Billy Rose Theatre Collection photograph file

Collection History

The Billy Rose Theatre Collection's photograph archive holds personalities, productions, theatre buildings, and production studios. It is organized into three series, grouped by size of photographic print: "A" for the smallest, less than 8 x 10 inches; "B" for approximately 8 x 10 inches and slightly larger; and "C" for oversize prints. This digital presentation offers the complete contents of the so-called "A" files, which are rich in 19th-century carte-de-visite and cabinet card portraits, as well as 20th-century portrait proofs, personal snapshots, and photographic postcards. The series also includes some early production photographs, and a section on theatres subdivided geographically.

Background

From its very beginning in 1931, the department has collected non-book materials, especially photographs and other visual documentation, from many sources. Today, the photo files remain a continuously expanding archive. Acquisitions stream in daily from various sources including press agents, publicists, personal collections or photos derived from archives and personal papers. In addition to the A-B-C archive are several large photograph holdings that are separately cataloged and housed; these include the Brugiére, Kesslere, Universal Pictures, Valente, and White collections, as well as the Vandamm collection (see also collection guide "Theatre Productions and Players, 1900-1957: Vandamm Studio Photographs").

Collection Data

Description
The Billy Rose Theatre Collection's photograph archive holds personalities, productions, theatre buildings, and production studios. It is organized into three series, grouped by size of photographic print: "A" for the smallest, less than 8 x 10 inches; "B" for approximately 8 x 10 inches and slightly larger; and "C" for oversize prints. The so-called "A" files are rich in 19th-century carte-de-visite and cabinet card portraits, as well as 20th-century portrait proofs, personal snapshots, and photographic postcards. The series also includes some early production photographs, and a section on theatres subdivided geographically.
Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1840 - 2020 (Inferred)
Library locations
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Topics
Motion pictures
Vaudeville
Puppet theater
Actors
Actresses
Genres
Photographs
Type of Resource
Still image
Still image
Identifiers
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 2589a880-c52c-012f-2cb4-58d385a7bc34
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