Historic Scenic Collection, 1865-2012 | Northern Illinois University

Collection Overview

Title: Historic Scenic Collection, 1865-2012

ID: RBSC/SPX/012

Extent: 250.0 Linear Feet

Arrangement:

Series I: Production Notebooks, Series II: Blueprints, Series III: Floorplans, Series IV: Photographs, Series V: Illustrations, Series VI: Programs, Series VII: Libretto, Series VIII: Scripts, Series IX: Correspondence, Series X: Timesheets, Series XI: Accounts, Series XII: Expense Reports, Series XIII: Purchase Orders, Series XIV: Material Orders, Series XV: Receipts, Series XVI: Property Lists, Series XVII: Inventory, Series XVIII: Reference Material, and Series XIX: Miscellaneous.

A copy of the old finding aid is located in Series I, Box 1 and it provides details of the orginal inventory made for the collection. When the collection was fully processed this inventory was adapted and used in the current finding aid which includes how some series were arranged.

Languages: English, French, German, Italian

Abstract

The Historic Scenic Collection contains intriguing documentation, photos, blueprints, and advertisements of the Chicago Opera dating back to the early 1900s. This collection is 250 linear feet that spans an entire century of theatre performances. Some of the highlights are production photos of scenes and play actors, blueprints of the sets and stages, and old-time programs that were handed out to avid theatre goers.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection consists of printed paper-based materials, photographs, books, correspondence, illustrations, and blueprints that relate directly to the Lyric Opera of Chicago. This collection is divided into series based upon format. Series I is composed of production notebooks; Series II and III are Blueprints and Floorplans respectively (which are currently still being processed). Series IV consists of photographs; Series V is Illustrations of sets, stage design, and costumes; Series VI consists of Programs that describe the opera acts and story; Series VII is Libretto (which are the texts of the opera, translated from their original language into English). Series VIII is Scripts; Series IX is Correspondence; Series X consists of Timesheets, which are further broken down into Timesheet subseries of Anuual Tours, Rehearsal Timesheets, and Performance Timesheets. Series XI is Accounts; Series XII Expense Reports; Series XIII is Purchase Orders; Series XIV is Material Orders; Series XV is Receipts; Series XVI is Property Lists; and Series XVII is Inventory. Series XVIII is Reference Material that includes books (some of these books have call numbers listed that can be found in our online catalogue). Lastly, Series XIX is Miscellaneous material.

Administrative Information

Repository: Northern Illinois University

Access Restrictions: no restrictions

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series I: Production Notebooks],
[Series II: Blueprints],
[Series III: Floorplans],
[Series IV: Photographs],
[Series V: Illustrations],
[Series VI: Programs],
[Series VII: Libretto],
[Series X: Timesheets],
[Series VIII: Scripts],
[Series IX: Correspondence],
[Series XI: Accounts],
[Series XII: Expense Reports],
[Series XIII: Purchase and Work Orders],
[Series XIV: Material Orders],
[Series XV: Receipts],
[Series XVI: Property Lists],
[Series XVII: Inventory],
[Series XVIII: Reference Material],
[Series XIX: Miscellaneous],
[All]

Series XIV: Material Orders

Box 1

Folder 1: One order, Oct 21, 1922
Folder 2: Various orders, Jan 1926
Folder 3: Various orders, Jan 1926
Folder 4: Various orders, May 1926
Folder 5: Various orders, June 1926
Folder 6: Various orders, July 1926
Folder 7: Various orders, Aug 1926
Folder 8: Various orders, Sep 1926

Box 2

Folder 1: Various orders, Oct 1926
Folder 2: Various orders, Oct 1926
Folder 3: Various orders, Nov 1926
Folder 4: Various orders, Nov 1926
Folder 5: Various orders, Nov 1926
Folder 6: Various orders, Dec 1926
Folder 7: Various orders, Dec 1926

Box 3

Folder 1: Various orders, Dec 1926
Folder 2: Various orders, Jan 1927
Folder 3: Various orders, Feb 1927
Folder 4: Various orders, Mar 1927
Folder 5: Various orders, Apr 1927
Folder 6: Various orders, May 1927
Folder 7: Various orders, June 1927
Folder 8: Various orders, June 1927
Folder 9: Various orders, July 1927
Folder 10: Various orders, July 1927

Box 4

Folder 1: Various orders, Aug 1927
Folder 2: Various orders, Aug 1927
Folder 3: Various orders, Sep 1927
Folder 4: Various orders, Sep 1927
Folder 5: Various orders, Oct 1927
Folder 6: Various orders, Nov 1927
Folder 7: Various orders, Dec 1927
Folder 8: Various orders, Jan 1928
Folder 9: Various orders, Feb 1928

Box 5

Folder 1: Various orders, Mar 1928
Folder 2: Various orders, Apr 1928
Folder 3: Various orders, May 1928
Folder 4: Various orders, Jun 1928
Folder 5: Various orders, July 1928
Folder 6: Various orders, July 1928
Folder 7: Various orders, Aug 1928
Folder 8: Various orders, Aug 1928
Folder 9: Various orders, Sep 1928
Folder 10: Various orders, Sep 1928

Box 6

Folder 1: Various orders, Oct 1928
Folder 2: Various orders, Oct 1928
Folder 3: Various orders, Nov 1928
Folder 4: Various orders, Nov 1928
Folder 5: Various orders, Dec 1928
Folder 6: Various orders, Dec 1928
Folder 7: Various orders, Jan 1929
Folder 8: Various orders, Jan 1929

Box 7

Folder 1: Various orders, Feb 1929
Folder 2: Various orders, Mar 1929
Folder 3: Various orders, Aug 28, 1929
Folder 4: Various orders, no date