Extra-Illustration

Extra-illustration (or "Grangerizing") was a practice among book collectors from the late-18th to early-20th centuries. Collectors disbound printed works, inserted additional material related to the work's content, and then rebound the whole — thus providing "extra" illustration to the original work. Added material of interest to theater historians can include portrait prints, manuscripts, and playbills.

For example, in 1867 T.H. Morrell published a 4-volume edition of Joseph Ireland's Records of the New York Stage from 1750 to 1860. Theater manager Augustin Daly had his copy disassembled and rebound with a wealth of material he had collected over the years, extending it to 33 volumes. Opposite page 525 of Ireland's text, which mentions a production of Open House, Daly tipped in a playbill from that performance:

Example of Extra-Illustration from Augustin Daly's copy of Ireland's Records of the New York Stage described above.

Searching for and Requesting Inserted Material

A physical card catalog indexes the material bound into most extra-illustrated works owned by the Harvard Theatre Collection. These cards have been scanned, and can be accessed through the links below.

Most materials are indexed by a person's name or (in the case of material linked to a theater, such as a playbill) a geographic location and theater name. There is a very limited amount of indexing by title or subject.

Some cards cite the call number for the work the item is bound into, but the majority of cards cite an abbreviation rather than a call number. A list of the abbreviations, along with their call numbers and the number of volumes each work comprises can be found below. Note that occasionally the same abbreviation might refer to multiple extra-illustrated works. In these cases, you'll need to work through each copy to determine which one contains the inserted item you're looking for.

For example, the following card refers to the playbill discussed in the example above, and is filed under New York City Theatres, Park Theatre, 1848:

Catalog card example.

Using the list below we can see that "Ireland" refers to call number TS 939.5.3. The card tells us that the playbill is in volume 2, part 12, and is opposite folio 105.

You can request a work through its HOLLIS catalog record, which is linked in the abbreviation list below, using your Special Request Account.

Some of the cards in the catalog refer to items in personal papers or loose collections of ephemera rather than materials used in extra-illustration. Generally, you will not find a call number on these miscellaneous cards. You can search for these collections like you would other archival material. However, if you are having any trouble deciphering a card, don't hesitate to contact Houghton Library staff for help.

Scanned Card Catalog

Please note that these are large files and may take some time to download.

Title Abbreviations Found on Cards

Abbreviation Call number Number of volumes Notes
A&A TS 931.2 74 Volumes Include the actor's name along with the volume number.
Angelo, Henry TS 931.8 11  
Artaxerxes TS 937.5.10 11  
Astley's TS 931.10 4  
Bartholomew fair TS 932.3 6  
Booth, Edwin TS 932.9.2 1  
Booth, Edwin TS 939.5.2.5 2  
Booth memorials TS 932.8 1  
Booth, Elder and Younger TS 932.8.6 1  
Brayley TS 942.10 2  
Brayley TS 942.11 2  
Brougham, John TS 932.12 1  
Circus in New York TS 944.22 1  
Claxton, Kate TS 933.3 1  
Colman, George TS 933.4 1  
Cooke, George Frederick TS 933.6 5  
Copeland, Booth TS 939.5.2.5 2  
Cox v. Kean TS 936.4 1  
Cushman, Charlotte TS 933.9 2  
Daly, Augustin TS 934.2.3 1  
Daly's theatres TS 934.2 2  
Deburau TS 934.4 1  
Dickens TS 933.15 1  
Doran TS 934.5 5  
Dunlap's Cooke TS 933.6 5  
Fechter, Charles Albert TS 936.3 1  
Foote v. Hayne TS 936.4 1  
Foote, Maria TS 936.4 1  
Garrick, letters TS 937.3.3 6  
Garrick, letters TS 937.3.4 2  
Garrick, life TS 937.3.2 2  
Garrick, David, life of TS 937.3 10  
Garrick, memoirs of the life of TS 937.3.2 2  
Garrick, private correspondence TS 937.3.3 6  
Garrick, private correspondence TS 937.3.4 2  
Genest, John TS 937.4 24  
Genest ana TS 937.5 1  
Genest scrapbook TS 937.5.5 1  
Grimaldi, Joseph TS 937.8 2  
Gwyn, Nell TS 937.10 2  
Hagan TS 939.5.4 16  
Hayne, Joseph TS 936.4 1  
Ireland TS 939.5.3 33  
Ireland TS 939.5 3  
Jeffersons TS 940.4.2 1  
Jeffersons TS 940.4 3  
Mrs. Jordan TS 940.6 5  
Juvenile drama TS 946.5.1 4  
Juvenile prints TS 946.5.5 1  
Kean, Edmund TS 941.3 3  
Kemble TS 941.5 8  
Knowles, James Sheridan TS 941.9 3  
Knowles, the hunchback TS 941.9.4 1  
Knowles, the hunchback TS 941.9.4.2 1  
Legrand, Paul TS 942.5 1  
McCullough, John TS 943.3 1  
Macklin, Charles TS 943.2 4  
Macready TS 943.6 7  
Pollock's Macready TS 943.5 2  
Macready, William C. TS 943.5.2 2  
Macready memorials TS 943.7 2  
Matthewiana TS 943.9 1  
Matthews, Charles, catalogue TS 943.9.5 1  
Memoirs, Munden TS 943.10.2 4  
Mrs. Duff TS 934.9 5  
Munden, Joseph Shepherd TS 943.10 1  
Munden, Joseph Shepherd TS 943.10.2 4  
Negro minstrelsy TS 944.24 2  
New York Theatres TS 944.30 1  
Opera    

Uncataloged. Contact Houghton Public Services for access.

Opera in New York TS 944.20 1 volume and 1 box  
Patti TS 946.2 1  
Payne, John Howard TS 946.3.2 2  
Payne, Life and writing TS 946.3 1  
Penny plain TS 946.5 10  
Players and playgoers TS 950.8 1  
Players and playgoers TS 950.8.2 1  
Queens of Song TS 947.6 1  
Richardson TS 948.4 2  
Schwalbe A&A TS 931.2 5  
Smith, Solomon TS 193.9 1  
Terry, Ellen TS 950.5 1

Missing as of 2004.

Theatrical biography TS 950.6 1  
Union Square Theatre, New York TS 944.23 1  
Vauxhall gardens TS 952.2 9  
Vestris memoirs TS 952.5 2  
Vestris playbills TS 952.6 2  
Wallack, James William TS 953.4 1  
Wallack, Lester TS 953.5 2  
Warren, William TS 933.55 1  
Wemyss TS 953.6 4  
Winston catalogue TS 953.7 1  
Woffington TS 953.8 3  
Woffington TS 953.10 2