Scope and Contents
Series I is divided into two subseries: A. Photographs and B. Cartes-des-visites. Subseries A contains images of many individual Blackface minstrel performers; photographs that include a single performer name may also include other individuals. The majority of this material was previously included in HTC 1 and then in MS Thr 1848 before the integration of all Harvard Theatre Collection Blackface minstrelsy materials. A few materials in this series are also photomechanical prints, alongside multiple types of nineteenth century photographs. Subseries B is made up entirely of cartes-des-visites, a type of small photograph first created in the mid-nineteenth century which became popular for both display and trading. These photographs were often purchased as souvenirs. Subjects of both subseries include Charles Backus, Billy Birch, Dan Bryant (and multiple associated groups), Cool Burgess, Sam Devere, Billy Emerson, Ed Harrigan, Harrigan and Hart, John Hart, Kelly and Leon, Joseph Murphy, Bobby Newcomb, George H. Primrose (and multiple associated groups), Johnny Queen, Nelse Seymour, J.F. Sheridan, Charles White, John Wild, and George Wilson, among many others. There are also unidentified subjects of included in Subseries A.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1833-1906
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
Materials may be fragile and require the use of a surrogate. This includes all materials in Series III, IV, VI, VII, VII, IX, X, and XI. Please consult curator for more information.
Extent
21.54 linear feet (52 boxes and 147 folders)Arrangement
Each subseries is arranged in single alphabetical run by performer surname or group name.
Processing Information
This subseries was previously included in HTC 2 and then in MS Thr 1848 before the 2021 reprocessing.
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
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