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Portrait of young John Robb
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Early Robb Family portrait
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Early Robb Family portrait
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
John Robb posing with bookcase
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
John Robb and his bust
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
John Robb and his family
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Robb conducting the UNM orchestra
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Robb, the cellist
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Robb and his guitar
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
John and Harriet Robb with fiddler, Junior Daugherty from Alamogordo, NM
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Robb and poster of Sao Paulo Concert
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Program for Sao Paulo Concert
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Robb in San Salvador
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Kurt Frederick, UNM Professor, conductor, violist, with Dean Robb
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Poster for Robb’s musical, “Joy Comes to Deadhorse”
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Production of “Joy Comes to Deadhorse”
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Poster from Robb’s Folk Opera, “Little Jo”
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
A manuscript page from “Little Jo”
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Cover of book which inspired the folk opera, “Little Jo”
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Photo from an early production of “Little Jo”
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Letter from Robert Moog
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Friend and conductor, Maurice Bonney, with John Robb and Amplifier
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Dean Robb and Maurice Bonney
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Robb and his Moog Synthesizer
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
John and Harriet Robb with Synthesizer equipment
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Robb with technician
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Newspaper article featuring Robb with youngsters reacting to his “far out” music.
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
 Dean Robb at UNM
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
Robb honored by NM Governor and Mrs. Jerry Apodaca.
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research
Archival Photo Courtesy of UNM Libraries' Center for Southwest Research.
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         ​
Archival Photo Courtesy of UNM Libraries' Center for Southwest Research.
Archival Photo, UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research         
​The John Donald Robb Archive of Southwestern Music contains as its core almost 3,000 field recordings of Hispanic folk songs recorded primarily in New Mexico and Southern Colorado by Robb from 1946 through 1979.