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COLLECTION Identifier: MS Thr 548

Theatre Arts Monthly collection of photographs

Overview

Photographs of theatrical persons, performances, and places from the archives of Theatre Arts Books which produced the magazines Theatre Arts Magazine, Theatre Arts Monthly, and Theatre Arts.

Dates

  • Creation: 1900-1964

Language of Materials

Collection materials are primarily in English.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.

Extent

10 linear feet (27 boxes)

Collection primarily includes theatrically-related photographs used for the various publications produced by Theatre Arts Books. Includes some other types of images such as copy prints of drawings and other original artwork, a few letters, printed playbills, posters, and programs. At the end of the collection is a typescript topical bibliography listing articles from the Theatre Arts magazines, and a typescript cumulative index of the magazine by title and author from 1916-1948.

Images are of all types of productions including plays, movies, musical stage productions, ballets, folk dances, operas, music festivals, and others. Images depict individuals, groups of actors, costume designs, stage sets, still images from films, United States army shows, theatre buildings' interiors and exteriors, scenes from all types of productions, and others. The bulk of the material is primarily from the United States and Great Britain, but the scope is world-wide, also including France, Germany, Italy, and Russia, among others. Most photographs are labeled and include more information than is contained in this guide.

Biographical / Historical

Theatre Arts Magazine (1916-1923), Theatre Arts Monthly (1924- October 1939), and Theatre Arts (November 1939-1964) were classic serial publications containing in-depth coverage of every aspect of the theatre world.

Arrangement

Arranged into the following series:

  1. I. Army (United States) shows
  2. II. Costume design
  3. III. Dance stills
  4. IV. Film stills
  5. V. Photographs by country
  6. VI. Scenes
  7. VII. Theatre buildings
  8. VIII. Miscellaneous subjects
  9. IX. Unsorted photographs
  10. X. Indexes

These groupings were already established when collection was received in repository.

Physical Location

b

Immediate Source of Acquisition

No accession number. Gift of Theatre Arts Books; received: 1985 November 27.

Separated Materials

Other portions of the Theatre Arts Monthly Collection have been cataloged into these additional finding aids:

Processing Information

Processed by: Amy Lang and Bonnie B. Salt, with the assistance of Melanie Wisner.

Title
Theatre Arts Monthly collection of photographs, circa 1900-1964: Guide.
Author
Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hou02036

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.

Contact:
Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2440