Rare Books
Early theatres of California
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California Theatre
Manuscripts
This collection contains personal papers, business records, correspondence, photographs, prints, and ephemera that relate to Los Angeles theatre impresario, Lynden E. Behymer. The materials date from approximately 1850 to 1998, with the bulk of the collection ranging from the 1910s to 1940s. A small portion of the collection consists of biographical information about Behymer and his family. The Personal and biographical materials series contains albums, scrapbooks, clippings, and correspondence relating to Behymer's birthdays, tributes, and other celebratory events. Of note in the collection are the Business records and Correspondence series. The materials primarily relate to Behymer's involvement in managing musicians, actors, actresses, dancers, singers, theatres, and organizations in the music and entertainment industry in California and abroad. Included are approximately 2,400 pieces of correspondence with organizations such as the California Grand Opera Company, the Chicago Grand Opera Company, the Los Angeles Repertory Theatre, the Merola Opera Company, and the San Francisco Opera Association. Formats consist of account books, ledgers, receipt books, agreements, contracts, correspondence, and notes by Behymer. A significant portion of the collection consists of programs, which are organized by theatre programs, movie theatre programs, and souvenir programs. Theatre programs are one of the largest series in the collection, and consist of theatres based in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, as well as other states and international countries. Many of these theatres (Grand Opera House, Los Angeles Theatre, Burbank Theatre, Philharmonic Auditorium, Chicago Opera House, etc.) are also represented in the Press clippings and Theatre scrapbooks series. Souvenir programs are incorporated into the Music, dance, and drama series as they primarily pertain to performers and musicians such as: Anna Pavlova, Ballets Russes, Ruth St. Denis, La Argentina (Antonia Mercé y Luque), Trudi Schoop, Sarah Bernhardt, Helena Modjeska, Mei Lan-Fang, Ignace Jan Paderewski, and many others. Additional materials in the Music, dance, and drama series include librettos, prompt books, plays, poetry, sheet music, and correspondence with various music organizations and clubs. The collection also contains approximately 3,000 photographs of performers and performances. The photographs range from signed portrait photographs, to play and set designs, musicians on stage, and some press photographs of the Behymer family at events and premieres. A small number of prints, drawings, and ephemera are also found in the collection. They include Behymer's personalized book plates and stationery, travel tickets, memorabilia, invitations, celebrity signatures, business cards, travel guides, postcard albums, greeting cards, drawings, prints by Alfred Frueh and Max Reinhardt, and costume designs.
mssBehymer
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Clippings: early California
Manuscripts
This collection consists of two series: the Grace Nicholson papers (2,926 items) and addenda (1,444 items). The papers consist primarily of correspondence, while the addenda is primarily notes. Both relate to Grace Nicholson and her work in the fields of Native American and Asian art. There are many letters from Native Americans to Nicholson and extensive diaries and notes that Nicholson kept on her buying trips through Native American territory, especially of the Karok, Klamath, and Pomo Indians. Subject matter includes Native American legends, folklore, vocabulary, tribal festivals, basket making, business in art trade, and living conditions. There is also a considerable amount of correspondence from China, Japan, and Korea between Nicholson and her buyers. Among the subjects covered are Chinese art and architecture, Japanese art, Korean art, Javanese textiles, Siamese art, Philippine art, life and social conditions in Asia, and the business of trading Asian art. Being a well-known dealer in Native American and Asian art, Nicholson was in contact with many artists, such as Frederick Arthur Bridgman, W. Herbert Dunton, Sadakichi Hartmann, Elizabeth Conrad Hickox, Louise Merrill Hickox, Grace Carpenter Hudson, George Wharton James, Lilian Miller, Hovsep T. Pushman, Joseph Henry Sharp, and Millard Sheets. Nicholson also purchased materials for institutions such as the Field Museum of Natural History, the Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art, the Pasadena Art Museum, and the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles, California. Her intimate relationships with Native Americans give particular insight into their lives and culture. Historians and academics sought her out, including Alfred Lewis Kroeber, Charles Fletcher Lummis, and Clinton Hart Merriam. Nicholson also received letters from political figures such as Frederick Webb Hodge, Herbert Hoover, Hiram Johnson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
mssNicholsog
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A. Early Gilmor Brown Troupes, Savoy Theatre
Manuscripts
Contains materials documenting theatrical work of Gilmor Brown, circa 1903-1916; various companies affiliated with Gilmor Brown, 1916-1917; and Savoy Stock Company and Savoy Theatre, 1916-1917. Also includes photographs, clippings, reviews, and photocopies plus a portrait and scrapbook materials concerning Virginia Lykins, 1906-1916.
mssPlayhouse