Scope and arrangement
The collection dates from 1928 to 2017, and contains Designs and Drawings; Photographs; Posters; and Programs and Memorabilia related to film and theatre productions in Austria, Germany, Poland, and the United States. Materials are arranged alphabetically by name, title, or subject matter within each category.
Designs and Drawings include an assortment of illustrations dating from 1965 to 2015. There are four costume design sketches from a 1965 production of Der Gute Mensch von Sezuan, a reproduction of an Al Hirschfeld illustration, two unidentified Japanese drawings, a Robert Wilson Peter Pan sketch, and a set of three Tony Walton illustrations from The Wiz. Both the Peter Pan and The Wiz drawings are inscribed to Hirschfeld.
The Photographs contain three images dating from 1940 to 1960, which depict Pierre Olaf, Erwin Piscator, and Max Reinhardt. The Olaf portrait is by Carl Van Vechten, the Piscator is by Robert Lackenback, and the Reinhardt was taken by Lotte Jacobi.
The Posters date from 1928 to 2010, and comprise the largest portion of the collection. All the posters are arranged into the following categories: Film; Museum Exhibitions; American Theatre; Austrian Theatre; German Theatre; and Polish Theatre. Items are further arranged alphabetically by title within each category. There is a large selection of theatrical posters from Germany and Poland, as well as an original 1928 poster from the Salzburger Festspiele in Austria. Five of the German posters are from productions directed by Erwin Piscator that were performed in Berlin. There are also two posters present from the Volkstheater in Rostock, East Germany, one of which is for a production of Bertolt Brecht's Mann ist Mann. Posters from Polish theatrical productions mostly contain prints from performances in Warsaw between 1959 and 1963. More detailed information about each poster is located in the container list.
The Programs and Memorabilia contain souvenir programs from productions of Der Gute Mensch Von Sezuan, Samson and Delilah, and Tygrys Pietrek. Of special interest is a 2017 handwritten letter from Julie Andrews to Hirschfeld.
The Louise Kerz Hirschfeld collection is arranged in four series: