Scope and arrangement
Sol Jacobson was an American press agent. His papers document the process of publicizing a production, individual, or company in the mid-twentieth century New York theatre community. Jacobson kept publicity files on shows, individuals, and theatre companies he represented. These files consist of press releases, advertisements, features, clippings, business correspondence, programs, production shots, headshots, resumes, biographies, and information sheets on productions and theatres. Publicity files occasionally contain scrapbooks of clippings.
Fiddler on the Roof is the most extensively represented production in this collection. Publicity files from this show document not only the musical's eight-year Broadway run, but also touring, regional domestic, and international productions. Rare publicity photographs of productions all around the world are included here. The musical, Tenderloin, and the production company run by Lyn Ely, Theatre in Education, are also documented extensively with publicity files.
Throughout their careers, Jacobson and his partner Lewis Harmon conducted surveys with the actors and directors involved in the productions they were publicizing. These surveys collected basic biographical information and resume credits on the individuals concerned. The majority of these questionnaires are included in publicity files for the shows in which the actors filling out the questionnaires were appearing, but a small amount have been separated from publicity files and arranged by actor's name.
Other Professional and Personal Files include a scrapbook of late nineteenth century Philadelphia theatrical programs; a small number of programs from various New York and touring productions from the late 1930s, including some for the Mercury Theatre; Jacobson's typed notes and outlines on unidentified early projects; autobiographical writings; and a few folders of letters to Jacobson from theatre industry friends and prominent individuals such as Brooks Atkinson, John Beal, John Beaufort, Schuyler Chapin, Constance Cummings, Ronald Gow, Sheldon Harnick, Boris Karloff, Burton Lane, Robert E. Lee, Edwin Lester, Richard Maney, Frank McHugh, Richard Nixon, Katina Paxinou, Harold Prince, Louis Schaeffer, Dorothy Stickney, Howard Taubman, and Eli Wallach.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in the following three groups: Publicity Files, Biographical Questionnaire Responses, and Other Professional and Personal Files.