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Music and theater collection

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Creator:

Perkins School for the Blind

Date Range:

1878-circa 1940, bulk 1880s-1900s

Call Number:

AG37

Abstract:

Primarily embossed programs in Boston Line Type from plays performed by Perkins students in the 1890s-1910s. Includes programs from concerts performed for Perkins students and programs from school events and celebrations, including annual receptions for the kindergarten, and graduation programs. There are also some materials in braille, such as book catalogs, alphabet charts, and two tactile maps

Extent:

3.25 linear feet, 6 boxes

Language:

English

Processed by:

Charlotte Lellman, 2016, updated 2017

Biographical/Historical notes:

Music has always been an important part of education at Perkins. Founding director Samuel Gridley Howe believed that all students should study music and be given opportunities to hear professional music performances. The school’s location near Boston allowed students to attend concerts in the city or hear performances of musicians who came to Perkins. This was often made possible thanks to generous patrons who donated tickets to the school. The focus on music continued during the time that Michael Anagnos, Howe’s successor, was director (the time from which the majority of this collection originates). Students also performed plays, because it was believed that theatrical experience provided an educational benefit. Casts were all-male or all-female until 1913. In the Annual Reports, the students’ performances are praised, and particular attention is given to the difficulties they had to overcome due to their blindness. The English teacher, Jessica L. Langworthy, was responsible for directing many of the plays in the late 1890s-1910s. During this time period, many of the plays were performed for the benefit of either the Kindergarten for the Blind, the Howe Memorial Club, or the World War I effort. The collection includes programs for many student plays, including Alice in Wonderland, Dido, As You Like It, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, The Pilgrim’s Vision, The Merchant of Venice, and others. There were also many performances that combined music, theater, and recitation.

Sources of information:

McGinnity, B.L., Seymour-Ford, J. and Andries, K.J. (2004) Music. Perkins History Museum, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA.

McGinnity, B.L., Seymour-Ford, J. and Andries, K.J. (2004) Figures in Perkins History. Perkins History Museum, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA.

McGinnity, B.L., Seymour-Ford, J. and Andries, K.J. (2004) Founders. Perkins History Museum, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA.

Perkins School for the Blind. Annual Report of the Trustees of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind, vols. 47-92, Internet Archive.

Restrictions:

None

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Perkins School for the Blind, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Credit line/Citation:

AG37 Perkins Music and Theater Programs, and Other Material Collection, 1878-circa 1940. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

Scope/Contents:

The collection documents performances and events that took place at Perkins School for the Blind between 1878 and circa 1940. The majority of the collection consists of programs from plays performed by Perkins students, including many Shakespeare performances put on by the Howe Memorial Club. The collection also documents some student examinations and exercises, programs from school holidays and celebrations, Perkins graduations, Kindergarten Annual Receptions, memorial events, Kindergarten Christmas Carols, many concerts given for Perkins students, and some miscellaneous items.

The materials are written in Boston Line Type. There are also several printed sheets and some braille material. Braille material includes two catalogs of books, an alphabet and basic reading text, some programs, and a few other miscellaneous items including a graduation program and a braille reprint of a Christmas story from Harper’s Magazine. There are also two tactile maps, one of Asia and one of Massachusetts. Many of the programs are oversized sheets, while others are smaller paginated booklets with colored paper covers.

Arrangement:

B1:F1 = Box 1:Folder 1
4 series; 2 series are arranged into subseries
Series are arranged chronologically, with the exception of materials that were packaged together when received for processing. In these cases, the packaging material is included and the original order is maintained.

  • Series 1: Theater Programs, 1878-1917
    • Subseries 1: Girls’ Department Theater Programs, 1878-1918
    • Subseries 2: Boys’ Department Theater Programs, 1892-1917
    • Subseries 3: Howe Memorial Club Theater Programs, bulk 1910s
  • Series 2: Concerts for Perkins Students, 1880s-1890s
  • Series 3: School Events, 1878-circa 1929
    • Subseries 1: Kindergarten Christmas Carol Booklets, 1900-1905
    • Subseries 2: Kindergarten Annual Reception Programs, 1900-1905
    • Subseries 3: Graduation Programs, 1878-1922
    • Subseries 4: Perkins Celebration and Memorial Programs, 1879-circa 1929, undated
  • Series 4: Braille Manuals, Catalogs, and Other Material  

AG122 Perkins Concert Programs Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

AG110 Student Concerts and other Audio Recordings Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

AG37 Perkins Music and Theater Programs, and Other Material Collection, 1878-circa 1940. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

Scrapbook of Clippings on Music and Theater in Boston on the Internet Archive

Container List:

Series 1: Theater Programs

Subseries 1: Girls’ Department Theater Programs, 1878-1918

  • B3:F1: Girls’ Department Theater Programs, 1878-1895
  • B3:F3: Girls’ Department Theater Programs, 1895-1896
  • B3:F3: Girls’ Department Theater Programs, 1896-1898
  • B1:F1: Girls’ Department Theater Programs, 1899-1914
  • B1:F2: Girls’ Department Theater Programs, 1918
  • B1:F3: Girls’ Department Theater Programs, 1918

Subseries 2: Boys’ Department Theater Programs, 1878-1917

  • B3:F4: Boys’ Department Theater Programs, 1878, 1892-1899
  • B1:F4: Boys’ Department Theater Programs, 1896-1906
  • B1:F5: Boys’ Department Theater Programs, 1896-1901
  • B1:F6: Boys’ Department Theater Programs, 1906-1917

Subseries 3: Howe Memorial Club Theater Programs, bulk 1910s

  • B2:F1: Howe Memorial Club Theater Programs, 1907-1914 (Part 1 of 2)
  • B2:F2: Howe Memorial Club Theater Programs, 1888-1914 (Part 2 of 2)
  • B2:F3: Howe Memorial Club Theater Programs, 1911-1913
  • B2:F4: Howe Memorial Club Theater Programs, 1913-1915
  • B2:F5: Howe Memorial Club Theater Programs, 1916-1917

Series 2: Concerts for Perkins Students, undated, 1880s to 1890s

  • B3:F5: Concerts for Perkins Students, undated (1 of 3 undated)
  • B3:F6: Concerts for Perkins Students, undated (2 of 3 undated)
  • B3:F7: Concerts for Perkins Students, undated (3 of 3 undated)
  • B3:F8: Concerts for Perkins Students, undated, 1884, circa 1884-1885
  • B5:F1: Concerts for Perkins Students, circa 1885-1889
  • B5:F2: Concerts for Perkins Students, 1889-1896

Series 3: School Events, 1878-circa 1929

Subseries 1: Kindergarten Christmas Carol Booklets, 1900-1905

  • B2:F6: Kindergarten Christmas Carol Booklets, 1900-1905
  • B5:F3: Kindergarten Christmas Carol Booklets, 1902

Subseries 2: Kindergarten Annual Reception Programs, 1896-1909

  • B2:F7: Kindergarten Annual Reception Programs, 1896-1909

Subseries 3: Graduation Programs, 1878-1922

  • B5:F4: Graduation Programs, 1878-1922

Subseries 4: Perkins Celebration and Memorial Programs, 1879-circa 1929, undated

  • B5:F5: Perkins Celebration and Memorial Programs, undated, 1879-1885
  • B4:F1: Perkins Celebration and Memorial Programs, 1882
  • B5:F6: Perkins Celebration and Memorial Programs, 1889-1896
  • B4:F2: Perkins Celebration and Memorial Programs 1901
  • B4:F3: Perkins Celebration and Memorial Programs 1905
  • B4:F4: Perkins Celebration and Memorial Programs, 1912-circa 1929

Series 4: Braille Manuals, Catalogs, and Other Material, undated, 1878-circa 1940

  • B5:F7: Braille Manuals, Catalogs, and Other Material, undated, 1878-1894
  • B5:F8: Braille Manuals, Catalogs, and Other Material, circa 1914
  • B4:F5: Braille Manuals, Catalogs, and Other Material, 1915
  • B6:F1: Braille Manuals, Catalogs, and Other Material, 1921
  • B6:F2: Braille Manuals, Catalogs, and Other Material, 1921
  • B6:F3: Braille Manuals, Catalogs, and Other Material, 1924, circa 1939-1940

Provenance:

Perkins School for the Blind

Subject headings:

  • Perkins School for the Blind.
  • Perkins School for the Blind–History.
  • Anagnos, Michael, 1837-1906
  • Music–Instruction and study
  • Theater–Instruction and study
  • Braille
  • Blind–Education

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Visit the Perkins Archives page