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").