Toronto Reference Library Blog

The Toronto Reference Library has rich and varied archival collections of theatre and performing arts manuscripts, photographs and ephemera with an emphasis on Canadian content. These can be found in the Marilyn and Charles Baillie Special Collections Centre.  

We will be writing six blog posts listing all the collections alphabetically by name and providing a PDF link (that will open in a new window) to a detailed inventory of each fond describing the contents.

See here for the blog post covering letters D-G.

See here for the blog post covering letters H-L.

See here for the blog post covering letters M-N.

See here for the blog post covering letters 0-S.

See here for the blog post covering letters T-Z.

We welcome questions about the collection to trlspc@torontopubliclibrary.ca

• Margaret Anglin Collection (1903–1949) Photographs, programs and several items of correspondence relating to the career of Canadian actress Margaret Anglin (1876-1958).  There is additional clipping material in the vertical files and on microfiche, both biographical and reviews of her performances. 4 envelopes; 2 posters and large photo. Download Anglin, Margaret Collection PDF

• Julia Arthur Collection  (1899–1921) Photographs and programs relating to the career of Canadian actress Julia Arthur (1869-1950), who acted with Henry Irving’s company and toured in the United States. 27 items. Download Arthur, Julia Collection PDF

• Ivor E. (Jack) Ayre Collection (1906-1975) Correspondence, press clippings, programs, diplomas, citations and photographs relating to Jack Ayre (1895? – 1977), one of the original Dumbells.  The collection contains non-Dumbells material only. Download Ayre, Ivor E. (Jack) Collection. See also the Download Dumbells Collection.

• Janet Baldwin Collection (1912-1990)  Material relating to the life and career of Canadian dancer and teacher Janet Baldwin, wife of dancer, teacher and choreographer Boris Volkoff, and a member of the Baldwin family of Toronto. Download Baldwin, Janet Collection PDF

• Bass Collection (1870-1903) Copies of photographs from a photograph album owned by Mr. and Mrs. Bass of London, Ontario, dating from 1870 to 1903.  Primarily of theatrical personalities, some with autographs, approximately twenty percent taken by Canadian photographers.  Includes notes by the late Mary Brown of the University of Western  Ontario on the persons portrayed and on the photographers.  Photographs are arranged in order of their positions in the album. 11 envelopes. Download Bass Collection PDF

• Beth Tikvah Drama Guild 1 box and 1 oversize folder. Download Beth Tikvah Drama Guild Archive PDF

• Boston Theatres Collection (1868-1919) A selection of late 19th and early 20th century theatre programs from Boston theatres, together with a scrapbook of programs from 1870-1881. 1 scrapbook; 8 files of loose programs;  .08 linear metres.  Download Boston Theatres Collection PDF

• Betty Boylen Collection (1927-1943) 8 envelopes in ms. box. Download Boylen, Betty Collection PDF

• Anthony Buckley Collection  Out-outsize photographs by British photographer Anthony Buckley of British and Canadian theatre entertainers taken circa 1930’s (?). See also the Crest Theatre Collection, Box 29 for outsize production photographs of The Glass Cage taken in London, England, 1957. 1 box; 34 photographs. Download Buckley, Anthony Collection PDF

• R.B. Butland Collection (1858-1871) Scrapbook compiled by Toronto music store owner and amateur thespian R.B. Butland (1830-1886) together with notes on Butland’s background and career, and genealogical charts prepared by the donor, A.M. Kennedy of Warkworth, Ontario. The collection includes several photographs copied from originals in the possession of Mr. Kennedy. 1 box; 3 envelopes and scrapbook; .075 linear metres.  Download Butland, R.B. Collection PDF
• Bettina Byers Collection (1922-1963; 1975-1984) Scrapbook, programs, press clippings, photographs and original stage designs relating to the career of Bettina Byers (1909-    ), Toronto dance teacher and founder of the Academy of Ballet.  Also included are programs, clippings and photographs reflecting her musical interests and earlier performances as a pianist, and the singing career of her sister, Rhoda Byers . 2 boxes: 19 envelopes plus scrapbook; .13 metres Download Byers, Bettina Collection PDF and also the Bettina Byers Collection, Part 2 1 box; 10 envelopes; .08 linear meters. Download Byers, Bettina Collection, Part 2 PDF
• Cameron Matthews English Players Collection Scrapbook of press clippings compiled by Harriett Ball, press rep for the Cameron Matthews English Players, for their 1932 fall season at the Victoria Theatre, Toronto. 1 scrapbook. Download Cameron Matthews English Players PDF
• Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo (1967)  Press clippings on the Centennial Year Tattoo, taken from Canadian newspapers and arranged in a scrapbook, together with program and souvenir book. Library also has costume design by Robert Rosewarne, and production photographs filed under Montreal Worlds Fair. 1 v. in 1 package, .45 linear metres. Download Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo PDF
• Canadian Drama League Collection (1919-1958) Material relating to the Canadian Drama League, its forerunners the St. Barnabas and Chester Players, and the theatrical activity of Brownlow, Raymond and Patricia Card.  Include correspondence, programs, photographs, newspaper clippings and scrapbook pages, published and unpublished typescripts of plays etc. by Raymond Card. 1 box, 33 envelopes; .125 linear metres + 11 posters. Download Canadian Drama League Collection PDF
• Canadian Players Collection (1954–1966) 15 Scrapbooks; 1.6 linear metres (2 boxes + 3 oversize scrapbooks). Download Canadian Players Collection PDF
• Canadian Repertory Theatre Collection 1 ms. box, 1 microfiche. Download Canadian Repertory Theatre Collection PDF
• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBC Radio drama A Touch of Greasepaint, (Apr. 24, 1954). Download Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBC Radio Drama A Touch of Greasepaint scripts PDF
• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBC Television Scripts Collection. Download Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBC TV Scripts PDF

• Chilcott-Davis Collection 10 items in one envelope. Download Chilcott-Davis Collection PDF

• Nathan Cohen Papers (Microfilm) 8 reels, positive, 35 mm. (Special Collections, FILM C6785). Download Cohen, Nathan Papers (Microfilm) PDF

• Edward Gordon Craig Collection (Craig-Terry-Hildesheim Home) (1868-1935) Photographs (1903-1935), sketch (1868) and correspondence (1901-1904) to Paul Hildesheim (Home) from Edward Gordon Craig, Ellen Terry and Ludwig von Hofmann. 2 boxes; 58 items; .13 metres.  (plus 3 interfiled items). Download Craig, Edward Gordon Collection PDF

• CRBC Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission/CBC Collection (1933-1945) Photographs, notes and miscellaneous items relating to the early days of the CBC and its predecessor CRBC, the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission.  The notes are those of the donor, Harriet Ball Edey, press representative for CRBC from 1933 to 1936, and the CBC from 1936-1949. 2 envelopes. Download CRBC and CBC collection PDF

• Crest Theatre Collection (1953-1966) One of Toronto's and Canada's first homegrown commerical theatre companies. Founded in the early 1950s and located in a renovated cinema on Mount Pleasant Road in Toronto. Active for 13 seasons with a sophisticated repertoire including many original Canadian plays. 33 boxes and 13 scrapbooks. Download Crest Theatre Collection PDF

• Grace Cunard Collection (1914-1967) A collection of items relating to the careers of Grace Cunard (born Harriet Mildred Jeffries) (1894-1967) and Francis Ford (1882-1953) popular silent film actors and directors. Ford was an older brother of director John Ford.  This collection consists of photographs, letters, and a scrapbook compiled by fan Miss Cara Hartwell of Toronto. 1 box; 9 envelopes; .07 linear metres. Download Cunard, Grace Collection PDF

• Walter Curtin Collection (1911-2007) Theatrical photographs by Walter Curtin , copied from negatives in the Walter Curtin Collection at the Public Archives of Canada. 4 envelopes; .07 linear metres. Download Curtin, Walter Collection PDF

• Autograph Collection, Mrs. J. Cuyler British Music Hall (1910-1924) Autograph book belonging to the father of Mrs. Cuyler, an orchestra leader with various theatres, etc. including Winter Garden Theatre (London), Belfast Opera House and Shepherd's Hotel (Cairo).  Her mother collected the autographs. Download Cuyler Autograph Book PDF

Ellen Terry self portrait ink with autograph from the Edward Gordon Craig Collection.

The Toronto Reference Library has rich and varied archival collections of theatre and performing arts manuscripts, photographs and ephemera with an emphasis on Canadian content. These can be found in the Marilyn and Charles Baillie Special Collections Centre.  

We will be writing six blog posts listing all the collections alphabetically by name and providing a PDF link (that will open in a new window) to a detailed inventory of each fond describing the contents.

See here for the blog post covering letters D-G.

See here for the blog post covering letters H-L.

See here for the blog post covering letters M-N.

See here for the blog post covering letters 0-S.

See here for the blog post covering letters T-Z.

We welcome questions about the collection to trlspc@torontopubliclibrary.ca

• Margaret Anglin Collection (1903–1949) Photographs, programs and several items of correspondence relating to the career of Canadian actress Margaret Anglin (1876-1958).  There is additional clipping material in the vertical files and on microfiche, both biographical and reviews of her performances. 4 envelopes; 2 posters and large photo. Download Anglin, Margaret Collection PDF

• Julia Arthur Collection  (1899–1921) Photographs and programs relating to the career of Canadian actress Julia Arthur (1869-1950), who acted with Henry Irving’s company and toured in the United States. 27 items. Download Arthur, Julia Collection PDF

• Ivor E. (Jack) Ayre Collection (1906-1975) Correspondence, press clippings, programs, diplomas, citations and photographs relating to Jack Ayre (1895? – 1977), one of the original Dumbells.  The collection contains non-Dumbells material only. Download Ayre, Ivor E. (Jack) Collection. See also the Download Dumbells Collection.

• Janet Baldwin Collection (1912-1990)  Material relating to the life and career of Canadian dancer and teacher Janet Baldwin, wife of dancer, teacher and choreographer Boris Volkoff, and a member of the Baldwin family of Toronto. Download Baldwin, Janet Collection PDF

• Bass Collection (1870-1903) Copies of photographs from a photograph album owned by Mr. and Mrs. Bass of London, Ontario, dating from 1870 to 1903.  Primarily of theatrical personalities, some with autographs, approximately twenty percent taken by Canadian photographers.  Includes notes by the late Mary Brown of the University of Western  Ontario on the persons portrayed and on the photographers.  Photographs are arranged in order of their positions in the album. 11 envelopes. Download Bass Collection PDF

• Beth Tikvah Drama Guild 1 box and 1 oversize folder. Download Beth Tikvah Drama Guild Archive PDF

• Boston Theatres Collection (1868-1919) A selection of late 19th and early 20th century theatre programs from Boston theatres, together with a scrapbook of programs from 1870-1881. 1 scrapbook; 8 files of loose programs;  .08 linear metres.  Download Boston Theatres Collection PDF

• Betty Boylen Collection (1927-1943) 8 envelopes in ms. box. Download Boylen, Betty Collection PDF

• Anthony Buckley Collection  Out-outsize photographs by British photographer Anthony Buckley of British and Canadian theatre entertainers taken circa 1930’s (?). See also the Crest Theatre Collection, Box 29 for outsize production photographs of The Glass Cage taken in London, England, 1957. 1 box; 34 photographs. Download Buckley, Anthony Collection PDF

• R.B. Butland Collection (1858-1871) Scrapbook compiled by Toronto music store owner and amateur thespian R.B. Butland (1830-1886) together with notes on Butland’s background and career, and genealogical charts prepared by the donor, A.M. Kennedy of Warkworth, Ontario. The collection includes several photographs copied from originals in the possession of Mr. Kennedy. 1 box; 3 envelopes and scrapbook; .075 linear metres.  Download Butland, R.B. Collection PDF
• Bettina Byers Collection (1922-1963; 1975-1984) Scrapbook, programs, press clippings, photographs and original stage designs relating to the career of Bettina Byers (1909-    ), Toronto dance teacher and founder of the Academy of Ballet.  Also included are programs, clippings and photographs reflecting her musical interests and earlier performances as a pianist, and the singing career of her sister, Rhoda Byers . 2 boxes: 19 envelopes plus scrapbook; .13 metres Download Byers, Bettina Collection PDF and also the Bettina Byers Collection, Part 2 1 box; 10 envelopes; .08 linear meters. Download Byers, Bettina Collection, Part 2 PDF
• Cameron Matthews English Players Collection Scrapbook of press clippings compiled by Harriett Ball, press rep for the Cameron Matthews English Players, for their 1932 fall season at the Victoria Theatre, Toronto. 1 scrapbook. Download Cameron Matthews English Players PDF
• Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo (1967)  Press clippings on the Centennial Year Tattoo, taken from Canadian newspapers and arranged in a scrapbook, together with program and souvenir book. Library also has costume design by Robert Rosewarne, and production photographs filed under Montreal Worlds Fair. 1 v. in 1 package, .45 linear metres. Download Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo PDF
• Canadian Drama League Collection (1919-1958) Material relating to the Canadian Drama League, its forerunners the St. Barnabas and Chester Players, and the theatrical activity of Brownlow, Raymond and Patricia Card.  Include correspondence, programs, photographs, newspaper clippings and scrapbook pages, published and unpublished typescripts of plays etc. by Raymond Card. 1 box, 33 envelopes; .125 linear metres + 11 posters. Download Canadian Drama League Collection PDF
• Canadian Players Collection (1954–1966) 15 Scrapbooks; 1.6 linear metres (2 boxes + 3 oversize scrapbooks). Download Canadian Players Collection PDF
• Canadian Repertory Theatre Collection 1 ms. box, 1 microfiche. Download Canadian Repertory Theatre Collection PDF
• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBC Radio drama A Touch of Greasepaint, (Apr. 24, 1954). Download Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBC Radio Drama A Touch of Greasepaint scripts PDF
• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBC Television Scripts Collection. Download Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBC TV Scripts PDF

• Chilcott-Davis Collection 10 items in one envelope. Download Chilcott-Davis Collection PDF

• Nathan Cohen Papers (Microfilm) 8 reels, positive, 35 mm. (Special Collections, FILM C6785). Download Cohen, Nathan Papers (Microfilm) PDF

• Edward Gordon Craig Collection (Craig-Terry-Hildesheim Home) (1868-1935) Photographs (1903-1935), sketch (1868) and correspondence (1901-1904) to Paul Hildesheim (Home) from Edward Gordon Craig, Ellen Terry and Ludwig von Hofmann. 2 boxes; 58 items; .13 metres.  (plus 3 interfiled items). Download Craig, Edward Gordon Collection PDF

• CRBC Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission/CBC Collection (1933-1945) Photographs, notes and miscellaneous items relating to the early days of the CBC and its predecessor CRBC, the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission.  The notes are those of the donor, Harriet Ball Edey, press representative for CRBC from 1933 to 1936, and the CBC from 1936-1949. 2 envelopes. Download CRBC and CBC collection PDF

• Crest Theatre Collection (1953-1966) One of Toronto's and Canada's first homegrown commerical theatre companies. Founded in the early 1950s and located in a renovated cinema on Mount Pleasant Road in Toronto. Active for 13 seasons with a sophisticated repertoire including many original Canadian plays. 33 boxes and 13 scrapbooks. Download Crest Theatre Collection PDF

• Grace Cunard Collection (1914-1967) A collection of items relating to the careers of Grace Cunard (born Harriet Mildred Jeffries) (1894-1967) and Francis Ford (1882-1953) popular silent film actors and directors. Ford was an older brother of director John Ford.  This collection consists of photographs, letters, and a scrapbook compiled by fan Miss Cara Hartwell of Toronto. 1 box; 9 envelopes; .07 linear metres. Download Cunard, Grace Collection PDF

• Walter Curtin Collection (1911-2007) Theatrical photographs by Walter Curtin , copied from negatives in the Walter Curtin Collection at the Public Archives of Canada. 4 envelopes; .07 linear metres. Download Curtin, Walter Collection PDF

• Autograph Collection, Mrs. J. Cuyler British Music Hall (1910-1924) Autograph book belonging to the father of Mrs. Cuyler, an orchestra leader with various theatres, etc. including Winter Garden Theatre (London), Belfast Opera House and Shepherd's Hotel (Cairo).  Her mother collected the autographs. Download Cuyler Autograph Book PDF

Ellen Terry self portrait ink with autograph from the Edward Gordon Craig Collection.