Repository: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts / Subject: Theater and Theater -- United States -- 19th century - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 0.4 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: This collection of about sixty handwritten actors' role books (1870-1878, undated) provides a glimpse into the world of nineteenth century theater in the United States. The role books seem to have belonged to the actor Philip Augustus Anderson though some were copied by, or on behalf of, other performers of the day including Lotta Crabtree, Laura Keene, Annie Lewis, John Lester Wallack, John Edward McCullough, Joseph Proctor and Lucille Western. Nearly all of the role books are annotated with production notes.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Extent:: 0.75 linear feet (3 boxes)
Abstract:: Emma Josephine Brazier (1867-1953) was a Philadelphian who followed the theater and opera scene. Her scrapbooks consist of three volumes that contain playbills, theater and opera advertisements, and actors' photographs and cards from 19th centuryand early 20th century in Philadelphia and New York City.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Extent:: 0.5 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:: Joseph Francis Ambrose Jackson (1867-1946) was a historian, lecturer, artist, journalist, and writer active in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This scrapbook contains newspaper clippings on theatrical subjects, dating from 1886 to 1902, and includes reviews, interviews, short biographies, and articles relating to the history of American theater.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Extent:: 31 boxes
Abstract:: Comprises personal, business, literary, and family papers. In addition to Bird's own papers, this collection includes papers of his wife Mary E. Bird, his son Frederic Mayer Bird, and his biographer Clement Edgar Foust. The earliest papers (1822) date from Bird's school days at Germantown Academy, and the very latest papers (1946) relate to C. Seymour Thompson's publication of Mary E. Bird's biography of her husband. Correspondents include men and women from Bird's career in medicine; his literary career; his theatrical career (including correspondence with Edwin Forrest, as well as the documentation regarding their legal battle over copyrights and profits); his political career; and his career in publishing and journalism.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Extent:: 2 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:: Arthur Bloom (born 1939), an author and scholar of American theater, studied and wrote a book on Edwin Forrest (1806-1872), a prominent Philadelphia-born actor. This collection contains research materials for Bloom's work, Edwin Forrest: A Biography and Performance History (2019). These include some limited original materials by and related to Forrest, extensive printout copies of newspaper articles about Forrest, contemporary scholarly publications related to Forrest and American theater, and other research materials.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Extent:: 3 boxes
Abstract:: The collection consists primarily of correspondence addressed to Ada Rehan but also includes some memorabilia, such as an analysis of Katharine in The Taming of the Shrew in Ada Rehan's hand, clippings, dedications, menus and invitations, and programs and playbills.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Extent:: 10 linear feet (20 boxes and one oversized folder)
Abstract:: The H.H. Furness Memorial Library focuses on the study of Shakespeare and other Tudor and Stuart dramatists. Horace Howard Furness (1833-1912) and his son Horace Howard Furness Jr. (1865-1930) founded and edited the Variorum Shakespeare and their library was donated to the University of Pennsylvania in 1932. This collection contains personal correspondence to and from Rev. William Henry Furness (1802-1896), Horace Howard Furness, and Horace Howard Furness, Jr., largely relating to Shakespearean study and the H.H. Furness Memorial library; notebooks; copies of speeches and articles; and other assorted items relating to Shakespearean scholarship or to the Furness family.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Extent:: 3 linear feet (8 boxes)
Abstract:: Robert L. Sherman, born in 1866, was a playwright and a theater manager. A prolific author, he began writing plays for Alexander Byers and the Chicago Manuscript Company, a printing business that sold and rented play scripts to theater companies in the United States from 1895 until 1922. Alexander Byers acquired most of the plays he published by pirating them. This collection consists of 139 mimeograph versions of play scripts which were part of the inventory of the Chicago Manuscript Company.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

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