Brander Matthews Dramatic Library, 1562-1978

Summary Information

At a Glance

Bib ID:
15561143 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
6000 Volumes
Language(s):
English .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

All books in this collection are cataloged, and should be requested individually in CLIO. This record is for informational purposes only.

Description

Summary

The collection of about 6,000 volumes is particularly strong in English and American drama and in Molière. Records for the books are found in the card catalog; the books are classed with a Dewey call number preceded by a "D." The core of the collection comes from Dramatic Museum, with books divided between RBML, Burgess, & GL. These books are cataloged in Columbia's card catalogs, but have not been retrospectively converted. The collection also currently includes Classed Manuscripts. 40 titles in 46 volumes - a variety of manuscripts of plays and of works about the theater, from the late 19th and 20th century, cataloged as books with additional main entry card for each title is filed in the RBML Manuscripts/Documents card file.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

All books in this collection are cataloged, and should be requested individually in CLIO. This record is for informational purposes only.

Related Materials

The collections stemming from and relating to the Brander Matthews Dramatic Museum are described and grouped under various collection names. The Brander Matthews Papers, 1827-1967 (MS#0854) also includes a number of separately cataloged items, such as bound volumes of correspondence with Theodore Roosevelt The Brander Matthews Dramatic Museum records, 1910-1971 (MS#0364) (this collection) are the business records of the Dramatic Museum itself. The Brander Matthews Dramatic Museum collection of documents relating to actors and theatrical managers, 1732-1995 (MS#0365) is collection of letters, manuscripts, and documents of prominent actors, actresses, and theatrical managers. It consists largely of single, unrelated items. The Brander Matthews Dramatic Museum collection of theatrical business records, 1864-1911 (MS#0363) includes box office receipts, salaries, stage properties, and expenses, for American and English theaters and two American booking agents. The Brander Matthews Dramatic Museum Ephemera, 1750-1970 (MS#0366) contains a variety of formats dealing with the theater, chiefly American and English, in all its aspects including drama, opera, dance, movies, puppets, and spectacles. The majority of the material documents the 19th century and includes prints, photographs, pamphlets, clippings, playbills, and programs. This collection is divided into seven units: portrait file, subject file, program file, playbill file, scrapbooks, posters and lantern slides. The Dramatic Museum Realia, 1700-1966 (MS#0253) contains 391 puppets, 128 masks, and 30 stage models; Art and Theatrical Machinery are also part of this collection. The Speech Recordings records, 1925-1965 (MS#1182) contain sound recordings divided into four subunits--Speech Recordings Collection, Speech Laboratory Archives, Tape Recordings Collection, American Speech Recordings Collection . The Edward B. Wisely music tape recordings, 1875-1940 (MS#1364) Tape recordings of American, English, and Irish music hall and vaudeville stars. 1875-1940. 15 items.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library