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Start Over Form Playbills Year 1850 to 1899

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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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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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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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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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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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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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