Donald J. Stubblebine Collection of Theater and Motion Picture Music and Ephemera
name: label: Donor
content: Hauber, Joseph R.
label: Collector
content: Stubblebine, Donald J., 1925-2010
topic: label: Topic
content: Silent films
label: Topic
content: Motion pictures
label: Topic
content: Vaudeville
label: Topic
content: Music -- United States
label: Topic
content: Motion pictures, British
label: Topic
content: Musical revue, comedy, etc
label: Topic
content: Music -- Performance
label: Topic
content: Musicals
label: Topic
content: Musical theater
label: Topic
content: Music -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Music -- 19th century
label: Topic
content: Revues -- 1900-1910
label: Topic
content: Theater
label: Topic
content: Silent films -- Musical accompaniment
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smitsonian Institution by Joseph Regis Hauber in memory of Donald J. Stubblebine, in 2010.
creator: label: Donor
content: Hauber, Joseph R.
label: Collector
content: Stubblebine, Donald J., 1925-2010
setName: label: See more items in
content: Donald J. Stubblebine Collection of Theater and Motion Picture Music and Ephemera
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Donald J. Stubblebine was born on February 4, 1925 in Reading, Pennsylvania, to Edgar W. and Emma Stubblebine.  He had an older brother Edgar W. Stubblebine, Jr. His father was a sheet metal worker employed by the railroad in Reading.  Stubblebine was first exposed to musicals through motion pictures.  His mother attended "dish night" with her son twice a week. During the Great Depression, in order to draw an audience, theaters would give out dishes with each admission.  He credited this with beginning his love of musicals.  By the 1940 United States Census his mother is listed as a widow.  Stubblebine attended the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania.  After graduation he was employed for forty years as controller by the Chilton Publishing Company.  He retired in 1994.

As a lifelong film and theater fan, Stubblebine began collecting sheet music, programs, and ephemera from stage and film musicals in the early 1970s. As his collection grew, so did his expertise in the history of musical theatre and film.  He eventually authored four reference books dealing with United States and British stage and film musicals as well as films from Canada and Australia.  He became an often sought-after expert in stage and film music.  His obsession with collecting eventually filled his Philadelphia apartment with one of the largest collections of material centered on music in the United States.  He collected not only the sheet music and scores from musicals but often collected copies of reviews, programs, photographs, and costume sketches.

Stubblebine died on May 1, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 285 Cubic feet (600 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1866-2009, undated
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1211
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Posters
label: Type
content: Playbills
label: Type
content: Sheet music
label: Type
content: Design drawings
label: Type
content: Theater programs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is divided into six series. 

Series 1, Stage Musicals and Vaudeville, 1866-2007, undated

Subseries 1.1, United States Stage Musicals, 1866-2007, undated

Subseries 1.2, Ziegfeld Productions, 1911-1958, undated

Subseries 1.3, British Stage Musicals, 1890-1943, undated

Subseries 1.4, Assorted Countries Stage Musicals, 1896-1935, undated

Series 2, Motion Pictures, 1912-2007, undated

Subseries 2.1, United States Motion Pictures, 1919-2007, undated

Subseries 2.2, British Motion Pictures, 1912-1988, undated

Subseries 2.3, Foreign Motion Pictures, Assorted Countries, 1921-1985, undated

Subseries 2.4, Silent Motion Picture Cue Sheets, 1915-1930, undated

Series 3, Television, 1933-2003, undated

Series 4, Big Bands and Radio, 1925-1998,undated

Subseries 4.1, Big Bands, 1929-1998, undated

Subseries 4.2, Radio, 1925-1948, undated

Series 5, Personalities, 1875-2009, undated

Series 6, Ephemera and Single Sheet Music, 1908-2005, undated
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Andrea Bishop, Michele Holewa, Catarina Hurtado, Eric Ross, Sarah Rung, Isaac Simon, Jack Barral, Caroline Kleiner, Erin Wiebe, and Abigail Phelps, interns, and Nelse Greenway, volunteer, 2018-2019, supervised by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., archives specialist and Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Posters -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Playbills
label: Genre/Form
content: Sheet music
label: Genre/Form
content: Design drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Theater programs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: One of the most comprehensive collections of material relating to musical stage and film productions, the collection consists of an assortment of material including sheet music written specifically for or included in stage and screen musicals, television programs, Big Band performances, and radio. Some productions may have been produced under more than one title, especially if the production was presented internationally.

The collection is arranged alphabetically by title of production or personality using proper name.  Folders for each entry may include sheet music, ephemeral items related to that specific production or personality such as theater programs, reviews, and posters.  There are a number of costume design drawings.  Folders will rarely include full printed scores.  Published scores were separated from this collection before donation.