Ephemera Examples
Program from a 1937 New Orleans Federal Theatre Project production.
Program from a 1967 production of Romeo and Juliet at the Civic Theatre, produced by the Repertory Theater of New Orleans.
Program for the 1911 production of Pinafore, Athenaeum Theatre,
New Orleans.
What is ephemera and why should you use it?
The Louisiana Research Collection preserves an outstanding collection of Louisiana theatre ephemera extending from around 1810 to the present.
Ephemera are small printed items such as pamphlets, brochures, flyers, posters, invitations, and tickets. Such small publications are called "ephemera" because they are often meant to be read and then discarded, and thus have a short, or "ephemeral," lifespan. An ephemera collection is commonly called "vertical files" because the items are often stored in upright filing cabinets.
Our library’s theatre ephemera collection preserves not only information about performances but also
- theatre organizations
- film festivals
- entertainment at bars and nightclubs
- acting schools
- theatre awards
- dinner theatres
- cabarets
- children and youth theatre
- drama clubs
- casting calls
- drag shows
- vaudeville
- opera
…and much more.
What can you use theatre ephemera for?
These kinds of important, often overlooked, and sometimes quite rare documents can preserve an almost infinite range of scholarly information, such as:
- Clues to the cultural context, history, politics, and economics of theater in New Orleans.
- Photos and biographical sketches of actors, producers, and playwrights.
- Images of New Orleans theatres that no longer exist.
- When, where, and which plays were produced in New Orleans.
- Which noted actors and directors worked in the city, when they were here, and the projects they worked on.
- Theatre ephemera can help researchers profile how the public’s taste in theatre changed over time.
- It can help researchers better understand how and when artistic styles and influences filtered into New Orleans.
Search the Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC) Vertical Files by entering keywords in the box below.
Enclose phrases in parentheses; e.g. "New Orleans" will only retrieve entries where new is followed by orleans. Without enclosed quotes, you will retrieve every entry with the word new OR the word orleans.
To find every entry that begins with the same letters, follow the letters with an asterisk; e.g. "theat* " will retrieve every entry with a word that begins with "theat:" Theatine, theatral, theatre, theater, theatrette, theatric, theatrical, etc.
Once you have found files you would like to view, please print out the file folder titles and bring them to the Louisiana Research Collection Reading Room, located on the 2nd floor of Jones Hall.
Drop by and say hi!
The
Louisiana
Research Collection
is located in
Room 202, Jones Hall,
which is just across
the street from
Howard-Tilton Library.
Hours:
Monday-Thursday
9 am to 5 pm
Saturday
9 am to 1 pm
Phone: 504-865-5685
We need your help.
We need
your help.
If you know of letters, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs, brochures, flyers, menus, or other documents potentially helpful to researchers, please contact us so we can help ensure that they are preserved and made available for research.
And, of course, when you are out and about, please pick up any Louisiana brochures, flyers, and menus for our collection.
Contact Leon Miller, 504-314-7833, for more information about how you can help preserve our past.
Online Exhibits
Special Collections has several online exhibits that illustrate some of our holdings and how researchers can use them. Click HERE to view a list of our exhibits.
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