The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware  19735

302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

                                               

Title:               Programs

Dates:             1821-1959

Call No.:         Col. 473

Acc. No.:        [various – see detailed description]

Quantity:        1 box

Location:        34 B 2

 

 

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

This artificial and still open collection contains programs dating from 1821-1959.  Many are illustrated or contain advertisements.  Performances include orations, operas, award ceremonies, plays, pageants, commencements, the Pennsylvania bicentennial celebrations in Philadelphia, and an invitation to and program for Louis C. Tiffany’s celebrated Egyptian Fete of 1913.  Dance cards are also included.              

 

 

ORGANIZATION

 

In accession number order.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English and Latin.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

Collection is open to the public.  Copyright restrictions may apply.

           

 

PROVENANCE

           

Acquired from various sources; see case files for details.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

People:

            Moore, Clement Clarke, 1779-1863.

            Penn, William, 1644-1718.

Tiffany, Louis Comfort, 1848-1833.

 

Topics:

            Harvard University.

            Princeton University.

            Yale University.

            St. Peter’s Church (Chelsea, New York City, N.Y.)

Academy of Music (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Circus.

Concert programs.

Manners and customs.

Opera programs.

            Pageants - United States.

Rites and ceremonies.

Speeches, addresses, etc.

            Theater programs.

            Dance cards.

            Pennsylvania – Centennial celebrations, etc.

            Programs.

 

 

           

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 34 B 2

 

70x116.1         program for “Bastien & Bastienne,” by Mozart, presented at the Varieties Theatre, Brookline, [Massachusetts,] May 1937; front of program is autographed by George C. Shattuck and Virginia C. Shattuck.

                                    (Dr. Shattuck lived 1879-1972; Mrs. Shattuck lived 1886-1982.  Why they signed the program is unknown.)

 

70x116.2         program for “Scenes from Platée,” presented at the Varieties Theatre, Brookline, [Mass.,] November 1959, to benefit the Pan American Society of New England; inside of program is autographed by George C. and Virginia C. Shattuck; front of cover bears a reproduction of a wash drawing by Saint Aubin of the Salle de l’Opera (no date, but 18th century)

                                    (Dr. and Mrs. Shattuck were members of the Board of Governors of the Pan American Society.)

 

74x159.3         dance program for unknown occasion, sponsored by unknown organization of which W. Keim was president, W. H. Righter was secretary, and W. Lainhoff was treasurer; music was by C. Hassler; no date but 19th century; the program lists the order of dances, and includes blank spaces for names of partners.  One dance was in honor of “our Norristown friends,” lending this item a Pennsylvania provenance.

 

74x159.4         cover for a dance program, probably the dance above; lists Master of Ceremonies Harry [torn] and Floor Manager W. H. Righter; also lists Assistants, and Committee of Arrangement; the printer’s address was Callowhill Street, probably in Philadelphia, no date but 19th century.

 

78x20.1           order of exercises at the Presentation of the Wooden Spoon, Junior Class, Yale College, May 23, 1851; on the cover is a coat of arms featuring wooden spoons, an upside down Phi Beta Kappa key, a horn and an unbalanced scale; the program included music, orations, and Spoon Addresses; names of speakers are given; some comments have been are written in

 

78x20.2           program for [Princeton University] Senior Orations, Nassau Hall, November 1, 1851, Fifth Division; the program was composed chiefly of speeches, with some music; one speaker was noted as being “very good”; printed on paper embossed with a lacy border

 

79x196.1         Order of Exercises for Commencement, August 29, 1821, Harvard University; the information on the front is in Latin, including some of the names of the graduates (Carolus Bunker, rather than Charles; but Warren Burton); the titles of orations, dissertations, and other speeches are in English.

                        [note: Ralph Waldo Emerson was a member of this class]

 

79x196.2         Order of Exercises for Commencement, August 31, 1831, Harvard University; the information on the front is in Latin, including some of the names of the graduates; the titles of orations, dissertations, and other speeches are in English

                        [a George Cheyne Shattuck was a member of this class; he was probably the grandfather of the Dr. Shattuck who signed acc. 70x116.1-.2]

 

79x196.3         Harvard University, Order of Performances, Exhibition, April 28, 1835, with names of speakers and titles of their presentations; this program belonged to Wm. Jenks; on the back, he notes the names of some of the men present, including His Honor the L. Govr., Hon. Jas. Richardson, Rev. Mr. Gannett, &c.

 

82x150            Boston Museum, Monday, May 20, 1889 and until further notice; program for the play “Little Lord Fauntleroy,” dramatized by Frances Hodgson Burnett.   Includes two illustrations, probably taken from a printed copy of the book.

The program is mostly ads, for clothing stores, pens, pianos and organs, carriages, food, restaurants, an exhibit about Custer’s last fight, etc.  Some ads are illustrated. 

 

86x152.1-2      invitation from Mr. [Louis Comfort] Tiffany to an “Egyptian Fete of the time of Cleopatra,” February 4, 1913; costumes required; also a Synopsis of the Egyptian Fete, a pantomime performed by Hedwig Reicher, Ruth St. Denis, Pedro de Cordoba, Paul Swan, and amateurs; the invitation is decorated with hieroglyphics, with a wax seal attached; party was held at Tiffany’s studio at 345 Madison Ave.

                        [note: use care in handling so the wax seal does not become detached]

 

92x162.81       Madison Square Theatre, Monday, March 11, 1889, for the play “Captain Swift,” by R. Haddon Chambers; the program also includes advertisements (many illustrated) for various stores, clothing, pianos, etc., and a diagram of the theater showing fire exits; on the front cover is a colored view of the interior and embroidered curtain of the theater.

                                    The cast included Maurice Barrymore, the patriarch of the Barrymore family of actors.

                                    The program was printed by F.V. Strauss, Walker St.

 

06x123            Gaiety Theatre (London), program for George Edwardes’ production of “Our Miss Gibbs,” not dated but 1909 or later; program includes ads; front is decorated with colored picture of classical woman playing a lyre.

                                    Program printed by G. Harmsworth & Co., Drury Lane.

 

08x160            McCaull’s Opera House, Philadelphia, (late Haverly’s Theatre), program dated October 5, 1885, until further notice, for Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Mikado”; the program includes vignettes of characters in the operetta and ads; the front of the program includes an exterior view of the theater.

                                    The program lists the companies responsible for improvements in the theater, including the interior decorator, the architect, the painter, and the providers of carpets, furniture, gas and electric fixtures.

                                    The program was printed by T. Sinclair & Son, Philadelphia.

 

12x157            Programme of the Bi-centennial Celebration, Oct. 24-27, 1882, presented by Germania Theatre, 3d & Green Sts., Philadelphia. 

                                    Inside: General form of celebration adopted by the Bi-Centennial Association of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for observance in the City of Philadelphia.  Every day, there was to be a different event, with the opening event an operetta at the Germania Theatre.  Other events were a reenactment of the landing of William Penn, fireworks in Fairmount Park, processions of firemen and trades, singing (especially by Welsh and Germans), historical tableaux, regatta on the Schuylkill, bicycle review, military display.

                                    On back of program: advertisement for performance by Josephine Gallmeyer, the celebrated Viennese comedienne

                                    [see also 2019x77.5 for a different program for other activities during this celebration.]

 

12x174.11       script: “Going Home to Father,” by Marie Irish, from Catchy Loose-leaf Play Series, published by Willis N. Bugbee Co., Syracuse, N.Y., copyright 1930 in “Catchy Plays and Recitations No. 2”

 

15x47              Music Hall, New Haven, [Connecticut,] Grand Sacred Musical Festival, Thursday, May 28, 1868, featuring Haydn’s oratorio “The Creation.” 

The program lists the soloists; the chorus was composed of the Beethoven Society of Hartford and the Mendelssohn Society of New Haven.  The orchestra was composed of members of the New York Philharmonic Society and Theodore Thomas’ Symphonic Orchestral Society. 

Includes notice about railroad schedule. 

Program printed by Hutchings of Hartford. 

Program is now in two pieces.

 

2018x25.1       The Original Sir Robert Fossett’s Circus programme, with clowns, horses, flying trapeze artists, etc.; the program ended with “God Save the King”; no dated but probably 1920s or 1930s

 

2018x25.2       Saint Peter’s Church-Chelsea, in the city of New York: The Clement Moore Memorial Service, December 20, 1936, including dedication of The Chelsea Stone; on front cover, someone wrote “This is my sweet old church.”

 

 

2018x9.1         Pianoforte Concerts by Josef Hofmann, Academy of Music, Philadelphia, December 19, [1887]. 

Josef Hofmann was ten years old]

 

2018x9.2         Academy of Music, [Philadelphia], season 1913-1914: Ignace Jan Paderewski, Nov. 19, 1913.

 

2018x9.3         The Symphony Orchestra of New York, [at] Academy of Music, Philadelphia, November 30, 1891.  [Walter Damrosch was the conductor.]

 

 

2018x77.4       Prospect Park Concerts: Grand Concert, August 27, 1892.

                                    The front cover is decorated with landscape drawings;  The back cover bears a photograph of a carriage in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

 

2018x77.5       Programme of the Keystone State’s Bi-centennial Celebration of the Landing of William Penn, Philadelphia, Oct. 24-27, [1882].

                                    This lists the different events of the celebration: Oct. 24: representation of the landing of William Penn; Oct. 25: a trades display; Oct. 26: Knights Templar Day; Oct. 27: military display. 

The inside has illustrations of Penn’s landing, Penn’s meeting with the Native Americans, people in 18th century dress having a celebration, and crew teams on the Schuylkill River.  On the back is found an advertisement for excursion tickets available from the Pennsylvania Railroad. 

The program is in the shape of a keystone.  Mended in several places

                                    [see acc. 12x157 for another program for different events for this celebration.]