Overview
Over 900 scrapbooks of theatrical material, documenting theatrical and music productions and personalities in the United States and abroad.
Dates
- Creation: 1791-1967
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English and many other European languages.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material. Collection is open for research.
This collection is not housed at the Houghton Library but is shelved off-site at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine what material is off-site and retrieval policies and times.
Extent
165 linear feet (114 boxes and 39 volumes)The Theatrical Scrapbook Collection consists of over 900 scrapbooks containing advertisements, business cards, cast-lists, clippings, some correspondence, engraved portraits and scenes, a few manuscripts, obituaries, cabinet photographs, photographic postcards, playbills, programs, tickets and ticket stubs, photographs, pressed flowers, reviews, posters, pictorial material and other memorabilia documenting theatrical, film, dance, opera, and music productions and personalities in the United States and abroad, from ca. 1800 to 1965.
Geographic range is broad, but is especially rich for productions in New York and Boston. Boston theaters include: Globe Theatre, Boston Museum, Boston Theatre, Park Theatre, Castle Square Opera Company, and many others. There is an exceptionally large scrapbook collection for the Hollis Street Theatre.
Also includes signed items, items from productions at Harvard University and other universities, personal scrapbook of actor George Clarke, ballet, circus, concerts, minstrel shows, items concerning drama schools, and other theatricals of all varieties. Many volumes include an index. Some items are in very poor condition and this information has been noted in the entry.
Biographical / Historical
In 1994, these scrapbooks were assembled in the Harvard Theatre Collection and sent to off-site storage at the Harvard Depository. It was attempted to not include materials that were primarily manuscripts, already cataloged items, scrapbooks containing primarily photographs, or non-performing arts scrapbooks. Items (1-802) were placed in 114 boxes; 39 oversized items (803-841) were wrapped and sent as individual volumes.
Arrangement
Arranged in randomly assigned item number and box number order.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Immediate Source of Acquisition
No accession number. Various sources, various dates. See individual items for accession information.
Processing Information
Processed by: Susan Brady and Bonnie B. Salt
- Title
- Theatrical scrapbook collection, 1791-1967: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02296
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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