Tag Archives: new york public library

Useful Sites

Friday Link-a-dink

It’s time for the first round up of links of the year.

  • Matthew D. Jordan pointed me to two of his sites. The first is a scenic-shop blog. I know some of you who work in smaller theatres have to do both scenery and props, so you’ll find it interesting, but even those of you who focus more specifically on props can still find some crossover in the topics this blog covers. His second is a Stagecraft Wiki. Like Wikipedia, this is a site you can edit and write yourself. The only way for a site like that to grow is for everyone to add a little bit of their own knowledge and tell their colleagues to check it out as well.
  • Do you like old-timey blueprints? How about the blueprints of Monsieur Eiffel and a little tower he designed*?
  • The New York Public Library has a few pictures of furniture from the Ancient World. Exotic!
  • BAFRA has an article on how to furnish an eighteenth-century bed. Naughty!

Until next time!

*That would be the Eiffel Tower.

Resources

New York Public Library Digital Galleries

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Miss Fanny Kemble as Portia in the Merchant of Venice
Miss Fanny Kemble as Portia in the Merchant of Venice

As a props person, you’re always looking online for images, whether as research for pieces, inspiration for set dressing, or as elements for a paper prop.

The New York Public Library has a great digitized collection of images in their Digital Gallery.  Some proptacular highlights include cigarette cards from pre-1900s to the mid-20th century; dust jackets from American and European books, 1926-1947; decoration in the Age of Napoleon; and  a collection of restaurant menus from 1851 to 1930.

There is also a ton of theatre-related photographs and ephemera, such as the Vandamm Studio Photographs of theatre productions and players from 1900 to 1957.

These digital galleries have so much visual reference and research; I highly recommend taking the time to look through it all and bookmarking or taking note of what you might find useful in the future.