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Collection Data
- Description
- The Lee Simonson Photographs consist of over 340 black and white photographs of his theater sets, costumes and research materials, spanning from 1871-1937 (bulk dates 1915-1937).
- Names
- Simonson, Lee, 1888-1967 (Creator)
- Dates / Origin
- Date Created: 1871 - 1937
- Library locations
- Billy Rose Theatre Division
- Shelf locator: *T-Vim 1942-002
- Topics
- Bruguière, Francis Joseph
- Schwartz, Ira D.
- Peter A. Juley & Son
- Vandamm
- White Studio -- (New York, N.Y.)
- Costume design
- Theaters -- Stage setting and scenery
- Genres
- photographs
- Serials
- Notes
- Biographical/historical: Lee Simonson (1888-1967) was a noted set and costume designer for numerous Broadway shows, as well as for the Washington Square Players, early in his career. A founding member of the Theatre Guild, he also wrote several books on design, including The Stage is Set (Harcourt, Brace Company, 1932).
Notable productions include As You Like It (1923), Don Juan (1921), The Faithful (1919), Heartbreak House (1920), Marco Millions (1928), Martinique (1920), and Peer Gynt (1923).
- Content: The Lee Simonson Photographs consist of over 340 black and white photographs of his theater sets, costumes and research materials, spanning from 1871-1937 (bulk dates 1915-1937).
Among the productions designed by Simonson that are well-represented in the collection are As You Like It (1923), Don Juan (1921), The Faithful (1919), Heartbreak House (1920), Marco Millions (1928), Martinique (1920), and Peer Gynt (1923).
The photographs are by Francis Bruguière, Vandamm, White Studio, and Ira D. Schwartz. Some mounts are signed.
A number of the photographs in the research materials were used in one of Simonson's books, The Stage Is Set (Harcourt, Brace Company, 1932) and include photographs of set designs and illustrations by other designers such as Adolphe Appia, Edward Gordon Craig, Robert Edmond Jones, and others spanning several centuries. There are also several photographs of theatres, New York City's Garrick Theatre and Guild Theatre; topics related to scenic design also in the collection include lighting and perspective. Several of the research photographs are by Peter A. Juley Son and one by John Wallace Gillies, Inc.
Additional research materials include a few late 19th century publications, mostly in German.
- Physical Description
- Extent: 3.25 linear feet (13 boxes)
- Type of Resource
- Text
- Still image
- Identifiers
- Other local Identifier: *T-Vim1942-002
- NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b20915133
- MSS Unit ID: 23279
- Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 7e5c8590-da73-013d-8390-0242ac110002
