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Finding Aid

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A project is being undertaken to digitize these fragile materials. As a result these items will be unavailable until 2017.

Scope and Contents

Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward Franklin Albee became partners in the late 1880s to promote "polite" vaudeville. They lavishly remodeled several theaters on the east coast and began producing a brand of "high class" vaudeville. Crude remarks and risqué costumes were censored from performances, and they even attempted to prohibit rude behavior by audiences. Keith was the financial head of the circuit, while Albee was the general manager and owner of several theaters. In 1906, Keith and Albee established the United Booking Office. Every act that sought employment at any of the member theaters had to work through this central office, which in turn charged a five percent commission per act. Thus Keith and Albee expanded their power base. In the 1920s the Keith/Albee circuit merged with a western chain of vaudeville theaters to form the Keith-Albee-Orpheum Circuit. In 1928, $4,500,000 worth of stock was sold to Joseph P. Kennedy's Radio Corporation of America (RCA) establishing the Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO). After this merger, motion pictures became the primary form of entertainment, while vaudeville survived only as an accompaniment to the feature film.

The Keith/Albee collection primarily reports vaudeville programming in Rhode Island between 1894 and 1935, but it includes unique resources for studying vaudeville throughout the east coast and Ohio with a series of Managers' Reports spanning 1902-1923. The Keith/Albee circuit, as represented in these Reports, involves theaters in Providence, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket, Rhode Island; Boston and Webster, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Cleveland, Ohio. Theaters in Detroit, Washington, D.C., and New York City also appear with some regularity. The records of Keith/Albee chronicle the expansion of their circuit, changes in its leadership, and the eventual decline of vaudeville. Items dating as late as 1952 are as diverse as usher's manuals to building permits, air raid precautions to price schedules, and cash books to correspondence. The bulk of the collection is made up of 147 oversized scrapbooks (each about 16"Hx12"W and averaging over 250 pages).

Series I, Manager's Reports (1903-1923), consists of 24 ledger books into which have been pasted 6056 typescript reports of weekly programs written by and circulated among circuit theater managers. To produce an adequate number of copies, a flimsy (tissue) paper was used; some reports are ribbon copies, others carbon copies; many run two or three pages (or portions of pages).  The multi-page reports have had the last page pasted along the top edge and placed low on the ledger page; the next-to-last page is then placed higher on the page, etc.  Thus the top sheet can be read and lifted to expose the second sheet, the second sheet lifted to expose the third, etc.  David Monod has kindly provided 12-megapixel digital photographs of two typical pages: page 1; page 2; the report text is easily read by zooming in.  The reports review acts (often noting items that were censored), suggestions as to where acts should be placed on the bill, running time, and even whether the act was in one or required full use of the stage. Headline acts usually received less attention in the manager's reports than did others.The Reports are not indexed.

The first 64 volumes of Series II, Clipping Books, collect all of the publicity materials generated by a single Providence, Rhode Island, theater between 1894 and 1941. Keith's Opera House opened in the fall of 1894; it was renamed Keith's New Theatre in 1900 (and later called simply "Keith's Theatre"); renamed the E. F. Albee Theatre in 1919; and again renamed, the RKO Albee Theatre, in 1929.  The series is essentially complete, with copies of programs, clippings, and a range of other publicity ephemera documenting Keith's vaudeville and Edward F. Albee's Stock Company pasted into ledger books in  chronological order. Photographs of two pages [page 1; page 2] give an impression of the content and organization. Related to the ledger books are eight notebooks recording the names of performers booked each season 1905-1910; these are described below as Series IIE.

Series II also contains shorter runs of 27 similar scrapbooks for other Providence theaters (the Empire; Nickel; Nickel & Bijou; and Victory) as well as nine for Pawtucket theaters (Keith's, Music Hall & Scenic; Bijou; Bijou & Star) and six for the Bijou Theatre in Woonsocket, Rhode Island). Together, the Clipping Books contain some 26,470 pages. Boxes 2 and 3 of Series III (Financial Records) contain related materials for some of these theaters.

There are another 10 scapbooks, less closely related to specific theaters, one of which contains caricatures of performers, 1908-1911, clipped from a variety of sources. None of the Clipping Books have been indexed.

Series III, Financial Records, includes cash books (1918-1941), treasurer's statements, salary lists, and other financial records for several Rhode Island theaters and related corporate entities.

Series IV, Subject Files, consists of a series of conventional file folders containing varied materials, the bulk date after 1940 and largely document operations of the RKO Albee Theatre under the management of George E. French, by this time exclusively showing films. Some of the files, such as the RKO Theatre Service Manuals that lay out job and performance expectations for theater employees from barkers and walkmen to ushers, speak to the management of theaters in interesting ways. Miscellaneous materials such as architectural dryawings and posters round out this part of the collection.A number of OVERSIZE items are stored in Map case 2: 14.

Please note that the Series I-II scrapbooks, while immensely useful, are extremely difficult, physically, to use and are increasingly fragile: three volumes, at this point, can be consulted only after review of the request by the Head of Special Collections.  Since the scrapbooks have not been indexed, readers with precise information on theater and date of performance may sometimes find further information quickly; but in most cases, only a thorough page-by-page review of a volume or volumes will locate information on a particular Keith/Albee circuit performer.

We generally do not have staff time to search the record books on behalf of readers. If you are unable to come to Iowa City to examine them yourself, we recommend that you consider hiring a research assistant to do this for you. Students in the School of Library and Information Science are often available to conduct research projects under your direction. Please ask us about contact information.

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Historical Note

The history of this collection is not entirely recorded. It is said to have been discovered in the basement of The RKO Albee Theatre, Westminster Street, Providence, Rhode Island in the 1970s when this theater was being demolished. Richard Rand, a fire underwriter, found the records, took an interest in and acquired title to them either from the theater owners or the company tearing down the building. He moved them to a nearby warehouse. Some years later, Robert C. Allen, then a graduate student in The University of Iowa Speech and Dramatic Arts Department researching his dissertation on the relationship between vaudeville and film 1896-1915, learned of the records from a friend, sought out Rand while visiting Boston, and examined the records. Allen recalls that Rand planned to offer them piecemeal at auction but agreed to consider an offer from a library. On his return to Iowa City, Allen brought the collection to the attention of Frank Hanlin, then head of collection development in the Libraries. Hanlin, in turn, arranged to acquire the records in 1976. Acquisition records for purchased materials are generally destroyed after ten years, and that seems to have been the case here; we are not presently able to locate documentation for the purchase. Researchers owe Rand a generous round of thanks for preserving the records, however, and Allen and Hanlin a similar round for bringing them into the Libraries. We in turn thank Fred McLennan and Robert Allen for the information in this note.

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Related Information

For more information regarding the Keith/Albee Collection at The University of Iowa Libraries see M. Allison Kibler "The Keith/Albee Collection: The Vaudeville Industry, 1894-1935", Books at Iowa 56 (April 1992), pp. 7-24, and her 1994 Ph.D. dissertation from Iowa, Female varieties: gender and cultural hierarchy on the Keith vaudeville circuit, 1890-1925 (UI MAIN Library Thesis T1994 .K415), and its published version, Rank ladies: gender and cultural hierarchy in American vaudeville. Chapel Hill; London: University of North Carolina Press, c1999 (UI  MAIN Library PN1968.U5 K53 1999).

Robert Clyde Allen. Vaudeville and film, 1895-1915; a study in media interaction. PhD dissertation, The University of Iowa. (UI MAIN library storage T1977.A428).  Also Horrible prettiness: burlesque and American culture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991.(UI MAIN Library PN 1948.U6A45 1991).

Rick Altman. Silent Film Sound. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. (UI MAIN Library PN 1995.75 .A44 2004).

Box Contents List

Table of Contents

Organizational History

Scope and Contents

I. Series One -- Managers' Reports

II. Series Two A -- Clipping Books for Keith's - Albee Theatre, Providence
II. Series Two B -- Clipping Books for Other Providence Theaters
II. Series Two C -- Clipping Books for Pawhucket and Woonsocket Theaters
II. Series Two D -- Miscellaneous Clipping Books
II. Series Two E -- Miscellaneous Related Materials (2 Boxes)

III. Series Three -- Financial Records (Boxes 1-3)

IV. Series Four -- Subject files (Boxes 1- 6) + Oversize folders in Map Case 2:14.

Series I - Managers' Report books, 1902-1923.
These volumes contain weekly reports on the bills playing at theatres on the Keith/Albee circuit, arranged chronologically, September 1902- April 1923. Volumes 1-24. Information in the following list is arranged: volume #; starting Month/Day/Year; ending M/D/Y; number of pages. The number of report sheets/fragments is roughly twice the number of pages as most reports have two or more sheets. The books contain a total of 6056 pages.

1      9/2/1902 - 9/3/1903  (340) [Restricted from reading room use but images are available digitally: see introduction above].
2      9/21/1903 - 3/14/1904  (224)
3      3/14/1904 - 11/21/1904  (240)
4      11/28/1904 - 8/28/1905  (237)
5      9/4/1905 -  4/23/1906  (228)
6      4/30/1906 – 2/4/1907  (253)
7      2/4/1907 - 9/23/1907  (252)
8      9/23/1907 - 3/12/1908  (252)
9      3/9/1908 – 12/14/1908   (254) [Fragile: restricted reading room use only]
10    12/28/1908 - 10/18/1909  (253)
11    10/25/1909 – 5/3/1910  (253)
12    6/13/1910 – 2/20/1911  (253)
13    2/27/1911 - 12/11/1911  (270)
14    12/11/1911 - 9/9/1912  (270)
15    9/9/1912 - 2/24/1913  (252)
16    3/3/1913 - 11/3/1913  (268)
17    10/27/1913 - 5/11/1914  (253)
18    5/11/1914 - 7/1/1915  (269)
19    7/4/1915 - 11/13/1916  (268)
20    11/13/1916 - 1/21/1918  (268)
21    1/21/1918 - 5/19/1919  (252)
22    6/30/1919 - 7/26/1920  (253)
23    9/13/1920 - 12/8/1921  (257)
24    12/5/1921 - 4/9/1923  (137)

Series II - Clipping books, 1894-1941.
These volumes contain an assortment of publicity materials regarding theater programing: advertising, newspaper articles, programs, etc. Most pieces include the date and newspaper name. Vaudeville, stock company, and motion pictures are represented, arranged chronologically by location and theatre. The number of pages per volume averages 250, although some books contain as many as 300 pages; there are 29,216 pages total.

A. Keith's - Albee Theatre, Providence. The longest series, 64 volumes, is for a theater in Providence, Rhode Island, which opened in 1894 as Keith's Opera House; renamed several times, the clipping book series for the RKO Albee Theatre, it last name, ends in 1941. Information under theater name is arranged: volume #; starting Month/Day/Year; ending M/D/Y.

Keith's Opera House
25  7/15/1894 - 5/7/1895
26  8/25/1895 - 5/18/1896
27  8/22/1896 - 5/1//1897

Keith’s New Theatre
28  5/12/1900 - 4/10/1901
29  10/2/1901 - 3/26/1902
30  4/10/1901 - 8/27/1901
31  4/15/1902 - 917/1902
32  9/12/1902 - 4/8/1903
33  1/9/1903 -  9/27/1903
34  8/30/1903 - 4/11/1904
35  1/25/1904 - 9/13/1904
36  8/21/1904 - 2/13/1905
37  1/27/1905 - 9/4/1905
38  6/7/1905 - 1/5/1906
39  2/17/1906 - 11/25/1906
40  11/25/1906 - 11/16/1907
41  3/3/1906 - 8/28/1907
42  11/16/1907 - 4/29/1908
43  2/25/1908 - 2/19/1909
44  2/20/1909 - 11/15/1909
45  11/16/1909 - 5/27/1910
46   5/28/1910 - 3/17/1911
47   3/17/1911 - 1/28/1912
48   1/28/1912 - 12/29/1912
49   12/29/1912 - 12/7/1913
50   12/8/1913 - 10/24/1914
51   10/25/1914 - 8/9/1915 [Fragile: restricted reading room use only]
52   8/8/1915 - 5/14/1916 [Fragile: restricted reading room use only]
53   5/15/1916 - 1/15/1917
54   9/7/1917 - 3/3/1918
55   4/1/1918 - 12/14/1918

E. F. Albee Theatre
77  7/13/1919 - 3/3/1320
78  3/6/1920 - 11/11/1920
79  11/13/1920 - 7/5/1921
80  7/5/1921 - 2/20/1922
81  2/20/1922 - 10/21/1922
82  10/2/1922 - 4/15/1923
83  4/25/1923 - 11/3/1923
84  11/4/1923 - 3/18/1924
85  3/9/1924 - 9/13/1924
86  9/15/1924 - 3/6/1925
87  4/7/1925 - 9/22/1925
88  9/23/1925 - 4/11/1926
89  4/11/1926 - 11/17/1926
90  11/18/1926 - 5/10/1927
91  5/11/1927 - 12/4/1927
92  12/5/1927 - 5/28/1928
93  5/29/1928 - 11/3/1928
94  11/3/1928 - 4/20/1929
95  4/20/1929 - 9/29/1929

RKO Albee Theatre
96    9/30/1929 - 2/6/1930
97    2/7/1930 - 6/17/1930
98    6/18/1930 - 12/12/1930
99    12/12/1930 - 7/17/1931
100  7/17/1931 -  3/11/1932
101  3/5/1932 - 12/29/1932
102  12/30/1932 - 1/28/1934
103  1/29/1934 - 3/27/1935
104  9/5/1935 - 3/12/1936
105  10/26/1937 - 10/5/1938
106  12/2/1939 - 6/12/1940
107  8/18/1940 - 10/19/1940
108  10/20/1940 - 5/21/1941
109  7/27/1941 - 2/26/1941

B. Other Providence, RI, theaters

Empire
110  8/27/1911 – 3/24/1914
111  10/22/1915 – 1/3/1918
112  2/6/1918 – 2/8/1920
113  2/9/1920 – 1/28/1923
114  1/28/1923 - 8/18/1924
115  8/20/1924 – 12/4/1925
116  12/5/1925 - 5/27/1927
117  8/11/1927 - 5/23/1929

Nickel
118  3/15/1906 – 3/27/1910
Nickel & Bijou
119  3/29/1910 – 1/4/1914
120  1/4/1914 - 5/23/1915
121  5/24/1915 – 12/12/1916

Victory Theatre (motion pictures)
56  8/24/1919 - 6/14/1921
57  6/18/1921 - 8/29/1922
58   9/2/1922 - 3/24/1923
59  3/25/1923 - 12/16/1923
60  12/16/1923 - 9/14/1924
61  9/15/1924 - 5/12/1925
62  5/13/1925 - 2/12/1926
63  2/13/1926 - 11/1/1926
64  11/2/1926 - 7/10/1927
65  7/10/1927 - 2/25/1928
66  2/25/1928 - 9/26/1928
67  9/26/1928 - 4/6/1929
68  4/6/1929 - 4/25/1930
69  10/18/1929 - 4/25/1930
70  12/10/1930 - 1/15/1932

C. Other RI (non-Providence) Theaters

Pawtucket

Keith's
122  10/4/1903 - 2/21/1905
123  2/25/1905 – 12/30/1910

Music Hall & Scenic
124  12/21/1910 - 4/15/1917
125  4/15/1917 – 4/27/1921
126  4/30/1921 – 5/31/1924

Keith's (Stock Co.)
127  8/18/1906 – 3/8/1909

Bijou (formerly Keith's)
128  3/1/1909 - 9/28/1912

Bijou & Star
129  9/25/1912 - 8/2/1918
130  8/3/1918 - 6/21/1923

Woonsocket

Bijou Theatre
71  8/16/1913 - 10/28/1914
72  9/9/1922 - 3/1/1924
73  3/2/1924 - 9/18/1925
74  9/22/1925 - 12/18/1926
75  12/24/1926 -5/25/1927
76  5/31/1927 - 8/11/1928

D.  Miscellaneous clipping books, 1908-1923. These scrapbooks contain clippings similar to the previous books but are not theatre specific.

Local plays. Newspaper clippings regarding plays presented at Providence theatres, 1910-1923. 3 volumes.
131  0/0/1910 - 0/0/1916
132  3/29/1916 - 9/13/1921
133 10/2/1921 - 4/24/1923

Publicity records for traveling companies assembled by Charles Lovenberg (long-time manager of Keith's Theatre)
134  The Tuscany Troubadours, 1908-1909
135   La Petite Revue, 1908-1910.
136   Operatic Festival, 1909-1911
137   College Life, 1910-1911

138   Cast lists and report sheets, 8/31/1903-10/10/1910
139   Director's reports, ephemera, 8/2/1909-10/30/1918 [Fragile: restricted reading room use only]

140   Caricatures of vaudeville performers, ca. 1908-1915

141-145   New acts, pages mainly from Variety and Dramatic Mirror columns, undated to approximately 1922. 5 volumes.

E. Miscellaneous Related Materials (Boxed)

Box 1

"Bookings, Keith's Theatre, Providence." 1900-1910: Books listing the acts, specialties, coded salary, number of shows and sometimes more information for vaudeville acts booked at Keith's Theatre, Providence, RI, arranged chronologically. 1900-1910.
----. 1900-1905
----. 1905-1906
----. 1906-1907
----. 1907-1908
----. 1908-1909
----. 1908-1909; content differs from preceding
----. 1909-1910
----. 1909-1910; content differs from preceding

"Cuts," ca. 1900-ca. 1925. Record of printing blocks of performer portraits and other illustrations apparently ordered and held in stock for repeated use; with notes on use.

Box 2

Bijou Theatre, New York, 1891, 1902. Two programs.
Boston Museum, 1894(?) program
Broadway Theatre, 1901-1902. Clippings
Criterion Theatre, London. Program.
Edward F. Albee Stock Co., 1902-1904. Clippings
Imperial Theatre, Providence, RI, ca. 1904. Clippings.
Keith's Theatre, Providence, 1902-1911. Two programs.
Playbills and programs, 1890-1923
Providence Opera House, 1890-1913. Clippings

Series III - Financial Records

Box 1

E. F. Albee Theatre, Providence. Treasurer's statement book, 1919-1920. Scrapbook 146
----. Cash book, 10/25/1919-5/14/1921. List weekly receipts and expenditures with totals.
----. Checkstubs, 1925-1926, advance sales account.
----. Checkstubs, 1926, account with Industrial Trust Company.
----. Cash book, 1926-1941 Daily income by time-of-day screening, 1935-1941.

RKO Albee. Salaries for staff of Albee and Victory Theatres, 1930.
----. Cash book, 1932. Records sale of thrift books.
----. Misc. cash book, 1933-1943. Notes Wrigley coupons, gift books sales, war bonds, etc.
----. Ticket sales by day of week and showing (e.g., one column for all Monday matinees, etc.), 1935-1937.

Columbus Theatre, Inc., cash book, 11/7/1926-12/18/1926.  Theater was closed 12/18/1926.

Providence Theatre Co., 8/20/1927-1/13/1929.

Box 2

Providence Theatre Co., cash book, 1/20/1929-12/13/1929.
----. Salary book, 3/12/1927-12/6/1929.
----. Tenant accounts, 10/1921-9/1926.

Providence Victory Corp., cash book, 3/12/1927-12-5-1929.

Victory Theatre, cash accounts, 1919.
----. Albee/Victory Theatres, employee salaries, 1929-1931.
----. Albee/Victory cash book, 1931-1937.

Box 3

Bijou Theatre, Woonsocket, RI, cash book, 6/5/1920-3/25/1922.
----. Salary sheets for weekly vaudeville bill, 1/10/1921-3/27/1922 (incomplete).

Star Theatre, Pawtucket, RI, cash book, 12/9/1911-10/18/1913.
----. Salary sheets for weekly vaudeville bill, 1/5/1920 [1921?], 1/10/1921-10/24/1921 (incomplete).

Information returns to government, calendar years 1925 and 1926. Payment of salaries, wages, rents, royalties for Keith*Albee Interests in Rhode Island; with associated materials for 1926.

Weekly receipts, disbursements, profit and loss. E. F. Albee, Victory, Empire, and Woonsocket Theatres, C. Lovenberg, 1923-1926.

Abda Corp., Pawtucket, RI, ledgers, 1920-1921. 3 volumes in phase box. Scrapbooks 148-150.
148 ----. 2/7/1920-10/16/1920.
149 ----.10/23/1920-7/2/1921.
150 ---. 7/9/1921-10/29/1921.

Series IV. Subject Files, 1935-1952, bulk 1940-1948, mainly correspondence and records of George E. French, Manager of the RKO Allbee Theatre in Providence, RI, in a period when only film programs were offered.

Testa, Richard Louis, Jr. Movie Exhibition Practices and Procedures During the Hollywood Studio Era in Providence, RI. (University of Maryland, PhD Dissertation, 1993), 372 pages. Testa made extensive use of the film-related materials in the collection.

Box 1

Accident reports -- patrons, 1940-1941
Ads -- "Redheads and Blonds." 1936. Clippngs for an all-girl revue
Ads -- RKO Albee, Providence, RI. 10/1937-5/1938 (2 folders)
Advertising companies
Advertising Accessories, Inc., 1941-1942
Advertising -- correspondence, 1941-1943
Advertising schedule, 1948-1949
Air raid instructions, precautions, Civil Defense, 1942-1943
Allen, Richard D., school census, 1941
Alperson, E. L., RKO Film Book Corp.,1942
American Red Cross, 1940-1942
Ancess, Lou, 1941
Auction sale bill, Albee Theatre, Providence, RI [1960s?]
Billing -- procedures and correspondence, 1941-1943
Bondy, Al O., 1942
Bookings, 1940-1941
Booking sheets, 1942-1943
Boyar, Ben A., 1941
Brink's armored truck, 1941-1942
Bryant College, 1941-1942
Budget -- real estate maintenance, 1941-1943
Building permits, 1934, 1949

Calvin, A. S., RKO Service Corp., 1940-1942
Cash book, 8/17/1939-1943. Notes attendance and ticket sales income.

Box 2

Chamber of Commerce, 1943
Christmas Seals, 1943
Claxton, Allen E., 1941
Coal and coal burning boiler, 1942
Congratulations, 1941
Contests, 1942; "Design a Dress for Peggy Ryan"
Cropper, R.C., 1941-1942
Cummins, David, 1941

Dolan, James, 1941
Domingo, Ben, 1941, 1948
Downing, John, 1941-1942
A. Dubois and Son, Inc., 1942-1943. Uniforms

Employees, 1941-1943
England, W. B., 1941-1943
Farnum, Royal B., 1941. Rhode Island School of Design
Fay, Edward, 1942-1943
Fellerman, Max, 1941-1943
Film Exchange Transfer Co., 12/1941-1/1945
----, 12/1940-January 1945 (2 folders)
Fogarty, John E., member of Congress, 1943
Foote, Cone & Belding Advertising Co., 1943
French, George Emerson, 1941-1943
Frentz, C. S., 1941-1942

Graham, W. A., 1941-1943
Greek War Effort Drive, 1941
Hastings, W. T., 1941

Henry, A. S., 1941-1943
Hinkes, H. W., 1941-1942
Horstman, Charles F., sound and projection, 1940-1943
Horton, H. N., 1941
Hub Film Exchange, Jack Meyers, 1942

Invitations, 1941

Jewish Community Center, 1941
Johnson, Howard F., Welfare Fund, 1943
Junior League, 1941

Kingsberg, Malcolm, 1943
Kirwain, A. J., 1941-1943
Knight, J. H., 1942
Knights of Columbus
Koerner, C. W., 1941-1942

Box 3

Lakeman, F. H., 1941-1942
Lamont, Jack, 1943
Lamp stocks used and on hand, 1940-1943. [Notebook recording use of projector lamps]
Leasing of the building, 1942
Legitimate stage productions, 1941
Levy, Charles, 1941
Levy, William, 1942
Liberman Productions, 1948. Advertising
Liberman Flag and Valance Co., 1941
"Life with Father," 1941
Livingston, Blanche F., 1943
Lloyds Film Storage Corp., 1941
Lord & Thomas Advertising, 1941
Lowenthal, Ruth, 1943

McGerigle, C. A., 1940-1942
McMahon, O. R., 1942
Maier, Milton L., 1941-1943
Maintenance and construction, 1941-1943
Managers Monthly Inspection Report, 1940-1941
Mandel, Harry, advertising and publicity, 1940-1948 (3 folders)
March of Time, 1942
Master Motion Picture Co., 1942
Meyers, Fred, 1941

Box 4

Mirisch, Harold J., bookings, 1942-1943
Miscellaneous materials including draft information, 1941-1943
Morgan, Donald, 1941-1942
Morton, Bill, 1942-1948
Motion Picture Herald, 1941
Motion picture lists, 1943-1944
Mowry, Russell L., mortgages, 1946-1947

Narragansett Electric Co., 1941-1943
Nash, Otto J., 1941
National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, 1943
National Screen Service Corp., 1941-1943
National Theatre Supply Co., 1941-1942. Including Parts Book and Price List for Simplex Projectors
Newspaper radio budget, 1946
Northeastern Film Co., 1941

O'Connor, J. J., 1941
Other RKO theatres and their people, 1941-1942
Otis Elevator Corp., 1934-1941
Outside use of the theatre, 1941-1942

Paramount Film Distributing Corp., 1942
Passes and pass lists, 1940-1943
Patrons -- comments, 1940-1942
Patrons -- injuries and complaints, 1941-1942
Patrons -- lost items, 1941-1942
People, miscellaneous, 1941-1943
Photographs. Two of lobby; two of Elke Sommers & Dick Van Dyke
Playwrights Co., 1941
Plunkett Chemical Co., 1943
Polish mailing list
Polon, Matthew, Booking, RKO Film Booking Corp., 1941
Price schedule, 1941
Program time schedule, 1941-1942
Providence Public Library, 1943
Providence theatre floor plans, Providence, Rhode Island
Purchasing, 1941

RCA Photophone inspection sheets, 1941-1943

Box 5

RKO Albee Daily Booth Report, 2/1941-1 1942 (4 folders)
RKO Albee Theatre, Providence, RI, seating plan, 1940, 1952; see also Oversize materials.
RKO Keith's Memorial Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts, 1944-1946 (2 folders)
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., mainly bookings by C. F. McGergle, 1942-1943
RKO Theatres Service Manuals:
     Barkers and Walkmen
     Cashiers
     Doormen and ticket takers
     Ushers
Religion, churches, 1941-1943
Roach, Alex E., 1943
Rhode Island Association for the Blind, 1941
Rhode Island State Council of Defense, Fuel Commission, 1941
Rhode Island Unemployment Compensation Board, 1941

Schwartz, Sol A., 1942-1943
Sears, Roebuck and Co., 1941
Social Security Board, 1939-1941
Spiwak, A., 1941-1942
State Board of Examiners of Electricians, 1944
State Council of Defense, E. Gardner Jacobs, 1942-1943
Stewart, John L., 1942
Supplies, 1940-1943

Telephone numbers. Looseleaf book
Thompson (J. Walter) Co., 1942
Thompson, Major L. E., 1941

Box 6

Transportation Advertising Co., 1942-1943
Turner, Terry, 1942
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., 1942

USO
United Artists Corp., 1942
United Jewish Appeal Campaign, 1943
U. S. Sanitary Specialties Corp., 1941
United War Fund of 1942
Universal Film Exchange, Inc., 1941-1943
Universal Pictures, 1941

Vitagraph, Inc., 1941

Walters, J. Henry, 1943
War Activities Committee. Motion Picture Industry. New England Theatres Division, 1942-1943
War bonds and stamps, 1942-1943
War efforts, 1943
War industry coordination, William E. Spragg, 1942-1943
War priority regulations and applications, 1942
War Production Board, 1943
Waxberg, E., 1941
What Cheer Printing Co., 1942
Winner, Howard, 1941

Yerasian, J. S., 1941

Signs

Warning regarding unpaid entry to theater

Price signs: Eight plastic signs with adult prices ranging from 44 cents to 85 cents and children's prices ranging from 25 cents to 35 cents

Oversize Materials (Map Case 2:12)

E.F. Albee Theatre Seating Diagram. Mounted on heavy board and worn in way that suggests this was copy used by patrons to locate their seats.

Empire Theatre, New Bedford, MA. Lobby poster for Those Wonderful Days of Burlesque, starring live and on stage Hope Diamond, the Gem of the Exotics. 11x17" 3 copies.

----. Drawing of orchestra floor of the theatre. 2 blueprint copies black on white paper. 14x17".

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Star Power 1932. Lobby card with pasted on photos of Ramon Novarro, Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Clark Gable, Helen Hayes, Buster Keaton, William Haines, and Norma Shearer.12x16".

State Theatre, Webster, MA. Lobby poster,Wednesday, May 27, [1936]: "on the stage Loretta Grey and her 1936 Revue." 14x22". 2 copies.

----. Tuesday, August 18, [1936]: "on the stage Marie Purl presents Say It With Ladies featuring Julian Stanley's Collegians."14x22".

----. 1936 lobby posters for week beginning Saturday, with week following and some coming attractions, printed black on colored backgrounds (blue, pink, yellow, orange); 18x28". Printed by Walsh Show Print, Southbridge, MA:

----. May 16: Moonlight Murder and The Singing Cowboy. With week following These Three, The Unguarded Hour, Big Brown Eyes, and Till We Meet Again.

----. May 23: The Leathernecks Have Landed and Times Square Playboy. With week following Till We Meet Again, Absolute Quiet, The Law in Her Hands, and Robin Hood of El Dorado.

----. September 19: The Cowboy and the Kid and Kelly the Second. With week following The Great Ziegfield, The Road to Glory and Swing Time.

----. September 26: The Arizona Raiders and Girl's Dormitory. With week following Swing Time, One Rainy Afternoon, Mary of Scotland, and Ramona.

-----.  1937 lobby posters as above:

----. March 20:  Women of Glamour and Trapped. With week following The Last of Mrs. Cheney, The Plough and the Stars with Career Woman, Outcast, and Green Light. 2 copies.

----. March 27: Conflict and Charlie Chan at the Opera. With week following Green Light, The Holy Terror with Once a Doctor, Swing High - Swing Low, and Maytime.5 copies.

----. April 3: Isle of Fury and Murder Goes to College. With week following Maytime, You Only Live Once, and A Family Affair.

----. April 10: Smart Blonde and Espionage. With week following The King and the Chorus Girl, The Crime Nobody Saw with Time Out for Romance, Love Is News with Mysterious Crossing, and Personal Property. 2 copies.

----. 1938. April 9: Overland Express and Bulldog Drummond's Peril. With week following Bluebeard's Eighth Wife, The Stand-In, Romance in the Dark, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. 3 copies.

[Theater not named]: Boys and Girls Cartoon Show... Bugs Bunny, Popeye, Woody Woodpecker, Terrytoons, Tom & Jerry, Little Rascals, Three Stooges. Undated poster printed blue on white paper. 28x41".