DOCSLIB.ORG

“City of Superb Democracy:” the Emergence of Brooklyn’S Cultural Identity During Cinema’S Silent Era, 1893-1928

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
“City of Superb Democracy:” the Emergence of Brooklyn’S Cultural Identity During Cinema’S Silent Era, 1893-1928 “CITY OF SUPERB DEMOCRACY:” THE EMERGENCE OF BROOKLYN’S CULTURAL IDENTITY DURING CINEMA’S SILENT ERA, 1893-1928 by DAVID D. MORTON B.A. East Stroudsburg University, 2009 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2014 Major Professor: Amy Foster © 2014 David Morton ii ABSTRACT This study discusses how motion picture spectatorship practices in Brooklyn developed separately from that of any other urban center in the United States between 1893 and 1928. Often overshadowed by Manhattan’s glamorous cultural districts, Brooklyn’s cultural arbiters adopted the motion picture as a means of asserting a sense of independence from the other New York boroughs. This argument is reinforced by focusing on the motion picture’s ascendancy as one of the first forms of mass entertainment to be disseminated throughout New York City in congruence with the Borough of Brooklyn’s rapid urbanization. In many significant areas Brooklyn’s relationship with the motion picture was largely unique from anywhere else in New York. These differences are best illuminated through several key examples ranging from the manner in which Brooklyn’s political and religious authorities enforced film censorship to discussing how the motion picture was exhibited and the way theaters proliferated throughout the borough Lastly this work will address the ways in which members of the Brooklyn community influenced the production practices of the films made at several Brooklyn-based film studios. Ultimately this work sets out to explain how an independent community was able to determine its own form of cultural expression through its relationship with mass entertainment. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work is the result of a long protracted search for a topic in an increasingly crowded field of study. First and foremost I must thank Dr. Judith Thissen for helping redirect the focus of my work from the realm of “historical leftovers,” to the groundbreaking topic I since developed. I also must thank Drs. Ross Melnick, Kathy Fuller-Seeley, Richard Koszarski, Tim Lacy, and Gregory Waller for taking time out of their busy schedules to provide important suggestions on where the direction of my work should go, as well as sharing useful tips on where to locate primary sources. In addition I must thank Cezar Del Valle of Theatre Talks and Nellie Perera of the Urban Memory Project, both were incredibly generous in sharing primary source materials and their research findings in relation to Brooklyn’s early motion picture history. Furthermore Lindsay Turley of the Museum of the City of New York, Lenny DeGraaf and Paul Israel of the Thomas A. Edison Papers, June Koffi of the Brooklyn Public Library, and Jeff Edelstein of the Brooklyn Historical Society, were each invaluable in their assistance in helping me to flesh out my sources. Many instructors at the University of Central Florida serve as an inspiration and a guiding light in my development as a researcher. I sincerely want to thank Dr. Scot French for granting me the opportunity to share my findings with his classes. And Dr. Hong Zhang for providing me with a multitude of resources that significantly helped to shape the direction of my research. Lastly I wish to give my deepest thanks to my thesis adviser Dr. Amy Foster for patiently reviewing and assessing each draft I submitted. Her insights and ability to provide me with much iv needed perspective on my writing has served as the greatest influence on the final outcome of this work. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................... viii INTRODUCTION: THE SEARCH FOR BROOKLYN’S CULTURAL IDENTITY AT THE MOVIES AFTER “THE GREAT MISTAKE OF 1898” ............................................................... 1 Terminology and Definitions .............................................................................................. 5 Historiography .................................................................................................................... 6 Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 15 Chapter Outline ................................................................................................................. 16 CHAPTER ONE: “FOR THE SAKE OF THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN:” THE SHOWDOWN BETWEEN THE INTERNATIONAL REFORM BUREAU AND THE NATIONAL BOARD OF CENSORSHIP ................................................................................... 19 Censorship Efforts Before the National Board ................................................................. 21 The New York Nickelodeon Ban ...................................................................................... 25 The National Board of Censorship ................................................................................... 28 Brooklyn and the “Civil Sabbath” .................................................................................... 32 “Deadly But Legal:” Brooklyn and Manhattan Fire Code Regulations ........................... 36 The Smith-Hughes Bill and the Federal Motion Picture Commission Hearings .............. 42 Fredrick Boyd Stevenson’s Brooklyn Eagle Campaign ................................................... 45 The Clayton-Lusk Bill and the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America 49 CHAPTER TWO: FROM “ITCHES AND DUMPS” TO AIRDROMES AND PALACES: THE CORPORATIZATION OF MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITION IN BROOKLYN .................... 52 Brooklyn’s First Motion Picture Venues .......................................................................... 54 The Patent Wars ................................................................................................................ 56 The Chaser and Nickelodeon Periods ............................................................................... 58 The Emergence of Brooklyn’s Movie Moguls ................................................................. 61 The MPPC Consolidates Power in New York .................................................................. 65 Brooklyn Fights Back ....................................................................................................... 67 Loew’s Theaters in Brooklyn............................................................................................ 71 The Showdown Between “Little Napoleon” and “Creeping Jesus” ................................. 74 The Fulton/Flatbush Theater District ................................................................................ 78 vi The End of an Era ............................................................................................................. 80 CHAPTER THREE: “THE SPIRIT OF MIDWOOD:” THE AMERICAN VITAGRAPH COMPANY AND ITS SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN ....................................................................................................................................................... 82 The International Novelty Company and Vitagraph’s Beginnings................................... 85 “Pop Rock” and the “Wargraph” ...................................................................................... 88 Vitagraphville ................................................................................................................... 90 The MPPC and VLSE ....................................................................................................... 93 Vitagraph Quality Films ................................................................................................... 96 Racism and Anti-Semitism in Vitagraph Films .............................................................. 100 The “Vitagraph Girl,” “The Lover,” and “The Bunny” .................................................. 102 Vitagraph’s Decline and Blackton’s “Betrayal” ............................................................. 107 The Final Years and Sale to Warner Brothers ................................................................ 110 CONCLUSION: BROOKLYN AFTER THE MOVIES ............................................................ 114 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 118 Articles ............................................................................................................................ 118 Books .............................................................................................................................. 127 Research Collections ....................................................................................................... 135 vii LIST OF ACRONYMS ANPU Actors National Protective Union BOA Box Office Attractions EMC Edison Manufacturing Company FPC Famous Players Company FPLC Famous Players-Lasky Company GNYFRC Greater New York Film Rental Company ICNYCC Interdenominational Committee of New York Church Clergy INC International Novelty Company IRB International Reform Bureau MPEL Motion Picture Exhibitors League MPPC Motion Picture Patents Company MPPDA Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America NYBC New York Board of Censorship NYSCM New York State Conference of Mayors SOAKC Sunday Observance Association of Kings County VCA Vitagraph Company of America VLSE Vitagraph-Lubin-Selig-Essanay
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Shakespeare on Screen a Century of Film and Television
    A History of Shakespeare on Screen a century of film and television Kenneth S. Rothwell published by the press syndicate of the university of cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RP, United Kingdom cambridge university press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge, CB2 2RU, UK http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA http://www.cup.org 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia © Kenneth S. Rothwell 1999 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1999 Reprinted 2000 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge Typeset in Palatino A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Rothwell, Kenneth S. (Kenneth Sprague) A history of Shakespeare on screen: a century of film and television / Kenneth S. Rothwell. p. cm Includes bibliograhical references and index. isbn 0 521 59404 9 (hardback) 1. Shakespeare, William, 1564–1616 – Film and video adaptations. 2. English drama – Film and video adaptations. 3. Motion picture plays – Technique. I. Title. pr3093.r67 1999 791.43 6–dc21 98–50547 cip ISBN 0521 59404 9 hardback – contents – List of illustrations ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii List of abbreviations xiv 1 Shakespeare in silence: from stage to screen 1 2 Hollywood’s four seasons
    [Show full text]
  • New Findings and Perspectives Edited by Monica Dall’Asta, Victoria Duckett, Lucia Tralli Researching Women in Silent Cinema New Findings and Perspectives
    in Silent Cinema New Findings and Perspectives edited by Monica Dall’Asta, Victoria Duckett, lucia Tralli RESEARCHING WOMEN IN SILENT CINEMA NEW FINDINGS AND PERSPECTIVES Edited by: Monica Dall’Asta Victoria Duckett Lucia Tralli Women and Screen Cultures Series editors: Monica Dall’Asta, Victoria Duckett ISSN 2283-6462 Women and Screen Cultures is a series of experimental digital books aimed to promote research and knowledge on the contribution of women to the cultural history of screen media. Published by the Department of the Arts at the University of Bologna, it is issued under the conditions of both open publishing and blind peer review. It will host collections, monographs, translations of open source archive materials, illustrated volumes, transcripts of conferences, and more. Proposals are welcomed for both disciplinary and multi-disciplinary contributions in the fields of film history and theory, television and media studies, visual studies, photography and new media. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ # 1 Researching Women in Silent Cinema: New Findings and Perspectives Edited by: Monica Dall’Asta, Victoria Duckett, Lucia Tralli ISBN 9788898010103 2013. Published by the Department of Arts, University of Bologna in association with the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne and Women and Film History International Graphic design: Lucia Tralli Researching Women in Silent Cinema: New Findings and Perspectives Peer Review Statement This publication has been edited through a blind peer review process. Papers from the Sixth Women and the Silent Screen Conference (University of Bologna, 2010), a biennial event sponsored by Women and Film History International, were read by the editors and then submitted to at least one anonymous reviewer.
    [Show full text]
  • Gesture and Movement in Silent Shakespeare Films
    Gesticulated Shakespeare: Gesture and Movement in Silent Shakespeare Films Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jennifer Rebecca Collins, B.A. Graduate Program in Theatre The Ohio State University 2011 Thesis Committee: Alan Woods, Advisor Janet Parrott Copyright by Jennifer Rebecca Collins 2011 Abstract The purpose of this study is to dissect the gesticulation used in the films made during the silent era that were adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays. In particular, this study investigates the use of nineteenth and twentieth century established gesture in the Shakespearean film adaptations from 1899-1922. The gestures described and illustrated by published gesture manuals are juxtaposed with at least one leading actor from each film. The research involves films from the experimental phase (1899-1907), the transitional phase (1908-1913), and the feature film phase (1912-1922). Specifically, the films are: King John (1899), Le Duel d'Hamlet (1900), La Diable et la Statue (1901), Duel Scene from Macbeth (1905), The Taming of the Shrew (1908), The Tempest (1908), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909), Il Mercante di Venezia (1910), Re Lear (1910), Romeo Turns Bandit (1910), Twelfth Night (1910), A Winter's Tale (1910), Desdemona (1911), Richard III (1911), The Life and Death of King Richard III (1912), Romeo e Giulietta (1912), Cymbeline (1913), Hamlet (1913), King Lear (1916), Hamlet: Drama of Vengeance (1920), and Othello (1922). The gestures used by actors in the films are compared with Gilbert Austin's Chironomia or A Treatise on Rhetorical Delivery (1806), Henry Siddons' Practical Illustrations of Rhetorical Gesture and Action; Adapted to The English Drama: From a Work on the Subject by M.
    [Show full text]
  • ASC Founders
    The 15 Founders of the American Society of Cinematographers Biographies By Robert S. Birchard The American Society of Cinematographers succeeded two earlier organizations — the Cinema Camera Club, started by Edison camerapersons Philip E. Rosen, Frank Kugler and Lewis W. Physioc in New York in 1913; and the Static Club of America, a Los Angeles–based society first headed by Universal cameraperson Harry H. Harris. From the beginning, the two clubs had a loose affiliation, and eventually the West Coast organization changed its name to the Cinema Camera Club of California. But, even as the center of film production shifted from New York to Los Angeles — the western cinematographers’ organization was struggling to stay afloat. Rosen came to Los Angeles in 1918. When he sought affiliation with the Cinema Camera Club of California, president Charles Rosher asked if he would help reorganize the faltering association. Rosen sought to create a national organization, with membership by invitation and with a strong educational component. The reorganization committee met in the home of William C. Foster on Saturday, December 21, 1918 and drew up a new set of bylaws. The 10-member committee and five invited Cinema Camera Club member visitors were designated as the board of governors for the new organization. The next evening, in the home of Fred LeRoy Granville, officers for the American Society of Cinematographers were elected — Philip E. Rosen, president; Charles Rosher, vice president; Homer A. Scott, second vice president; William C. Foster, treasurer; and Victor Milner, secretary. The Society was chartered by the State of California on January 8, 1919.
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix: Partial Filmographies for Lucile and Peggy Hamilton Adams
    Appendix: Partial Filmographies for Lucile and Peggy Hamilton Adams The following is a list of films directly related to my research for this book. There is a more extensive list for Lucile in Randy Bryan Bigham, Lucile: Her Life by Design (San Francisco and Dallas: MacEvie Press Group, 2012). Lucile, Lady Duff Gordon The American Princess (Kalem, 1913, dir. Marshall Neilan) Our Mutual Girl (Mutual, 1914) serial, visit to Lucile’s dress shop in two episodes The Perils of Pauline (Pathé, 1914, dir. Louis Gasnier), serial The Theft of the Crown Jewels (Kalem, 1914) The High Road (Rolfe Photoplays, 1915, dir. John Noble) The Spendthrift (George Kleine, 1915, dir. Walter Edwin), one scene shot in Lucile’s dress shop and her models Hebe White, Phyllis, and Dolores all appear Gloria’s Romance (George Klein, 1916, dir. Colin Campbell), serial The Misleading Lady (Essanay Film Mfg. Corp., 1916, dir. Arthur Berthelet) Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (Mary Pickford Film Corp., 1917, dir. Marshall Neilan) The Rise of Susan (World Film Corp., 1916, dir. S.E.V. Taylor), serial The Strange Case of Mary Page (Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, 1916, dir. J. Charles Haydon), serial The Whirl of Life (Cort Film Corporation, 1915, dir. Oliver D. Bailey) Martha’s Vindication (Fine Arts Film Company, 1916, dir. Chester M. Franklin, Sydney Franklin) The High Cost of Living (J.R. Bray Studios, 1916, dir. Ashley Miller) Patria (International Film Service Company, 1916–17, dir. Jacques Jaccard), dressed Irene Castle The Little American (Mary Pickford Company, 1917, dir. Cecil B. DeMille) Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (Mary Pickford Company, 1917, dir.
    [Show full text]
  • Guide to the Brooklyn Playbills and Programs Collection, BCMS.0041 Finding Aid Prepared by Lisa Deboer, Lisa Castrogiovanni
    Guide to the Brooklyn Playbills and Programs Collection, BCMS.0041 Finding aid prepared by Lisa DeBoer, Lisa Castrogiovanni and Lisa Studier and revised by Diana Bowers-Smith. This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit September 04, 2019 Brooklyn Public Library - Brooklyn Collection , 2006; revised 2008 and 2018. 10 Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn, NY, 11238 718.230.2762 [email protected] Guide to the Brooklyn Playbills and Programs Collection, BCMS.0041 Table of Contents Summary Information ................................................................................................................................. 7 Historical Note...............................................................................................................................................8 Scope and Contents....................................................................................................................................... 8 Arrangement...................................................................................................................................................9 Collection Highlights.....................................................................................................................................9 Administrative Information .......................................................................................................................10 Related Materials .....................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Camera (1920-1922)
    7 l Page To>o "The Digest of the Motion Picture Industry” CAM ERA A Liberal Privilege of Conversion Besides the safety of enormous assets and large and increasing earnings, besides a substantial and profitable yield, there is a very liberal privilege of conversion in the $3 , 000,000 Carnation Milk Products Company Five-Year Sinking Fund 7 % Convertible Gold Notes notes convertible at option after November I creased in past five years. These are , over 400% 1921, and until ten days prior to maturity or redemption into Total assets after deducting all indebtedness, except this note, 7% Cumulative Sinking Fund Preferred Stock on the basis of amount to more than four times principal of this issue. I 00 for these notes and 95 for the stock. With these notes Net earnings for past ten years have averaged more than four at 96J/2 this is equivalent to buying the stock at 91 /i- and one-half times interest charges, and during the past five Thus you see that at your option you have either a long- years more than seven times. term, high yielding preferred stock or a short-term, high- There is no other bonded or funded indebtedness and at yielding note. Preferred stock is subject to call at 1 1 0 and present no outstanding preferred stock. accrued dividends, and the usual features of safety. You will want to invest your savings and surplus funds in This Company is one of the largest and most successful of its this decidedly good investment. Call, write or phone for kind in America.
    [Show full text]
  • Glasgow Cinema Programmes 1908-1914
    Dougan, Andy (2018) The development of the audience for early film in Glasgow before 1914. PhD thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/9088/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] The development of the audience for early film in Glasgow before 1914 Andy Dougan Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Culture and Creative Arts College of Arts University of Glasgow May 2018 ©Andy Dougan, May 2018 2 In memory of my father, Andrew Dougan. He encouraged my lifelong love of cinema and many of the happiest hours of my childhood were spent with him at many of the venues written about in this thesis. 3 Abstract This thesis investigates the development of the audience for early cinema in Glasgow. It takes a social-historical approach considering the established scholarship from Allen, Low, Hansen, Kuhn et al, on the development of early cinema audiences, and overlays this with original archival research to provide examples which are specific to Glasgow.
    [Show full text]
  • Women Silent Filmmakers in Britain © Luke Mckernan 2007
    Women Silent Filmmakers in Britain © Luke McKernan 2007 WOMEN SILENT FILMMAKERS IN BRITAIN Version 2: 25 November 2007 Luke McKernan This is a filmography of women filmmakers in Britain during the silent era. It was first produced in the late 1990s when I was working at the National Film and Television Archive. It has been updated on occasion since, but it remains a work in progress. Please note that it is a list of all films that were made by these women, not just those that survive – the vast majority are believed to be lost. Please pass on comments or corrections, to lmckernan [at] talktalk.net. Credits act = actress (usually only given when there is a second credit) app = appearance asst d = assistant director cont = continuity ed = editor d = director p = producer pc = production company ph = photographer sc = scriptwriter Mary Marsh Allen Actress whose own production company made a single film 1919 FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES [pc/act] Muriel Alleyne Scenarist/scriptwriter 1912 A BOLD VENTURE [story] 1912 AN INDIAN WOMAN'S PLUCK [story] 1912 IN WOLF'S CLOTHING [story] 1913 THE FORSAKEN [story] 1914 THE DEAD HEART [story] 1915 TIME AND THE HOUR [story] 1922 FATTY'S OVERTIME [story] 1922 HIMS ANCIENT AND MODERN [story] 1928 THE CITY OF YOUTH [sc] Balfour, Eve Actress; had her own production company? Ethyle Batley Director with husband Ernest Batley of independent productions and with British and Colonial and Frederick Burlingham 1912 PEGGY BECOMES A BOY SCOUT [d] 1912 PEGGY GETS RID OF THE BABY [d] 1912 THROUGH THE FLAMES [d] 1913 THE
    [Show full text]
  • On the Trail of the Motion Picture
    ON THE TRAIL OF THE MOTION PICTURE without question. It is an effect fruit¬ comedies: "Mv Girl Suzanna," "The O'Brien Makes Real lessly sought by many and many an Midnight «¡iri" and "Oh, Louisel" Eugene actor and an nuthor before now, and we Adolf Philipp appears in oil three of A New in think it is achieved here mainly by our them. Aiso Patsy Do. Forrest, Mario Guy Erapey j seeing our hero gradually acquire a Pagano, George Henry, Edward Elkae, Ascent Into Stardom deep fund of self-possession, like that Louise Buckley, Harold Pool and of a man who really knows his destiny; others. The Post-Bellum a sort of reservo strength of independ¬ Days ence and security such as, in their dif¬ that lowers with so <"rr* -.en niul yet so a tree or a or B. A. Rolfe Ibis week finished the Young Actor Does Some fering ways, king a day agitation. "It is the height 0r burnin¡r a torment from that first laborer or any great natural fore« production of "The Amazing Lover.;," By Harriette Unclerhill ambition," and the our and the is now in the next day Mr. Emóev right-dark, storm-swept street. might have. This never leaves La/;« negative cutting On«« tlay last week tho telephone called up to say that he Convincing Work in Hi» Clothed in from the moment he to room being assembled and edited. The was quita Vivid Photography begins pail rang arid when we answered it a brisk, serious about the title« and we his real picture- not.
    [Show full text]
  • "A" - You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song) 1948 Buddy Kaye Fred Wise Sidney Lippman 1 Piano Solo | Twelfth 12Th Street Rag 1914 Euday L
    Box Title Year Lyricist if known Composer if known Creator3 Notes # "A" - You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song) 1948 Buddy Kaye Fred Wise Sidney Lippman 1 piano solo | Twelfth 12th Street Rag 1914 Euday L. Bowman Street Rag 1 3rd Man Theme, The (The Harry Lime piano solo | The Theme) 1949 Anton Karas Third Man 1 A, E, I, O, U: The Dance Step Language Song 1937 Louis Vecchio 1 Aba Daba Honeymoon, The 1914 Arthur Fields Walter Donovan 1 Abide With Me 1901 John Wiegand 1 Abilene 1963 John D. Loudermilk Lester Brown 1 About a Quarter to Nine 1935 Al Dubin Harry Warren 1 About Face 1948 Sam Lerner Gerald Marks 1 Abraham 1931 Bob MacGimsey 1 Abraham 1942 Irving Berlin 1 Abraham, Martin and John 1968 Dick Holler 1 Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder (For Somebody Else) 1929 Lewis Harry Warren Young 1 Absent 1927 John W. Metcalf 1 Acabaste! (Bolero-Son) 1944 Al Stewart Anselmo Sacasas Castro Valencia Jose Pafumy 1 Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive 1944 Johnny Mercer Harold Arlen 1 Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive 1944 Johnny Mercer Harold Arlen 1 Accidents Will Happen 1950 Johnny Burke James Van Huesen 1 According to the Moonlight 1935 Jack Yellen Joseph Meyer Herb Magidson 1 Ace In the Hole, The 1909 James Dempsey George Mitchell 1 Acquaint Now Thyself With Him 1960 Michael Head 1 Acres of Diamonds 1959 Arthur Smith 1 Across the Alley From the Alamo 1947 Joe Greene 1 Across the Blue Aegean Sea 1935 Anna Moody Gena Branscombe 1 Across the Bridge of Dreams 1927 Gus Kahn Joe Burke 1 Across the Wide Missouri (A-Roll A-Roll A-Ree) 1951 Ervin Drake Jimmy Shirl 1 Adele 1913 Paul Herve Jean Briquet Edward Paulton Adolph Philipp 1 Adeste Fideles (Portuguese Hymn) 1901 Jas.
    [Show full text]
  • Theater Playbills and Programs Collection, 1875-1972
    Guide to the Brooklyn Theater Playbills and Programs Collection, 1875-1972 Brooklyn Public Library Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11238 Contact: Brooklyn Collection Phone: 718.230.2762 Fax: 718.857.2245 Email: [email protected] www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org Processed by Lisa DeBoer, Lisa Castrogiovanni and Lisa Studier. Finding aid created in 2006. Revised and expanded in 2008. Copyright © 2006-2008 Brooklyn Public Library. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Creator: Various Title: Brooklyn Theater Playbills and Programs Collection Date Span: 1875-1972 Abstract: The Brooklyn Theater Playbills and Programs Collection consists of 800 playbills and programs for motion pictures, musical concerts, high school commencement exercises, lectures, photoplays, vaudeville, and burlesque, as well as the more traditional offerings such as plays and operas, all from Brooklyn theaters. Quantity: 2.25 linear feet Location: Brooklyn Collection Map Room, cabinet 11 Repository: Brooklyn Public Library – Brooklyn Collection Reference Code: BC0071 Scope and Content Note The 800 items in the Brooklyn Theater Playbills and Programs Collection, which occupies 2.25 cubic feet, easily refute the stereotypes of Brooklyn as provincial and insular. From the late 1880s until the 1940s, the period covered by the bulk of these materials, the performing arts thrived in Brooklyn and were available to residents right at their doorsteps. At one point, there were over 200 theaters in Brooklyn. Frequented by the rich, the middle class and the working poor, they enjoyed mass popularity. With materials from 115 different theaters, the collection spans almost a century, from 1875 to 1972. The highest concentration is in the years 1890 to 1909, with approximately 450 items.
    [Show full text]