The Nineteenth Century Stage

The Nineteenth Century Stage is a digitized primary source collection documenting popular theatrical entertainment throughout the long 19th century in the U.S., U.K., and Australia. It includes a wide variety of material types, including prompt books, company records, photographs, playbills, and programs. This collection allows for the study of industry, performance, and celebrity throughout the 19th century, including the lives and careers of well-known actors and actresses and the production, performance, and reception of popular plays of the time.

The materials in this collection were sourced from libraries and archives in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, including: 

• Christ Church, Oxford
• Emerson College Iwasaki Library
• The Folger Shakespeare Library
• John Rylands Research Institute and Library, University of Manchester
• Royal Shakespeare Company
• Senate House Library, University of London
• The University of Adelaide Library
• UC Davis Library

Please note that views and terminology in these documents may now be considered outdated, biased, or offensive.