Title:
Marjorie Himmelstern collection on the Belasco and Bender families, 1892-1926
New Alcazar Messenger
Creator/Contributor:
Himmelstern, Marjorie, 1913-2010, creator
Creator/Contributor:
Belasco family.
Creator/Contributor:
Byron Company (New York, N.Y.)
Creator/Contributor:
Judah L. Magnes Museum, WJHC 1996.010.
Creator/Contributor:
Bancroft Library, Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life.
Creator/Contributor:
Online Archive of California
Abstract:
The collection consists mainly of materials relating to David Belasco and his family collected by Belasco's grand niece Marjorie
Himmelstern. There are also materials relating to the Bender family, who were maternal relations of Ms. Himmelstern. Included
are 1907 and 1911 programs from the New Alcazar Theatre; newspaper clippings about David Belasco and the New Alcazar Theatre;
a program from a 1921 dinner honoring David Belasco given by the Society of Arts and Sciences at the Biltmore Hotel in New
York City; and two volumes of issues of the New Alcazar Messenger (a weekly publication of the New Alcazar Theatre) from 1907
through 1910. Photographs in the collection include: a photograph of Reyna Belasco (1892); a seemingly earlier, undated photograph
of Humphrey and Reyna Belasco; photographs of Noah Bender, the donor's maternal grandfather (1926); David Belasco's publicity
stills; and a photograph from a Bender family photo album of a woman cooking on a stove outside, apparently as a result of
the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (labeled "Mrs. Hahn, 1906"). Oversize items consist of the following: pages from a David
Belasco scrapbook, which include a series of 12 photographs (1909) of Belasco (apparently in his home) taken by the Byron
Company, the great New York photography studio that specialized in photographing Broadway theatrical productions; a photograph
of David Belasco's daughter Reina; a photograph of David Belasco's daughter Augusta; a photograph of Humphrey and David Belasco;
a caricature of the New Alcazar Theatre staff; and newspaper clippings.
Date:
1892 (issued)
Subject:
n-us-ca
Jews -- California -- Photographs
Jewish families -- California -- Photographs
San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, Calif., 1906 -- Photographs
Women -- California -- San Francisco -- Photographs
Juifs -- Californie -- Photographies
Familles juives -- Californie -- Photographies
Tremblement de terre de San Francisco, Calif., 1906 -- Photographies
Femmes -- Californie -- San Francisco -- Photographies
Jewish families
Jews
Women
California
California -- San Francisco
New Alcazar Theatre (San Francisco, Calif.)
New Alcazar Theatre (San Francisco, Calif.)
Himmelstern, Marjorie -- 1913-2010 -- Archives
Belasco, David -- 1853-1931
Belasco, Humphrey -- Photographs
Belasco, Reyna -- Photographs
Bender, Noah -- Photographs
Belasco, David -- 1853-1931
Bender, Noah
Note:
Formerly: Judah L. Magnes Museum Collection Number WJHC 1996.010.
COLLECTION STORED, IN PART, OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for use.
Transfer; Judah L. Magnes Museum; 2010.
Marjorie Himmelstern was a grand neice of prominent playwrite, producer, and theatre owner David Belasco, who was born in
San Francisco in 1853 to Humphrey (1830-1911) and Reyna (b. 1830) Belasco, emigrants from London, England. Humphrey and Reyna
had 10 children, including Frederic (Frederick), Walter, Edward, George, and Sarah. David Belasco started his theatrical career
as a child actor, but he switched to stage managing and producing as a young man. He built and managed two theatres in New
York City, the Stuyvesant and the Belasco, and he promoted the careers of several accomplished actors, including David Warfield.
He rose to success at the turn of the century, a period in which theatre management practices were tending towards combination,
organization, and efficiency. Belasco challenged the attempt by a partnership of six producers, which was known as the Theatrical
Syndicate, to exert national control over theatrical production and exhibition. A flamboyant man, Belasco was also a prolific
playwright. Among his most well-known works is "The Golden Girl of the West," which was adapted as an opera by Puccini. David
Belasco married and had two daughters, Reyna Victoria and Augusta. In 1894, Frederic Belasco, David's brother, formed the
Alcazar Stock Company in San Francisco with M.E. Mayer. Belasco and Mayer, with the help of several Belasco brothers, produced
and staged plays each week for a theatre-hungry public. In time, the Company had 30 actors on its staff. In 1907, the brothers-in-law
Belasco and Mayer built a new theatre at Sutter and Steiner streets to showcase their productions. Within four years, the
partners had outgrown that venue and relocated "uptown" to the new 1,400-seat Alcazar Theatre on O'Farrell, between Powell
and Mason.
Preferred citation: Marjorie Himmelstern collection on the Belasco and Bender families, BANC MSS 2010/640, The Magnes Collection
of Jewish Art and Life, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Materials in English.
Type:
caricatures.
family papers.
photographs.
Programs.
Caricatures
Archives
Photographs
Caricatures.
Photographs.
Caricatures.
Photographies.
Physical Description:
1 box and 1 oversize folder (.2 linear ft.)
Language:
English
Identifier:
2007565495
http://magnes.org/scholars/research-information/research-request-form
http://magnesalm.org/notebook_fext.asp?site=magnes&book=156895
Origin:
California
Copyright Note:
COLLECTION STORED, IN PART, OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for use.