Form: Playbills and Correspondence - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 91.0 linear feet (165 boxes and mapcase)
Abstract:: In 1962, Barbara Weisberger, a protégé of George Balanchine, started the School of the Pennsylvania Ballet to train dancers for her forthcoming dance company. The “Philadelphia Ballet,” later known as the Pennsylvania Ballet, was officially founded the following year. George Balanchine served as artistic advisor and the Ford Foundation provided the funds to help the struggling company establish itself. Based in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Ballet is still operational as of 2011, although it has undergone many changes in artistic direction and administration. The Pennsylvania Ballet records document the activities of the Pennsylvania Ballet Company, active from 1963 through 2011. The materials in this collection cover the years 1963 to 2004, with the bulk of materials dating from 1969 to 1990. This is still an active organization, so these records do not offer a complete picture of the company’s history and activities, as most records are active and retained by the Pennsylvania...(see more)

Held at: Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center [Contact Us]

Extent:: 59.5 linear feet (67 boxes)
Abstract:: The Hedgerow Theatre Company was established in 1923 by Jasper Deeter, a New York based actor and director. Located in the Rose Valley Arts and Crafts Community of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Hedgerow holds the distinction as the longest serving Repertory Theatre in America. The Hedgerow Theatre Company records contains a wide variety of materials, from business records and show materials to member ephemera and photographs. The collection provides both a practical and intimate look into the workings of this repertory theatre.

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

Extent:: 15.46 linear feet
Abstract:: This collection contains the literary papers of author and illustrator Munro Leaf (1905-1976), with materials dating from 1918 to 1986. Manuscript drafts and illustrations from fifty-eight titles are represented (including fourteen titles produced as part of his work for the US Army and the Foreign Service). In addition to graphite and pen and ink illustrations and manuscript drafts, the collection includes audiovisual materials, clippings, correspondence, dummies, ephemera, photographs, promotional materials, proofs, published volumes, and a scrapbook. Of particular note: the original manuscript for The Story of Ferdinand (1936) as well as a sizeable collection of materials related to the book and its many adaptations; both published and unpublished art and drafts for the Can Be Fun series; and a large quantity of materials related to Munro Leaf’s Watchbirds, serialized in Ladies Home Journal and published in six compilations.

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

Extent:: 14.5 linear feet (16 boxes)
Abstract:: Louis Lippa (1928-2018) was an American playwright, actor, theater director, and teacher of the dramatic arts. An experimental and prolific playwright, he was influenced by the dramatic theories of Bertolt Brecht and concerned with political, historical, and social issues. This collection contains material produced and collected by Lippa, primarily but not exclusively related to his work as a playwright-in-residence at the People's Light and Theatre Company in Malvern, PA.

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

Extent:: 46.2 linear feet (93 boxes)
Abstract:: Arthur Hobson Quinn (1875-1960) was a professor and dean of English and History at the University of Pennsylvania and an internationally recognized authority on the history of American drama. This collection contains material representative of Quinn's entire professional life: correspondence, manuscripts of books and articles, lecture notes, reviews of contemporary plays, his collection of playbills and libretti, and material related to his research on Edgar Allan Poe and the American realist playwright James A. Herne.

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:: 15 boxes and 6 linear feet
Abstract:: Consists of an assembled collection of correspondence of playwrights, authors, actors and actresses, and theater managers, and other manuscript materials relating to American and English theater from the 1720s through the 1970s.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

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