Overview
Costume designs from the London costumier, B. J. Simmons & Co.
Dates
- Creation: 1913-1927 and undated
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
This collection is not housed at the Houghton Library but is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine what material is offsite and retrieval policies and times.
Extent
1.5 linear feet (3 boxes)Costume design drawings for costumes produced in London by B. J. Simmons & Co. for various productions in England and in the United States. Drawings are in pencil, ink, and watercolor. Many designs have a sketch number (SK #), a title (often the character's name), and sometimes notes concerning the costume. One design has fabric swatches attached.
Also includes lists of costumes for some of the productions, some with names of actors.
Biographical / Historical
B. J. Simmons & Co. was a London historical and theatrical costumier, 1857-1964.
Arrangement
Arranged into the following series:
- I. The Merchant of Venice at the Belasco Theatre (Organization : New York, N.Y.), 1922 August
- II. Tristan & Isolde for the Raymond Rôze Opera Company at Covent Garden, 1913?
- III. Tristan & Isolde: other productions
- IV. The Wooing of Katherine Parr for Fred Terry's American Tour, 1927
- V. Unidentified productions
Physical Location
Harvard Depository [box 3 is sized pf]
Immediate Source of Acquisition
No accession number. Source and date unknown.
General note
This collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. See access restrictions below for additional information.
Processing Information
Processed by: Bonnie B. Salt
- Title
- B. J. Simmons & Co. B. J. Simmons & Co. costume designs, 1913-1927: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02093
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
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