Oliver P. Merriman scrapbook collection, 1825-1942, 1870 - 1942

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Oliver P. Merriman Scrapbook Collection
Creator
Merriman, Oliver P.
Collection Number
CTC.1964.01
Extent
14 Linear Feet (31 document boxes)
Date
1825-1942
Date
1870-1942
Abstract
Oliver P. Merriman was an avid follower of Pittsburgh theatre. He built a large scrapbook collection that documents the history of the performing arts in Pittsburgh from the 1870s through the 1930s. It is organized into several broad categories and contains thousands of theatre programs, clippings, photographs, and other ephemera.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
William Daw.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman)
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Scope and Content Notes

The Merriman Scrapbook Collection consists of 140 volumes of theatre programs, newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, and other ephemera documenting Pittsburgh and New York performing arts history. For the most part, the materials date from before the 1870s through the early 1940s. About ninety percent of the contents of the collection relate to Pittsburgh theatre history and the remainder relating to New York City Broadway productions. Mr. Merriman had a very specific arrangement for the majority of the collection. Other than the scrapbooks being disbound and foldered, the collection has remained in that order. The materials are mounted in a series of nearly identical scrapbooks. With few exceptions, they measure 15 by 10 inches. The scrapbook's paper is still in good condition. The clippings from the 1930s and 1940s are brittle and have not held up as well as the earlier materials. The collection is arranged into seven series. The bulk of the collection is contained in the first two series: "Lettered" and "Numbered" scrapbooks. A selection of the original covers of the scrapbooks were kept and are stored in the last box of the collection.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Curtis Collection staff in the Spring of 1974.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in 1964.

Copyright

The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

Biography

Oliver P. Merriman, 1866-1942, was a theater enthusiast who solicited materials and compiled a comprehensive and well organized collection of over 160 scrapbooks. The vast majority of these scrapbooks documented nearly a century of the performing arts in Pittsburgh. Mr. Merriman enjoyed a long career in the real estate department of Mellon Bank. He and his wife, the former Mary Louise Vogel, lived in the East End of the city and attended many of the productions documented in these scrapbooks. Merriman befriended theatre managers to help him collect programs for the performances that he could not attend and was also able to obtain programs from productions dating back to before the Civil War. "I collected them, but how and when and where I started I do not know. You know how you collect anything. You first throw it into a box. Bye and bye the box gets full and you realize that you are going to have to arrange the contents in some order." (Interview with Marie M'Swigan, Pittsburgh Press, January 12, 1930)

For about 20 years the Merriman scrapbooks were stored at the Allegheny Branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, until they were gifted to Dr. Ford E. Curtis in 1964.

Previous Citation

Oliver P. Merriman Scrapbook Collection, 1825-1942, CTC.1964.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

Oliver P. Merriman Scrapbook Collection, 1825-1942, CTC.1964.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Arrangement

The collection is organized into seven series.

Series I. Lettered Scrapbooks, 1870-1940

Series II. Numbered Scrapbooks, 1825-1942

Series III. Dated Scrapbooks, 1859-1942

Series IV. Coded Scrapbooks, 1866-1941

Series V. Scrapbook Stg. Stars - Stage and Its Stars, Past and Present, 1887

Series VI. Obituary Scrapbooks - "Final Curtain", 1894-1941

Series VII. Addenda Items List, 1880-1942

Subjects

    Personal Names

    • Merriman, Oliver P.

    Genres

    • Theater programs

    Other Subjects

    • Performing arts -- New York (State) -- New York
    • Theater -- New York (State) -- New York
    • Performing arts -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Theater -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Theater programs -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh

Container List