Collection Guide
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Finding Aid of the Theater playbills
0104
0104
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Table of contents
Title: Theater playbills
Collection number: 0104
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
14.67 Linear feet
15 boxes
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1890-1980
Date (inclusive): 1866-1999
Language of Materials: Most of the materials in this collection are in English; however, there are also programs in Spanish, German and French.
Abstract: This collection primarily consists of twentieth century theater programs from New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London.
However, it also includes nineteenth century prompt books, souvenir programs, and theater programs from the Midwest (especially
Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota).
The programs and playbills in the Theater playbills demonstrate the evolution of one-sheet playbills into modern, multi-page
theater programs.
The Theater playbills consists primarily of theater programs and other printed ephemera from twentieth century New York City,
Los Angeles, Chicago, and London. Also included are late nineteenth and early twentieth century theater programs from the
Midwestern United States, scrapbooks of playbills and annotated prompt books from the same time period, and souvenir programs.
A few miscellaneous publications (mostly related to the theater) are also present in this collection. It appears as though
the collection was created through the combination of a number of smaller collections with differing provenances, including
ones put together by Constance McCormick, Milton Lewis, and William J. Williams.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
[Box/folder# or item name], Theater playbills, Collection no. 0104, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern
California.
The collection contains published materials; researchers are reminded of the copyright restrictions imposed by publishers
on reusing their articles and parts of books. It is the responsibility of researchers to acquire permission from publishers
when reusing such materials. The copyright to unpublished materials belongs to the heirs of the writers. Permission to publish,
quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Other special collections at USC that contain theater materials include Collection no. 0242, the Robert Richardson collection
on Southern California Theater, and Collection no. 0116, the Federal Theatre Project scripts.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Los Angeles (Calif.)--Social life and customs--Archival resources
Playbills
Playbills--Collections
Printed ephemera
Programs
Prompt books
Scrapbooks
Souvenir programs
Theater--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Theater--England--London--Archival resources
Theater--Illinois--Chicago--Archival resources
Theater--New York (State)--New York--Archival resources
Theaters--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Theaters--England--London--Archival resources
Theaters--Illinois--Chicago--Archival resources
Theaters--New York (State)--New York--Archival resources