Overview
Professional and personal papers, correspondence, and photographs of the Christy Obrecht family.
Dates
- Creation: 1913-1975
Language of Materials
English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material. Collection is open for research.
Extent
.42 linear feet (2 boxes)Collection includes a diary, playbills, promotional materials, newspaper clippings, reviews, family photographs, professional headshots and stills, correspondence, wedding announcements, war papers, notes, construction plans, and confederate dollars.
Biographical / Historical
The Christy Obrecht family vaudeville act was founded in 1896, first known as "The Obrecht Musical Family: a Musical Organization without Peer" by Christy Obrecht Sr. The show was mainly based in Minnesota, but traveled to Wisconsin and Iowa. By 1913 Christy Obrecht Sr. was joined by his son Christy Obrecht II (1892-1969). Catherine "Kate" McCool was acting in the Obrecht show before her marriage to Christy Obrecht II in 1915; after their nuptials she took on some managerial responsibilities while continuing to act. Christy Obrecht Jr. (born 1919) joined his father Christy Obrecht II in the family act in the early 1940s. Over the years the Obrecht act had various name changes: "The Christy Obrecht Company," "The Obrecht Stock Company," and "The Christy Obrecht Road Show."
Arrangement
Collection is minimally processed. Materials are arranged alphabetically.
Custodial History
Purchased from Robert H. Rubin Books, 2017.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2018MT-047. Purchased from Robert H. Rubin Books in 2017 September.
Processing Information
Processed by Magdaline Lawhorn, 2017.
- Title
- Obrecht, Christy II. Christy Obrecht Family Papers, 1913-1975 (MS Thr 1711): Guide
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard University.
- Date
- November 29, 2017
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02866
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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