The Collection of Charles Elson

Recent Accession

YIVO recently acquired the collection of Charles Elson (Record Group #2375). Elson was a set and costume designer who designed various Broadway and London plays and musicals, as well as opera performances at the Metropolitan Opera. He also was a college professor, teaching theater at several universities, including Yale University, the University of Oklahoma, and the City University of New York. The collection contains many photographs, richly detailed costume and set drawings, framed paintings of sets, and assorted personal material, including a 1942 University of Oklahoma commencement program and an LP of background music for the play Family Portrait. The Elson collection will be of enormous value to researchers working on theater history, especially in New York City and throughout the Midwest.

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