Guide to the J. C. Williamson collection of theatre programs: Pantomimes

Collection Summary

Title

J. C. Williamson Theatres Pantomimes

Date Range

1873 - 1966

Collection Number

JCWPanto

Extent

142 items 5 prompt boxes

Language of Materials

English

Repository

Printed Collections

Sponsor

The National Library of Australia is extremely grateful for the generous support of the Susan and Isaac Wakil Foundation. This has enabled the work of preserving, digitising and publishing this collection.

Introduction

Scope and Contents

This list includes pantomimes held in J.C. Williamson theatres, as well as those produced by J.C. Williamson and performed in other theatres under venue hire arrangements.

The list also includes libretti for overseas pantomime productions collected by J.C. Williamson for their corporate archive.

Printed materials in the PROMPT collection include programs and printed ephemera such as brochures, leaflets, tickets, etc. Theatre programs are taken as the prime documentary evidence of a performance staged by the J.C. Williamson company. In a few cases however, the only evidence of a performance is a piece of printed ephemera. In these cases the type of piece is identified, eg, brochure.

The list is based on imperfect holdings and is updated as gaps in the Library's holdings for these artists are filled. Unless otherwise stated, all entries are based on published programs in the PROMPT collection.

Preferred Citation

Acknowledgement of use this material should refer to the Ephemera PROMPT collection.

Citation of items from this collection should include references to author's/organisation's name, date, item title, Publisher and place of publication.

Example: J.C. Williamson (Firm). & Theatre Royal (Adelaide, S.A.). 1950, Gilbert & Sullivan opera season [theatre program] : The gondoliers J. C. Williamson Ltd [Adelaide]

Related Materials

The National Library's collection also includes: -Scrapbooks, journals and personal papers in the Records of J.C. Williamson 1874-1976 [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2624931]; -scores for J.C. Williamson productions [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2970355]; -Pictures [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1585811]; -Broadsides relating to specific J.C. Williamson productions [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3167291]; -Bound volumes of J.C. Williamson programs and issues of the J.C. Williamson Ltd. Magazine can be accessed via the Library's catalogue [https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/].

See also separate PROMPT ephemera collection finding aids to: -J.C. Williamson general theatre programs, film related ephemera and overseas productions collected by the company for reference [https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/3666467]; -J.C. Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan operetta programs [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3666430]; -J.C. Williamson grand opera, operetta, comic opera and light opera programs [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3887733] Other material including Australian newspapers and magazines can be found via Trove [https://trove.nla.gov.au/]

Arrangement

This list has two sections: Pantomimes produced by J.C. Williamson or produced in J.C. Williamson theatres and Libretti for overseas productions of pantomimes collected by J.C. Williamson.

The primary arrangement of this finding aid is chronological based on the start date of each production. The selection of libretti for overseas pantomimes at the end of the list has been arranged alphabetically according to the title of the production. All dates are based on evidence in the programs or ephemera, or have been confirmed by accessing newspaper articles and advertisements through Trove.

Entries for each program in the main section are arranged as follows:title of Production / creator if known; year of production. The scope and contents notes include extra information such as date (day and month); theatre/venue; headline performers; brief description of item , ie "1 program".

Digitisation Information

This collection contains some duplicate items. For digitisation, only one copy of each item was captured. Some items contain blank pages which were not copied.

Access

The J.C. Williamson Pantomime PROMPT files may be accessed through the Library's Special Collections Reading Room by eCallslip request [https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/3666448].

Advisory Statement

This collection contains material and descriptive information which may be considered culturally sensitive and may cause distress, including names and images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now deceased. This collection contains terms that reflect authors' views or those of the historical period, but which may not be considered appropriate today. While the information may not reflect current understanding, it is provided in an historical context.