Scope and arrangement
The USO Camp Show Publicity Records consist of reports, clippings, posters and photographs for the years 1941 through 1955.
The records deal solely with the USO entertainment effort during World War II and Korea, as well as the USO entertainment effort in the veterans' hospitals during and after the war.
The Camp Shows Publicity Records are arranged in three series:
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The History of the U.S.O. series contains working notes and an annotated manuscript by Clayton Hamilton dealing with the origins and progress of U.S.O. during World War II.
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1940-1949
The Reports and Office Files of the U.S.O. Camp Shows Publicity Records encompass the years 1941 through 1952. The reports include statistics, names of troupes, locations and newsclippings and articles concerning the activities of the various groups. The office files are primarily promotional in scope and include, memos, press releases, clippings, flyers and a small amount of correspondence. There are also copies of 3 speeches given in 1945 by Clayton Hamilton on the topic of the U.S.O.
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ca. 1940-1952
The photographs files of the U.S.O. Camp Shows Publicity Records are arranged in 4 sub-series. The first sub-series is arranged alphabetically by performer and include most of the famous stars which were involved in the U.S.O. tours during World War II. The second sub-series is arranged by O.S.U. (organizational service unit) and are listed in chronological order by number. The third sub-series is by subject and contains Christmas shows, hospital entertainment and assorted other categories. The last sub-series contains two boxes of miscellaneous negatives arranged alphabetically by subject. Other negatives can also be found in individual folders under performer or by troupe number.