[Thanks to recent Houghton reader Derek Miller, a PhD candidate in Drama at Stanford University, for contributing this post.] Exploring the Harvard Theatre Collection’s rich trove of correspondence among nineteenth-century American theater managers and performers makes clear how small this community was. Letters in the HTC capture managers negotiating contracts for star performers, haggling over Read More

We are pleased to announce the availability of a new video tutorial, Handling Harvard’s Special Collections, which demonstrates basic handling procedures for bound, unbound, and oversized collection materials. The video is a collaboration between Houghton Library, the Weissman Preservation Center, and HCL Communications. It is intended for use university wide and is a wonderful resource Read More

[This post comes from Alison Harris, Processing Assistant, Houghton Library] The Fredric Woodbridge Wilson Collection of Theater, Dance and Music (Harvard Theatre Collection) has an immense amount of programs from theatrical, musical and film productions. Recently cataloged materials include 20th and 21st century souvenir programs from traditional musical fare like Oklahoma! and Annie Get Your Read More

Finding aids for 14 newly cataloged collections, and preliminary box lists for two recent acquisitions, have been added to the OASIS database this month, including drawings by Edward Lear and papers of the utopian Transcendentalist community Brook Farm.

[Thanks to Ward Project Music Cataloger Andrea Cawelti for contributing this post.] Alois Senefelder (1771-1834), actor and enthusiastic playwright, became consumed with finding a cheaper method of printing his own plays after discovering the expense of letterpress and engraving processes. He experimented with various kinds of etching on stone, which he later abandoned in favor Read More