Michael Travis Costume Design Collection
Lavdas, George
The collection contains approximately 2,500 costume designs in colored pencil and pastels, on tissue paper mounted on mat boards. The designs were created for entertainers such as Liberace, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Dionne Warwick, the Fifth Dimension, Nancy Sinatra, and others. Some were created for the television show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.
Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 11: Entertainment
Sam DeVincent loved music and art and began collecting sheet music with lithographs at an early age. Series 11: Entertainment contains more than 12,500 pieces of sheet music and other materials documenting the development of and popular attitudes towards entertainers and entertainment in the United States. An overview to the entire DeVincent collection is available here: Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music.
Henry P. Whitehead collection
bulk 1940-1986
The papers of historian Henry P. Whitehead measure 156.91 linear feet and date from 1843 to 2010 (bulk 1945-1986). The collection documents Whitehead's careers, as well as his family and personal life. The collection also includes the personal papers of Tomlinson D. Todd, Elizabeth B. Delaney and the Howard Theatre Foundation. The combined collection is comprised of black theatrical memorabilia; materials relating to civil rights activities in the District of Columbia; and the African American experience in general. Included are playbills, sheet music, admission tickets, newspapers, magazines, books, photographs, clippings, flyers, brochures, pamphlets, sound recordings, research files, and other material.
George Sidney Collection
bulk 1940-1967
96 Cubic feet (288 boxes, 6 oversize folders)
George Sidney (1916-2002) was a film director during the Golden Age of Hollywood filmmaking (1927-1954). He spent the longest period of his career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) until the 1950s. He later produced and directed films for Columbia Pictures and Paramount Pictures. He was a president of the Directors Guild of America and an avid photographer. He was the recipient of three awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscar). The collection consists of photographs, photographic negatives, personal and business materials, and film. The collection also contains material created by George Sidney's uncle, George Sidney, vaudevillian and motion picture actor.
