Back to Finding Aids

Perkins performing arts and special events ephemera collection

finding aid

SHARE

Creator:

Perkins School for the Blind

Date Range:

1857-1967

Call Number:

AG138

Abstract:

This collection consists of programs and ephemera for Perkins concerts, theatrical performances, commencement ceremonies and special events that took place from 1857 to 1967. Included are several embossed programs including photos of productions, embossed ephemera, and annotated scrapbooks of some productions.

Extent:

1.5 linear feet

Language:

English, Boston Line Type

Processed by:

Aubrey Shanahan, 2017

Biographical/Historical notes:

Perkins School for the Blind has a long history of performing arts. Samuel Gridley Howe, the first director of Perkins, believed in the importance of music in the curriculum, and each subsequent director has ensured that music would play a role in the lives of the students. Both vocal and instrumental performances and recitals were held annually, showcasing the talents of individual students and ensembles. When there was an increase of students with disabilities in addition to their blindness, efforts were continually made to include them in music education through the use of hand bells beginning in the 1970’s. Today, Perkins students continue to share their music through performances at the school and in the community.

Theatre took a bit longer to catch on at the school; the annual report does not document a production until 1898, and the oldest embossed program in the collection is from 1897. Michael Anagnos, the second director, noted that Perkins students could best enjoy and appreciate the art of theatre through acting, rather than just listening to a performance, and fostered regular performances by the pupils beginning in the late 1800’s. Performances were a great source of revenue, both from ticket sales and sales of braille copies of the plays.  Much like music, theatre is still very much a part of the lives of Perkins students today.

Among the special events included in the collection are annual exhibitions, which were put on to display the talents and scholarship of the students at Perkins to educate and garner support from the community. This support would, in turn, help funding for the school from state legislatures.

Sources of information:

French, Kimberly. (2004) Perkins School for the Blind. Charleston, SC: Arcadia,. Print.

Gordon, Jamie. (February 1, 2017) “Taking the stage.” Perkins Stories. Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA.

McGinnity, B.L., Seymour-Ford, J. and Andries, K.J. (2004) Music. 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.

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:

AG138 Perkins Performing Arts and Special Events Ephemera Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

Scope/Contents:

This collection contains programs from concerts, theatrical performances, commencements and other special events, as well as ephemera and photographs related to those events or other school happenings. Notably, the collection includes about twenty embossed, Boston Line Type programs from 1897-1917. A select number of those embossed programs also include photographs of the cast in costume. Additionally, there are scrapbooks for fourteen plays from 1939-1949, which include annotations about the characters and scenes portrayed in the photographs. The collection documents a sampling of the types of theatrical performances that were put on by students, such as Shakespeare’s works, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, and You Can’t Take It With You, among many others. Musically, the collection contains programs from the annual concerts for the years 1908-1938, as well as Christmas concerts and vocal and orchestral recitals from individuals and groups.

Arrangement:

3 Series, 3 boxes arranged by event type

This collection is arranged in three series divided by the type of event ephemera they contain. Within each series, folders are ordered alphabetically and their contents are arranged chronologically.

  • Series 1: Concert and Recital Programs, 1908-1948
  • Series 2: Theatrical Production Programs and Photographs, 1897-1948
  • Series 3: Graduation and Special Events Ephemera, 1882-1967

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

AG113 Printed Ephemera 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

Theater Collection on Flickr

Container List:

Box: 1

Series 1: Concert and Recital Programs, 1908-1948

  • B1:F1: Annual Concert Programs, 1908-1911
  • B1:F2: Annual Concert Programs, 1912-1916
  • B1:F3: Annual Concert Programs, 1916-1921
  • B1:F4: Annual Concert Programs, 1923
  • B1:F5: Annual Concert Programs, 1924
  • B1:F6: Annual Concert Programs, 1925-1926
  • B1:F7: Annual Concert Programs, 1927-1929
  • B1:F8: Annual Concert Programs, 1930-1935
  • B1:F9: Annual Concert Programs, 1936-1938
  • B1:F10: Christmas Concert Programs, 1913-1917
  • B1:F11: Christmas Concert Programs, 1919-1921
  • B1:F12: Christmas Concert Programs, 1922-1925
  • B1:F13: Christmas Concert Programs, 1925-1966
  • B1:F14: External Concert Programs, 1908-1934
  • B1:F15: Individual and Group Pupils Recitals Programs, 1914-1928
  • B1:F16: Individual and Group Pupils Recitals Programs, 1929-1935
  • B1:F17: Individual and Group Pupils Recitals Programs, 1936-1943
  • B1:F18: Individual and Group Pupils Recitals Programs, 1944-1948
  • B1:F19: Pianoforte Normal Department Recital Programs, 1909-1925
  • B1:F20: Pianoforte Normal Department Recital Programs, 1926-1944

Box 2

Series 2: Theatrical Production Programs and Photographs, 1897-1949

  • B2:F1: “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” Embossed Programs, 1901
  • B2:F2: “The Bird’s Christmas Carol” Embossed Program, 1900
  • B2:F3: Boys’ Department Embossed Programs, 1903-1906
  • B2:F4: The Brownies at Play Embossed Programs, 1899
  • B2:F5: Girls’ Department Embossed Programs, 1899-1900
  • B2:F6: Girls’ Department Embossed Programs, 1902-1903
  • B2:F7: “Merchant of Venice” Embossed Programs, 1917
  • B2:F8: “The Pilgrim’s Vision” Embossed Programs, 1897
  • B2:F9: “The Progress of America” Embossed Programs, 1898
  • B2:F10: Theatrical Performance Announcements and Programs, 1911-1922
  • B2:F11: Theatrical Performance Announcements and Programs, 1924-1930
  • B2:F12: Theatrical Performance Announcements and Programs, 1930-1933
  • B2:F13: Theatrical Performance Announcements and Programs, 1935-1944
  • B2:F14: “She Stoops to Conquer” Scrapbook, 1934
  • B2:F15: “Boys Will Be Boys” and “The Music Master” Scrapbooks, 1935-1936
  • B2:F16: “The Merchant of Venice” Scrapbook, 1938
  • B2:F17: “Once There Was a Princess” Scrapbook, 1939
  • B2:F18: “Caesar and Cleopatra” Scrapbook, 1939
  • B2:F19: “Twelfth Night” Scrapbook, 1940
  • B2:F20: “The Pirates of Penzance” Scrapbooks, 1941
  • B2:F21: “You Can’t Take It With You” Scrapbook, 1942
  • B2:F22: “The Gondoliers” Scrapbook, 1943
  • B2:F23: “The Music Master” Scrapbook, 1944
  • B2:F24: “Patience” Scrapbooks, 1949

Box 3

Series 3: Graduation and Special Events Ephemera, 1857-1967

  • B3:F1: Christmas Ephemera, 1923-1940
  • B3:F2: List of Graduating Students, 1878-1881
  • ​B3:F3: Commencement Invitations, 1882-1887
  • B3:F4: Commencement Invitations, 1887-1893
  • B3:F5: Commencement Invitations, 1894-1899
  • B3:F6: Commencement Invitations, 1900-1905
  • B3:F7: Commencement Invitations, 1905-1937
  • B3:F8: Commencement Programs, circa 1857-1889
  • B3:F9: Commencement Programs, 1890-1900
  • B3:F10: Commencement Programs, 1901-1910
  • B3:F11: Commencement Programs, 1912-1920
  • B3:F12: Commencement Programs, 1921-1930
  • B3:F13: Commencement Programs, 1932-1940
  • B3:F14: Commencement Programs, 1941-1967
  • B3:F15: Exhibition Programs, 1914-1922
  • B3:F16: Exhibition Programs, 1923-1926
  • B3:F17: Perkins Ephemera, 1879-1938
  • B3:F18: Special Events, 1886-1912
  • B3:F19: Special Events, 1914-1918
  • B3:F20: Special Events, 1922-1931
  • B3:F21: Special Events: 1932-1962

Provenance:

Perkins School for the Blind

Subject headings:

  • Perkins School for the Blind.
  • Perkins School for the Blind–History.
  • Theater
  • Music–Instruction and study

Explore more resources from the Archives

Learn more about our collections, including digitized materials, and resources related to the history of Perkins School for the Blind and the history of education for people with blindness or deafblindness.

Visit the Perkins Archives page