Form: Playbills - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

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(1936) as well as a sizeable collection of materials related to the book and its many adaptations; both published and unpublished art and drafts for the Can Be Fun series; and a large quantity of materials related to Munro Leaf’s Watchbirds, serialized in Ladies Home Journal and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

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:: 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]