Part 577: Resources Pertaining to the M. Armbruster & Sons Studio
The Ohio State University is a great place to start when looking for information pertaining to the Armbruster studio and family. In July 1965, Allan S. Jackson studied and photographed a number of extant drops by the Armbruster Studio. His findings were published in “The Ohio State University Theatre Collection Bulletin” (Vol. 12, July 1965). Five years later, a doctoral dissertation was written about the history of the Armbruster Studio. Here is a little information about what is available to artists and historians when examining the scenery work of M. Armbruster & Sons.
There are two primary sources that provide quite a bit of information about the Armbruster family and studio. One is a lovely paper about Mathias Armbruster written by Leeann Faust and the other is a doctoral dissertation by Robert Suddards Joyce “The History of the Armbruster Studio” (Ohio State University, 1970). I have had a copy of Studdard’s dissertation for years, unfortunately it is more of a descriptive work on extant scenery that an insight into the working of the studio and familial dynamics. Here is the link to a digital copy of Joyce’s dissertation: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=osu1486655760439351&disposition=inline
I was thrilled to finally find a digital copy available online. Unfortunately, the scanned images are very poor. I have yet to locate any recent publications about the collection, the historic scenery or the Armbruster Scenic Studio Collection.
The Armbruster Scenic Studio collection at Ohio State University consists of scenic design materials relating to Mathias Armbruster and his studio in Columbus, Ohio. It is at the Jermone Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute. It is part of the Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections. This collection includes set designs, paint stencils, minstrel shows, ad photographs of stage performances, as well as, inspirational source material clippings from illustrated journals, financial information, and other miscellaneous materials relating to the studio. The records, both in English and German. Some of the contents include designs for White Minstrels, Coburn’s Minstrels, Al G. Field Minstrels, Thurston the Magician, Masonic temples, Romeo and Juliet, King John, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the Merchant of Venice and many other unidentified productions. This collection is a treasure trove, especially when looking for primary resources referenced by the studio artists for backdrop compositions.
Subject folders include clippings from magazines, journals, and photographs that depict exotic locales, woods and trees, gardens, courtyards, mountains, caverns, landscapes, waterways, shores, ships, trains, military and battle scenes, winter scenes, churches, monasteries and altars, angels and cherubs, female nudes, public structures, furniture and moldings, ornamental designs and patterns, residential interiors and exteriors, Medieval and Renaissance, historical antiquities, contemporary and historical portraits, and mythology and statuary. This is one scenery collections that really should be online and available in a scenery collection database.
During my search this past week, I also stumbled upon a wonderful video about the Armbruster Studio created by PBS. Here is the link to the short PBS video about the Armbruster collection: https://www.pbs.org/video/broad-and-high-mathias-armbruster-armbruster-scenic-studio-collection/
Finally, there are some wonderful images of designs by M. Armbruster & Sons Studio available online at Ohio Memory (http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/search/searchterm/armbruster/field/all/mode/all/conn/and). It is such a fantastic resource that goes far beyond theatre history. Ohio Memory’s mission is to help communities share, discover and connect to Ohio’s rich past through dynamic online resources. In terms of theatre history, there are some scans of M. Armbruster & Sons Studio scene designs. This may be cone of my favorite sites to explore.
Ohio Memory was established in 2000; a collaborative statewide digital library program of the Ohio History Connection and the State Library of Ohio containing over 700,000 digital images. The images are from a variety of primary source image types that include photographs, maps, drawings, paintings, manuscripts, letters, diaries and journals, archaeological, natural history and historical objects, newspapers, books and e-publications, videos and more. On this free website, you can explore digital content from over 360 cultural heritage institutions representing all 88 of Ohio’s counties!
To be continued…
