Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA Official Archives of George Mason University. Sharing manuscripts, rare books, digital records, and so much more!
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The Fall Semester is officially in full swing here at GMU and what better way to get into the academic spirit than with ...
08/30/2024

The Fall Semester is officially in full swing here at GMU and what better way to get into the academic spirit than with some new and updated finding aids! Our latest blog previews a diverse group of collections that include scrapbooks, photography, zines, and even a puppet, all of which are now available for use in the Special Collections Research Center. Follow the link to learn more: https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=11142

Time for another   🔎❓Do you know any of these Patriots from the past?As we digitize the George Mason University photogra...
08/19/2024

Time for another 🔎❓Do you know any of these Patriots from the past?

As we digitize the George Mason University photograph collection (R0120), we need your help identifying these former students of !

Please comment or DM us if you have any clues! 💚💛

Welcome back to   🎭! While many   fans may be familiar with the   adaptation of “Candide” we wanted to feature a lesser ...
08/15/2024

Welcome back to 🎭! While many fans may be familiar with the adaptation of “Candide” we wanted to feature a lesser known, but no less creative, interpretation of Voltaire’s 1759 satirical novella. Created by the dance unit of the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) in 1936, this original “dance drama” was choreographed and directed by Charles Weidman, a renowned choreographer, modern dancer, and teacher who based his unique style of dance on working with, rather than against, the natural pull of gravity.

A division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the FTP provided employment for large numbers of artists, writers, and performers during the Great Depression (1929-1939). The FTP began in 1935 and, until its end in 1939, flourished as the first and only federally sponsored and subsidized theatre program in the United States. Throughout this time the FTP’s dance units created a number of original “dance dramas” like this unique version of “Candide” which featured a large cast of dancers, including José Limón, Lily Verne, Paula Bass, Lili Mehlman, and Weidman himself.

From the Federal Theatre Project photograph collection, C0205.

SCRC staff had the extreme pleasure of visiting the Marine Corps History Division Archives Branch at Marine Corps Univer...
08/12/2024

SCRC staff had the extreme pleasure of visiting the Marine Corps History Division Archives Branch at Marine Corps University on the Quantico Marine Base this past Friday. Our kind hosts showed us their wonderful facility and and some of their spectacular research collections. And, as always, it was great to sit down and chat with our fellow archivists about our profession and the experiences we have. Thanks so much, colleagues. We owe you a tour up here at George Mason University, soon!
Mason Libraries

    Some of us might remember printed class schedules to help us register for college classes back in the day.  Each sem...
08/07/2024


Some of us might remember printed class schedules to help us register for college classes back in the day. Each semester the Registrar's office published the sched for the upcoming semester and printed thousands of them for students to use to find course, section, date, time and location information for registration, as well as regulations, and fees. At George Mason University, these schedules were found in racks placed in SUB I, SUB II (now called The HUB), Robinson, Finley, Thompson and other locations. The Internet made this practice obsolete, beginning with Summer 2009. This 1979 Summer Class Schedule is just one example of the creativitiy that went into producing them. Maegan, our GRA, is spearheading a project to process our collection of University publications, which date from 1956 to today. This is but one of thousands of items in this collection. We'll keep you posted on our progress! From University publications ( ) Mason Libraries George Mason University Alumni Association

Welcome back to   🎭! It may still be the  , but here at SCRC we’re fully in the   spirit and what better way to celebrat...
08/01/2024

Welcome back to 🎭! It may still be the , but here at SCRC we’re fully in the spirit and what better way to celebrate than with New Orleans and Vampires. That’s right, this week we’re featuring “Lestat: The Musical”.

Based on Anne Rice’s beloved series “The Vampire Chronicles”, “Lestat” boasted a stellar creative team, including music and lyrics by Elton John & Bernie Taupin and costume design by Tony Award winner Susan Hilferty, and featured a cast filled with Broadway veterans, including Hugh Panero and Carolee Carmello. Yet creative difficulties plagued the show from the start, with major changes occurring to the musical’s story, staging, and even songs following the original out-of-town tryouts at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, less than two months before it transferred to Broadway. “Lestat” began previews at the Palace Theatre on March 25, 2006 and officially opened on April 25. However, after receiving overwhelmingly negative reviews, the musical closed on May 28, having played only 33 previews and 39 official performances.

📸 Details from the Broadway souvenir program, 2006. From the Charles Rodrigues playbill collection, C0184.

  61 years ago tomorrow George Mason College administrators, elected officials and supporters broke ground on the 150-ac...
07/31/2024


61 years ago tomorrow George Mason College administrators, elected officials and supporters broke ground on the 150-acre tract ¾ of a mile south of the Town of Fairfax which would become George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus. About a week earlier Mason’s Director, John Norville Gibson Finley, sent out a memo to staff announcing the ceremony. The temperature was 90 degrees during the brief 11:00 ceremony. The participants, nearly all of them in dark-colored wool suits, no doubt felt the effects of the midday heat. The guests each turned a shovelful of dirt, briefly toured the construction site, chatted with an employee of the construction company, and then went their separate ways. The Fairfax Campus opened one year later in September 1964. From the Office of the President (R0019) and George Mason University Photograph (R0120) collections. Mason Libraries George Mason University Alumni Association

With so much newly processed material, we simply had to highlight the recently updated papers of playwright Alan Bowne i...
07/26/2024

With so much newly processed material, we simply had to highlight the recently updated papers of playwright Alan Bowne in this month’s blog! This newly expanded collection is now available for use in the Special Collections Research Center! Follow the link to learn more: https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=11095

    George Mason University Track and Field student-athlete Greg Houghton meets with George Mason University President A...
07/24/2024

George Mason University Track and Field student-athlete Greg Houghton meets with George Mason University President Alan Merten and Sally Merten, along with Vice President Maurice Scherrens (at left) and Athletic Director, Tom O'Connor (right) on September 15, 1996. Houghton was a member of the Jamaican 4x400 Relay team which earned the Bronze Medal in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. In March of that year, he helped George Mason win the 1996 Men's NCAA Division I National Championship!
https://tinyurl.com/3hvundt7
From the Broadside photograph collection . George Mason University Alumni Association George Mason Athletics

Welcome back to   🎭! The continued D.C. area heat wave has us relating a bit too much to the residents of Three Point, s...
07/18/2024

Welcome back to 🎭! The continued D.C. area heat wave has us relating a bit too much to the residents of Three Point, so today we’re featuring the musical “110 in the Shade”. Based on his play “The Rainmaker”, N. Richard Nash wrote the book for the musical version which features music and lyrics by “The Fantasticks” duo Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones. The story takes place in the town of Three Point, a small American southwest community stuck in the middle of the Depression and a seemingly never-ending heatwave and drought. When charming con-man Bill Starbuck rolls into town he claims to be a “rainmaker” and promises the desperate farmers that he can make it rain, with the right monetary support, while also gaining the attention of the town’s curious spinster Lizzie Curry. The musical opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre October 24, 1963 and ran for 330 performances before embarking on a successful National Tour from August 1964 – May 1965. It returned to Broadway in 2007 at Studio 54 starring Audra McDonald, John Cullum, and Steve Kazee and took home two Drama Desk Awards (Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actress for McDonald).

📸 Playbill from the National Tour’s stop at Washington, D.C.’s National Theatre, December 1964. From the Virginia Nelson playbills collection, C00015.

  From 1972 until 1983, George Mason University operated a satellite campus on Fairfax Boulevard between Faifax Circle a...
07/17/2024


From 1972 until 1983, George Mason University operated a satellite campus on Fairfax Boulevard between Faifax Circle and the intersection of Routes 50 and 29. Known as North Campus, it occupied the former Fairfax High School (originally constructed in 1936). Tight on space and budget, and with enrollment doubling every 2 years, Mason was looking for additional facilities to host new programs (Nursing, Education, and Business to name a few) in its School of Professional Studies. it was purchased from Fairfax County Schools for $1.8 million. The complex consisted of about 100,000 square feet of space (classrooms, a cafeteria, library, and theatre) and 16 acres of land which included athletic fields. It was sold to the Catholic Diocese of Arington to become Pope Paul VI High School in 1983. Today it is part of the Boulevard VI housing development. Here we have the facade of the campus building in 1975, the library in 1974, The cafeteria in 1976 and the baseball field in 1974 featuring a game between the Patriots and Georgetown. From the Broadside photographs collection ( ). Mason Libraries George Mason Athletics George Mason University Alumni Association

Welcome back to   🎭! Summer is sizzling in the D.C. area, and so today we thought it appropriate to feature Tennessee Wi...
07/11/2024

Welcome back to 🎭! Summer is sizzling in the D.C. area, and so today we thought it appropriate to feature Tennessee Williams' equally sizzling play 𝘊𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘏𝘰𝘵 𝘛𝘪𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘧. Focusing on the behind-closed-doors drama of the Pollitt family, who own a Mississippi plantation, 𝘊𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘏𝘰𝘵 𝘛𝘪𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘧 is best known for its themes of desire, repression, sexuality, and death. The original production, directed by Elia Kazan, premiered at the Morosco Theatre in New York City in March 1955. Barbara Bel Geddes, Burl Ives, and Ben Gazzara led the cast in the roles of Maggie "the Cat," Big Daddy, and Brick, respectively. The production was successful, and was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Play, Best Leading Actress in a Play for Geddes, and Best Director for Kazan. Featured here are details from a playbill from the production's original run. From the Mary Lavigne programs collection, C0417.

    In 1974 planning for the nation's Bicentennial was in full swing across the country. Same could be said for George M...
07/03/2024


In 1974 planning for the nation's Bicentennial was in full swing across the country. Same could be said for George Mason University. As seen here, the Student Bicentennial Committee donated a very large Betsy Ross Flag during the fall of 1974. It was flown on the side of Fenwick Library for several months. From the Office of the President (R0019) and Broadside photograph collection (R0135). George Mason University Alumni Association Mason Libraries

Welcome back to   🎭! We’re continuing our celebration of   by featuring LGBTQ+ shows and artists, and today we’re highli...
06/27/2024

Welcome back to 🎭! We’re continuing our celebration of by featuring LGBTQ+ shows and artists, and today we’re highlighting Doug Wright’s “I Am My Own Wife”, a one-person show based on Wright’s conversations with German antiquarian and trans-woman Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. Born in Berlin in 1928, Charlotte grew up under the N**i regime, forced by her father to join the Hi**er Youth as a child, and following the end of WWII found herself living under Communist rule in East Berlin. An avid collector since childhood, Charlotte amassed a large collection of everyday objects from Germany’s Gründerzeit era (1888–1918), which would eventually turn into the Gründerzeit Museum. However, according to her Stasi file, Charlotte served as an informer for the East German secret police in order to preserve her museum and lifestyle. The play examines this complicated life and Wright’s own conflicting feelings about his friend.

In his “Portrait of an Enigma” preface to the published version of his playscript, Wright summarized his decision to use a one-person cast format for Charlotte’s story, stating “In a play about a character that has to adopt a variety of guises in order to survive, it made sense to let one actor play all the roles” (xviii). Wright’s play and Charlotte’s story have continued to see success across the globe and to increase visibility for trans/gender-non-conforming performers. In a 2016 re-imagined staging featuring four actors at Chicago’s About Face Theatre, Delia Kropp became the first transgender actress to play the role of Charlotte and in a 2019 production at Atlanta’s Out Front Theatre Company, Peter Smith became the first trans performer to play all 35 characters in the show.

📸 Playbill from the original Broadway production, September 2004. From the Barbara Lustbader New York City playbills collection, C0508.

“I Am My Own Wife” playscript available in Fenwick Library stacks, PS3573.R53252 I15 2004.

    This 2017 pamphlet details student support activities conducted by George Mason University's then Office of Diversit...
06/26/2024


This 2017 pamphlet details student support activities conducted by George Mason University's then Office of Diversity and Multicultural Education (ODIME). From the LGBTQ+ Resources Office records, Accession #2022.074-R
George Mason University Alumni Association Mason Libraries Mason's LGBTQ Resources Center

It’s officially summer and we’re back with more new and updated finding aids! Our latest   blog previews some of these c...
06/21/2024

It’s officially summer and we’re back with more new and updated finding aids! Our latest blog previews some of these collections that include everything from Chaucer to Major League Baseball and are now available for use in the Special Collections Research Center! Follow the link to learn more: https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=11060

Welcome back to   🎭! It’s June and we’re celebrating   by featuring LGBTQ+ shows and artists. Today we are highlighting ...
06/20/2024

Welcome back to 🎭! It’s June and we’re celebrating by featuring LGBTQ+ shows and artists. Today we are highlighting the late and great Michael Bennett, famed director and choreographer of 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴, and of course, 𝘈 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘦. Born in 1943 in Buffalo, New York, Bennett – who was bisexual - knew from a young age that he was destined to be a dancer and choreographer on Broadway, stating later in life, “Broadway dance is what I know, what I was, and what I am.” Bennett’s dancing career began with the role of Baby John in the touring production of 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, and continued in other dancing roles on Broadway through the 1960s. Finally, in 1968 Bennett was asked to choreograph his first musical, 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴, which was shortly followed by the opportunity to choreograph two Stephen Sondheim musicals, 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 and 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴, the latter of which he co-directed with Harold “Hal” Prince. Bennett’s pinnacle of success would come just a few years later when, after a recorded overnight gathering with fellow dancers, Bennett used their experience in life and show business to create 𝘈 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘦. The show was revolutionary, focusing on themes of identity, q***rness, artistry, and gender expression during the early 1970s. 𝘈 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘦 was a massive hit, and ran on Broadway from 1975-1990, notably through the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, when q***r people were being ostracized and villainized. When 𝘈 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘦 closed, it was the longest running show in Broadway history. The production outlived Bennett by three years – he passed away in 1987 due to complications from AIDS. His memorial was held at the Shubert Theatre, the home to his magnum opus.

Images featured from a program of the touring production of 𝘈 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘦, which included a majority of the original cast. From the Charles Rodrigues playbill collection, C0184.

Time for another   🔎❓Do you know any of these Patriots from the past?As we digitize the George Mason University photogra...
06/17/2024

Time for another 🔎❓Do you know any of these Patriots from the past?

As we digitize the George Mason University photograph collection (R0120), we need your help identifying these former students of George Mason University!

Please comment or DM us if you have any clues! 💚💛

Welcome back to   🎭! It’s June and we’re celebrating   by featuring LGBTQ+ shows and artists, starting with Jerry Herman...
06/13/2024

Welcome back to 🎭! It’s June and we’re celebrating by featuring LGBTQ+ shows and artists, starting with Jerry Herman & Harvey Fierstein’s 1983 musical “La Cage aux Folles”.

Based on Jean Poiret’s 1973 French play of the same name, Herman & Fierstein’s musical adaptation, directed by Arthur Laurents, premiered on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on August 21, 1983. The musical centers around the story of Georges, manager of “La Cage aux Folles”, a drag nightclub in Saint-Tropez, and his partner and star performer Albin and what happens when their son becomes engaged to a young woman from a conservative family. The original Broadway production would go on to win six of its nine Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, and run for 1,761 performances until 1987. In the 40+ years since its opening, in addition to several national and international tours, the musical has been revived twice on Broadway, in 2004 and 2010, with both productions winning the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical, becoming the first musical to receive such an honor. Its Act I closing song “I Am What I Am” has also become both a Broadway classic and an LGBTQ+ anthem.

📸 Playbill and mailer from the original Broadway production, circa 1983-1984. From the L. Claire Kincannon theatre collection, C0018.

    This October 21, 2002 article from Broadside, the George Mason University student newspaper details the beginning of...
06/12/2024

This October 21, 2002 article from Broadside, the George Mason University student newspaper details the beginning of the Safe Zone program . Now in its 23rd year the program works with the Mason community to create a safer, more welcoming & inclusive campus environment, to strengthen community and encourage networking among faculty, staff, and students toward the goal of understanding and supporting the well-being of the LGBTQ+ community.
Mason's LGBTQ Resources Centern Mason Librariess George Mason University Alumni Association

   The George Mason University Pride Alliance is a student-led organization established in 1989 that aims to create a sa...
06/05/2024


The George Mason University Pride Alliance is a student-led organization established in 1989 that aims to create a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQ+ students and allies. It advocates for, and educate others about, the LGBTQ+ community. This flier, most likely created in the 2010s, is part of the George Mason University LGBTQ+ Resouces Center collection, 2022.074-R.
GMU Pride Alliance Mason's LGBTQ Resources Center Mason Libraries George Mason University Alumni Association

Summertime is almost here, and people all across the Commonwealth will be finalizing their summer plans. One of Virginia...
06/03/2024

Summertime is almost here, and people all across the Commonwealth will be finalizing their summer plans. One of Virginia's most popular attractions decade after decade is . Nestled in the Shenandoah Valley, the caverns were discovered in 1878 by five local men, and in 1880 a report from the Smithsonian stated, "[I]t is safe to say that there is probably no other cave in the world more completely and profusely decorated with stalactite and stalagmite ornamentation than that of Luray." Luray Caverns is privately owned, and as a result, has been commercialized over time. These View-Master reels of the "Beautiful Caverns of Luray" were created around the 1950s to promote the caverns and allow others to see pictures of them from afar. Will you visit Luray Caverns this summer?

From the Martin Cohen theater collection, C0335.

Welcome back to   🎭! Continuing our celebration of   today we’re featuring Indian American dancer Indrani Rahman (1930-1...
05/23/2024

Welcome back to 🎭! Continuing our celebration of today we’re featuring Indian American dancer Indrani Rahman (1930-1999). Born in Chennai (then Madras), India, Indrani was the daughter of Ragini Devi (formerly Esther Sherman) an American dancer who was one of the first performers of Indian dance in America and Ramalal Balram Bajpai, a chemist and activist for Indian independence from Nagpur, India.

Beginning in her mother’s dance company as a child, Indrani was trained in many classical Indian dance styles including Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi, becoming the first professional dancer to learn this lesser known ancient dance. In 1952 she was crowned the first Miss India and competed at the Miss Universe pageant held that same year in Long Beach, California. In 1961 she became the first dancer presented on a national tour by the Asia Society and would go on to perform for a number of world leaders, including John F. Kennedy, Queen Elizabeth II, and Mao Zedong. In addition to assuming teaching positions at various American colleges and universities, such as the Julliard School and Harvard University, Indrani continued to tour extensively, including multiple performances at Jacob’s Pillow dance center in Beckett, Massachusetts.

📸 Indrani at Jacob’s Pillow, photographed by John Lindquist, circa 1960s. From Jacob’s Pillow dance photograph collection, C0514.

Time for another   🔎❓Do you know any of these Patriots from the past?As we digitize the George Mason University photogra...
05/20/2024

Time for another 🔎❓Do you know any of these Patriots from the past?

As we digitize the George Mason University photograph collection (R0120), we need your help identifying these former students of George Mason University !

Please comment or DM us if you have any clues! 💚💛

The spring semester may be over, but we’re back with more new and updated finding aids! Our latest   blog previews some ...
05/17/2024

The spring semester may be over, but we’re back with more new and updated finding aids! Our latest blog previews some of these theatre, art, and University Archives collections that are now available for use in the Special Collections Research Center! Follow the link to learn more: https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10943

  Almost   57 years ago, the George Mason University baseball team played Essex Community College of Baltimore County, l...
05/15/2024

Almost 57 years ago, the George Mason University baseball team played Essex Community College of Baltimore County, losing to the Knights 4-3. Mason's first intercollegiate sport was baseball, beginning in 1966. Like George Mason, Essex Community College began operation in 1957. It is part of the Community College of Baltimore County system, and known as CCBC Essex. From the Broadside student newspaper collection, .
CCBC Essex Baseball George Mason Baseball CCBC Mason Libraries George Mason University Alumni Association

Welcome back to   🎭! Continuing our celebration of   today we’re featuring the work of set designer Ming Cho Lee from th...
05/09/2024

Welcome back to 🎭! Continuing our celebration of today we’re featuring the work of set designer Ming Cho Lee from the Arena Stage records, C0017.

Born in Shanghai, China in 1930, Lee moved to the United States in 1949 to attend Occidental College in California and eventually moved to New York City in 1954 to become an assistant to set designer Jo Mielziner. Over the course of his career, Lee became one of the country’s top set designers, working for both Broadway and regional theatres, including 21 productions for Washington, D.C.’s between 1967-1998. His many awards and honors include the National Medal of Arts (2002), induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame (1998), the Helen Hayes Award, and two Tony Awards: Best Scenic Design for “K2” in 1983 and a Lifetime Achievement award in 2013. Lee passed away in October 2020 at the age of 90.

📸 Lee observing set construction for “The Ascent of Mount Fuji”, 1975
📸 “The Ascent of Mount Fuji”, 1975
📸 “Don Juan”, 1979
📸 “Hamlet”, 1978
📸 “K2” set construction, 1982
📸 Biography from “The Ascent of Mount Fuji” program, 1975

    in 1973 George Mason University  students were in the final month of their studies at Mason. Unlike today Spring Sem...
05/08/2024

in 1973 George Mason University students were in the final month of their studies at Mason. Unlike today Spring Semester ended in June, so students were still enjoying time on campus before finals on the Quad, and at Robinson Field by the P.E. Building (now RAC). SG election posters covered walkways between the original buildings, too. From the Broadside student newspaper collection, . Mason Libraries George Mason University Alumni Association

  50 years ago (5/1/74) GMU Department of Biology professor, Dr. Jay Shaffer and class meet in George Mason University's...
05/01/2024

50 years ago (5/1/74) GMU Department of Biology professor, Dr. Jay Shaffer and class meet in George Mason University's Lecture Hall for a Biology lecture. From: Broadside photographs,
Mason Libraries George Mason University Alumni Association

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