Series 24 Part 01: J.C. Williamson (firm) - pictorial archive, ca. 1890-1970

series

ca. 1890-1970

Graphic Materials, Drawings, Watercolours, Paintings, Photographs, Ephemera, Prints, Textual Records, Objects

421927

Drawings - ca. 38 x 55 cm. - 2 ink & paint poster mock-ups
Drawings - 33 x 47 cm. or smaller - 19 ink and photographic mockups
Drawings - 40 x 64 cm. - 2 ink on plastic sheets
Drawings - 22 x 28 cm. - 3 pen & ink sketches
Paintings - 45 x 50 cm. or smaller - 373 watercolour drawings
Paintings - 54 x 60 cm. - 1 ink & paint on silk
Photographs - 2290 photoprints or boards of photoprints
Ephemera - 5 p. of cigarette cards, 1 col. poster, 2 col. prints
Prints - 22.5 x 18 cm. - 2 photomechanical prints
Textual Records - 8 x 11 cm. - (printed, 1 voucher)
Objects - 38 x 28 cm. or smaller - 5 photogravure plates & accompanying flongs

James Cassius Williamson (1845-1913) married soubrette Maggie Moore in 1873, and came to Australia in 1874-5 and to stay in 1879. In 1899 he divorced and married Mary Weir, one of his dancers.
From the 1880's, Williamson, an American character and comic actor, and partners built the largest theatrical chain in the world which dominated Australian musical and theatrical life until the rise of national companies in the era 1950-1970. The company built or bought the major theatres in the biggest cities in Australia and New Zealand, and imported international stars and companies, though most of the cast was local and often took over starring roles.
From 1913 onwards, J.C. Williamson Ltd. was run chiefly by the Tait family until the death of Sir Frank Tait in 1965 just a month after the opening of the Sutherland-Williamson Grand Opera Company season. -- Reference: Entertaining Australia : an illustrated history / Katharine Brisbane (ed.). Sydney : Currency Press, 1991
For J.C. Williamson's autobiography, see: J.C. Williamson's life-story told in his own words : with valedictory messages from George Tallis... / J.C. Williamson. Sydney : N.S.W. Bookstall, 1913 (Sydney : Websdale, Shoosmith)

BOX 01
Sutherland Williamson International Grand Opera Company, 1965 : scenes & portraits

BOX 02
Sutherland Williamson International Grand Opera Company, 1965 : portraits

BOX 03
Colonel de Basil Covent Garden Russian Ballet and Original Ballet Russe, 1938-1940 : scenes from ballets and portraits

BOX 04
Colonel de Basil Covent Garden Russian Ballet and Original Ballet Russe, 1938-1940 : scenes from ballets and portraits

BOX 05
Colonel de Basil Covent Garden Russian Ballet and Original Ballet Russe, 1938-1940 : portraits

BOX 06
Borovansky Ballet & The Royal Ballet ; The Amorous prawn (play)

BOX 07
Annie get your gun

BOX 08
Born yesterday ; Brigadoon ; Bye bye Birdie ; Can-can ; Cinderella ; The Constant wife

BOX 09
Camelot

BOX 10
Carnival ; Damn Yankees ; Dear Charles

BOX 11
Carnival ; Fiddler on the roof

BOX 12
Fiddler on the roof ; The First 400 years ; For amusement only ; A French mistress

BOX 13
The Great Sebastians ; The Great waltz

BOX 14
The Great waltz ; Hadrian VII

BOX 15
Hello, Dolly! ; How to succeed in business without really trying

BOX 16
How to succeed in business without really trying ; I do, I do ; I'm all right Jack

BOX 17
Jose Greco and his flamenco company ; Kiss me, Kate ; The Kiwis ; Luisillo his Spanish dance theatre

BOX 18
Luisillo and his Spanish dance theatre ; Mame ; The Moon is blue

BOX 19
The Miracle worker

BOX 20
My fair lady ; Noddy ; Not in the book ; Nude with violin ; The Odd couple

BOX 21
The Odd couple ; Oliver ; The Pleasure of his company

BOX 22
The Reluctant debutante ; Sail away

BOX 23
Sail away ; Sailor beware ; Seagulls over Sorrento ; September tide ; Simple spymen ; Still life ; Tonight at 8.30 ; Victoria Regina

BOX 24
Victoria Regina ; Winter journey ; Royal Shakespeare Company Australian Tour (1970) ; Woman in a dressing gown

BOX 25
The Boy friend ; Portraits of performers

BOX 26
Portraits of performers

BOX 27
Portraits of performers

BOX 28
Portraits of performers

BOX 29
Portraits of performers

BOX 30
Gilbert & Sullivan operas

BOX 31
Gilbert & Sullivan operas

BOX 32
Gilbert & Sullivan operas

BOX 33
Gilbert & Sullivan operas ; Victoria Regina

BOX 34-37
Unidentified plays

BOX 37-38
Googie Withers in plays ; unidentified plays

BOX 39
Unidentified plays

BOX 40
Review with Gwen Plumb and John Meillon] ; Georgian State Dance Company ; Omsk Siberian Company of 80

BOX 41
Soviet company or companies with singers, musicians, dancers ; Moscow State Circus (?) ; Mazowsze dances from Poland

BOX 42
Jiri Srnec and the Black Theatre of Prague ; [Unidentified African dance troupe]

BOX 43
Unidentified Philippine and Thai dance troupes

BOX 44
Charley's aunt ; Irma la Douce ; My fair lady ; Philippine dance troupe

BOX 45
Performers' portraits : register of photographs, mainly 1920s

BOX 46
Edwardian noblewomen, actors and "beauties", American showgirls and Parisiennes : portraits in a clippings album, ca. 1890-1914

BOX 46
Lithographs of the stage [i.e. performers' portraits and scenes from productions : clippings album, ca. 1890-1914] / collected by Harry P. Muller

BOX 46
Performers' portraits : photographs, ca. 1890-1914

BOX 47
Theatre audience ; Kirsten Flagstad ; Swan Lake ; The Hostage ; Irma la Douce ; Terry McDermott ; Luisillo troupe ; Oliver ; My fair lady ; Camelot

BOX 48-53
Theatre costume designs, ca. 1888-1970

BOX 54
Theatre stage sets, ca. 1900-1956 ; Men performers' portraits, ca. 1890-1935

BOX 55
Women performers' portraits, ca. 1890-1926

BOX 56
Performers portraits, ca. 1890-1926 ; London production of Katja, 1925 ; London production of The Cabaret girl, 1922-1923

BOX 57
Gracie Fields in Sydney, 1945 ; Joe E. Brown in Sydney ; miscellaneous ; Bittersweet

BOX 58
[Bittersweet ; Mr Pim passes by ; Kick in]

BOX 59
Broadway productions of : Kick in ; The House of glass ; The Red widow ; Cheating cheaters ; Mother Carey's chickens ; The Servant in the house ; Seven keys to Baldpate ; ice skating act ; Miss Springtime ; The Girl behind the gun

BOX 60
Broadway production of : The Girl behind the gun (1918)

BOX 61
Broadway production of : Leave it to Jane (1917)

BOX 62
High jinks (1913-14) ; The Beggar's opera ; Miscellaneous

BOX 63
Can-can ; I do, I do ; miscellaneous artwork

BOX 64
Camelot ; Miss Nell of New Orleans ; Theatre Royal noticeboard ; Cicely Courtneidge in Under the counter ; Guy Bates Post ; Grace Lane ; Jane Woods / various photographers

Box listing

Related manuscript material: Notes and newscuttings, 1913-1974 / J.C. Williamson Ltd. MLMSS 4458
Reference: Entertaining Australia : an illustrated history / Katharine Brisbane (ed.). Sydney : Currency Press, 1991
For a history of J.C. Williamsons under the Taits, see: J.O'Neill "The Firm" : four landlords of the Australian stage, Daily Telegraph, June 30, 1945 pp. 10-11
For a report on the JC Williamson publicity photograph project at the National Library of Australia, see: R.Stone & J.Thomson "There's no photograph like a show business photograph", ARLIS/ANZ Journal, no.61, June 2006, pp.19-27
For further details on photographs of Broadway productions in this collection (used by JC Williamson to reproduce productions in Australia), see: Internet Broadway Database (online website)