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Munro Leaf papers, 1918-1986 (inclusive)

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(1936) as well as a sizeable collection of materials related to the book and its many adaptations; both published and unpublished art and drafts for the Can Be Fun series; and a large quantity of materials related to Munro Leaf’s Watchbirds, serialized in Ladies Home Journal and published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]

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19th Century playbills, 1852-1902 (bulk) 1803-1939 (inclusive)

Extent:
29.25 linear feet (117 volumes (many volumes are boxed))
Abstract:
The 19th Century playbills collection contains a range of material related to theater culture in nineteenth century Philadelphia and in selected other theaters across the northeastern United States. Researchers will find nineteenth century playbills from the following Philadelphia theaters: the Walnut Street Theatre, the Academy of Music, the Arch Street Theatre, the Chestnut Street Theatre, National Theatre (Walnut Street), the National Theatre (Chestnut Street), the Melodeon, and the Continental Theatre. There are also playbills from the Chestnut Street, Arch Street, and 11th Street opera houses. This collection contains an assortment of scrapbooks which include newspaper clippings, photographs, and reviews of actors and performances. The majority of scrapbooks were assembled by various theater enthusiasts; however ten were compiled by theater producer and director Paul E. Glase, who was active in the Philadelphia theater scene during the early twentieth century. Because the...(see more)

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

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Louis Lippa papers, 1953-2017 (inclusive)

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]

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Alfred Hermann Gumaer theater and music scrapbooks, 1877-1937 (inclusive)

Extent:
3 linear feet (11 boxes)
Abstract:
Alfred Hermann Gumaer (1873-1945) was a professor of architectural history at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania. He had a lifelong interest in theater and music and collected performance programs and playbills from a 60 year period and compiled them into scrapbooks.

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

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"Theatricals in Philadelphia" scrapbooks, 1838-1936 (inclusive) 1838-1897 (bulk)

Extent:
6 linear feet (22 volumes)
Abstract:
The "Theatricals in Philadelphia" scrapbooks consists of a set of 15 scrapbooks on theatrical subjects and contains programs, playbills, newspaper clippings, images, and portraits of artists of the stage, dating from the second half of the 19th century. These materials mostly relate to theaters and other performing venues located in Philadelphia, although there are also some items from New York, Boston, and other U.S. cities. Because of its extent (about 3,500 pages), its chronological and geographical focus, the richness of its materials, and the breadth of theatrical genres covered in the scrapbooks, this collection represents a unique and invaluable resource for anyone interested in the theatrical and cultural history of Philadelphia in the second half of the 19th century.

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

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Arthur Henry papers, 1893-1936 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.4 linear_foot (1 box)
Abstract:
Arthur Henry (1867-1934) was an author and a playwright who enjoyed a close friendship with Theodore Dreiser. This collection includes one of Henry's marriage licenses; a draft typescript of The Night Before, a play he co-wrote with his daughter, Dorothy Henry Van Auken; and two typescripts of his semi-autobiographical novel, "Roger Allen."

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

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Bartholomew family theatrical scrapbooks, 1852-1948 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.6 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:
The Bartholomew family scrapbook collection consists of five volumes compiled by Ethel C. Bartholomew (born 1889), William H. Bartholomew (born 1832), and Sallie Apt Bartholomew (1863-1934). These scrapbooks document the theatrical careers of the Bartholomews from the early 1870s to the late 1940s and include photographs of the Bartholomew family and unnamed people, notices and reviews of performances, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and notes.

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

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Arthur Hobson Quinn papers, 1801-1961 (inclusive) 1907-1960 (bulk)

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]

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Richard Wilson McCredy scrapbook of Philadelphia and New York City playbills, 1869-1906 (inclusive) 1869-1905 (bulk)

Extent:
0.2 linear_foot (1 volume)
Abstract:
The son of Thomas McCredy and Emma Dolores Wilson, Richard Wilson McCredy (1854-1924) was an iron merchant and alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania (Class of 1874). A gift by McCredy, this scrapbook consists of a collection of about 750 playbills and programs from Philadelphia and New York City, arranged in chronological order and pasted onto a volume of more than 200 pages.

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

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Carolina Playmakers collection of playbills and programs, 1918-1953 (inclusive)

Extent:
1 linear_foot (4 boxes)
Abstract:
The Carolina Playmakers was the theatrical company in residence at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, from 1918 to 1976, when it was succeeded by the PlayMakers Repertory Company. Although they often staged classic and contemporary plays, the Playmakers specialized in the writing and production of folk plays, a dramatic genre "concerned… with the legends, superstitions, customs, environmental differences, and the vernacular of the common people." The Carolina Playmakers collection of playbills and programs consists of about 350 items documenting the theatrical activities organized or sponsored by the Playmakers, Frederick H. Koch, and, more generally, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, between 1918 and 1953.

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

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Arthur Bloom research collection on Edwin Forrest, 1829-2018 (inclusive) 2014-2018 (bulk)

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]

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Ada Rehan papers, circa 1879-1918 (inclusive)

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]

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Edwin Forrest collection, circa 1815-1931 (inclusive)

Extent:
39 linear feet (76 boxes)
Abstract:
The Edwin Forrest Collection provides some documentation of the business career of Edwin Forrest (nineteenth-century American actor, noted for his Shakespearean roles), focusing in the main on the latter part of his career (the 1860s and 1870s). Though some private personal correspondence is housed in the collection, predominant is correspondence concerning various aspects of Forrest's finances; these are arranged by major investments or interests.

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

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Learned collection on German-language theater, 1832-1898 (inclusive) 1873-1895 (bulk)

Extent:
35 boxes (+ 2 map drawers)
Abstract:
Comprises material relating to the production of German-language plays in Philadelphia, predominantly in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Material includes printed and manuscript plays with annotations, which served as prompt books; manuscript scenarios; lists of props, as well as a few actual props; role books; librettos; musical scores; playbills; and selected issues of German-language theater newspapers published in Philadelphia. Also includes a catalog of the Theater-Leihbibliothek, handwritten by Theodor Bloch, owner of the lending library.

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

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Germantown Theatre Guild records, 1910-2009 (inclusive)

Extent:
50.58 linear feet
Abstract:
The Germantown Theatre Guild (GTG) in Philadelphia is one of the oldest small non-profit regional theatres in the country. Founded in 1933, the Theatre Guild continued (as of 2014) to operate out of the small carriage-house theatre and offices which are part of the historic residence built in 1742. The stage was the site of the first live televised theatre performance in the world in 1947. In 1970, the School District of Philadelphia built a theatre in the John B. Kelly school for the GTG to use for its Free Theatre for Children program. Known for years as “the theatre with a social conscience,” the GTG has had as its mission serving audiences that are out of the mainstream of the cultural experience, taking plays into rural communities, inner city schools, libraries, senior citizen and recreation centers, as well as prisons in three states. The Germantown Theatre Guild records document the institutional history of the Germantown Theatre Guild. This collection dates from 1910 to...(see more)

Held at: Germantown Historical Society [Contact Us]

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Pennsylvania Ballet records, 1963-2004 (inclusive)

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]

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Hedgerow Theatre Company records, 1901-2016 (inclusive)

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]

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Eric Matusewitch collection of Leonard Bernstein memorabilia, 1938-2019 (inclusive)

Extent:
8.4 linear feet (15 boxes)
Abstract:
The Eric Matusewitch collection of Leonard Bernstein memorabilia, documents Matusewitch's admiration for the musician, composer, conductor, educator, author and humanitarian Leonard Bernstein. The collection contains articles, clippings, photographs, flyers, brochures, pamphlets, playbills, programs, calendar of events, posters, newspapers, invitations, sheet music, magazines, menus, advertisements, tickets, books, drawings, and scrapbooks of performances by Bernstein or of his work by other people or organizations.

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

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