- unitid
-
{"value"=>"24547", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"*T-Vim 2017-047", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b21587396", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1932-2004", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1932/2004"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"The Springer Opera House collection of Abe Feder lighting designs"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"80 containers", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"30.93 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Billy Rose Theatre Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Abe Feder (1909-1997) was an American lighting designer for theater, interior spaces, urban environments, and architecture. The Springer Opera House collection of Abe Feder lighting designs date from 1932 to 2004 and focus on the theatrical portion of Feder's career."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Feder, Abe H.", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Abraham Hyman Feder was born on July 27, 1909 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Feder's fascination with light dates back to a magic show he saw as a teen. The magician's dramatic use of colored lighting captivated young Feder, inspiring him to begin setting up the lights for his high school drama club's plays.</p> <p>In 1926, Feder entered the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania majoring in architecture, the closest thing he could find at that time to lighting design. He left after only two years, complaining that the architecture department did not recognize light as an architectural material.</p> <p>After leaving Carnegie Institute, Feder briefly worked at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. In 1930 he moved to New York City, where his first job was setting up lighting for Yiddish theatre productions at the America Theatre in the Bronx. Feder quickly established his reputation as a gifted and innovative theatrical lighting expert on Broadway. He remained based in New York City for the duration of his career.</p> <p>From 1935 until 1939, Feder designed lighting for the Federal Theatre Project, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) program, where he collaborated with Paul Bowles, Orson Welles, and John Houseman, among others. In 1943, during World War II, Feder joined the Army Air Forces (A.A.F.) and was able to continue practicing his craft there. Sergeant Feder designed the lighting for A.A.F.'s touring production of <span class=\"title\">Winged Victory</span>.</p> <p>After the war, he established his own lighting design consultation firm, Lighting By Feder, and began taking on architectural clients in addition to theater projects. He lit Rockefeller Center, the United Nations Building, the lion and penguin houses of the Bronx Zoo, Buckminster Fuller's first geodesic dome at the 1964 World's Fair, as well as restaurants, stores, nightclubs, monuments, and special events. His hundreds of theatrical credits include Welles's <span class=\"title\">Dr. Faustus</span> and <span class=\"title\">Macbeth</span>; <span class=\"title\">The Cradle Will Rock</span>; <span class=\"title\">My Fair Lady</span>; <span class=\"title\">Camelot</span>; <span class=\"title\">The Boy Friend</span>; <span class=\"title\">The King and I</span>; <span class=\"title\">Carnival</span>, and James Baldwin's <span class=\"title\">Blues for Mr. Charlie</span>.</p> <p>Feder is widely considered to be the founder of modern lighting design, having elevated the field from a pedestrian technical service to a distinct creative field. Feder thought of light as a tangible building material and his designs often substituted light and shadow for more elaborate sets and props. He sued and won a landmark case against Herman Levin, the producer of the 1957 touring production of <span class=\"title\">My Fair Lady</span>. Levin used Feder's Broadway designs of the previous year to stage the musical on the road, having an electrician execute them, but refused to pay Feder's fee. Winning this case helped to establish legal precedent for lighting design as unique artistic expression or intellectual property. Feder also held patents on a number of bulb and lamp types and wrote and lectured frequently on the topic of lighting.</p> <p>Abe Feder died in New York City on April 24, 1997.</p>"}
- custodhist
-
{"value"=>"<p>In the 1980s, at the urging of his friend, Springer Opera House trustee Glesca Marshall, Abe Feder donated his theatrical lighting designs and papers to Springer, where Marshal hoped they would form the basis of a theater lighting library. Springer Opera House held the Feder collection from 1987 until 2018, when Springer donated the collection to New York Public Library. Though Springer's in-house library project was never fully realized, there is evidence of the theater's efforts to organize, augment, and describe the Feder collection. The chronological order imposed upon the collection by Springer Opera House has been retained.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Springer Opera House collection of Abe Feder lighting designs dates from 1932 to 2004 and focus on the theatrical side of Feder's career.</p> <p>The Projects series comprises the bulk of the collection. Feder kept \"data books\" for each play or project he worked on. These data books were most likely compiled as he worked on each production, while the projects were active or shortly thereafter. His earliest work including WPA/Federal Theatre projects, appear to be an exception to this, as many from this period consist of photocopied documents that were likely assembled in the 1950s or later. The Projects files include design sketches, blueprints, notes, and correspondence related to each play or event. They are arranged chronologically, except for a separate group of unsorted, laminated, photocopied designs.</p> <p>Series II concerns Feder's involvement with the Springer Opera House in Columbus, Georgia. In the 1960s, Springer had been Feder's client when he redesigned their house lighting as part of a major renovation of the theater building. In the 1980s, Feder chose to house his theatrical lighting designs and papers at Springer Opera House. This series includes Feder's 1964 renovation project with Springer as well as materials about Feder compiled by Springer staff. Several bound volumes created by Springer staff include a chronological index of all of Feder's theatrical lighting design projects; performance photographs; and reviews of performances of Feder's productions.</p> <p>Some administrative records of the \"Lighting By Feder\" company are present in the collection. They include biographical sketches of Feder, resumes, and a few photographs.</p> <p>A few files document workshops and lectures conducted by Feder, consisting of detailed workshop notes and some promotional material for a lecture.</p> <p>A file of his published professional writings holds copies of published essays and magazine or journal articles on the topic of light written by Feder.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The The Springer Opera House collection of Abe Feder lighting designs are arranged in five series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/24547#c1515710'>Series I: Projects</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1933-1979</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>27.71 linear feet (70 containers)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Feder's project \"data books\" typically contain correspondence relating to each production or event; sketches and notes; budgets; lighting plots; switch board diagrams; cue sheets; theater ground plans; elevation charts; and also occasionally scripts, reviews, and playbills. In addition to data books, the Projects files also include many oversize lighting plots, diagrams, and designs, which may be rolled, housed in flat boxes or in oversized folders. Most designs are photo-mechanically reproduced and a few are hand-drawn.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/24547#c1515813'>Series II: Springer Opera House</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1932-2004</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2.81 linear feet (9 containers)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series holds Feder's Springer Opera House project files; newspaper and magazine clippings, mostly relating to Feder's work with Springer; files of photographic negatives and contact sheets of cast members, sets, and exteriors of Springer from the late 1970s; and correspondence among Feder, Glesca Marshall, and others at the theater. Several bound volumes created by Springer staff contain original and photocopied performance photographs and reviews of performances of Feder's productions. Another bound volume, found in box 23, is a chronological index of all of Feder's theatrical lighting design projects, listing which types of documents are present in the collection for each title.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/24547#c1515836'>Series III: Administrative</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1930-2004</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>0.67 linear feet (2 containers)</div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/24547#c1515844'>Series IV: Lectures and Workshops</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1967-1980</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>0.21 linear feet (1 container)</div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/24547#c1515845'>Series V: Writings</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1957-1973</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>0.21 linear feet (1 container)</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Articles and essays written by Abe Feder.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by Springer Opera House in 2018.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Heather Halliday</span>, 2018.</p>"}
- date_start
-
1932
- keydate
-
1932
- date_end
-
2004
- date_inclusive_start
-
1932
- date_inclusive_end
-
2004
- extent_statement
-
30.93 linear feet (80 containers)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"The Springer Opera House collection of Abe Feder lighting designs, *T-Vim 2017-047. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}