Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: Ad Drops

Advertisement Curtain (Ad Drop) in the Twin City Scenic Co. Collection, Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota.

Ad drop design. Twin City Scenic Co. collection, Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota.
Ad drop design detail. Twin City Scenic Co. collection, Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota.
Ad drop design detail. Twin City Scenic Co. collection, Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota.
Ad drop design detail. Twin City Scenic Co. collection, Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota.
Ad drop design detail. Twin City Scenic Co. collection, Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota.
Ad drop design detail. Twin City Scenic Co. collection, Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota.
Ad drop design detail. Twin City Scenic Co. collection, Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota.
Ad drop design detail. Twin City Scenic Co. collection, Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota.

Here is a link to more Ad Drop designs in the scenery collection database: https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&facets%5Bcollection_name_s%5D%5B%5D=Scenic+Collections&sort=&q=ad+drop

A few years ago, I wrote about Lee Lash and the origin of the advertising curtain. It seems to be an appropriate time to include the link: https://drypigment.net…/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and…/

Author: waszut_barrett@me.com

Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett, PhD, is an author, artist, and historian, specializing in painted settings for opera houses, vaudeville theaters, social halls, cinemas, and other entertainment venues. For over thirty years, her passion has remained the preservation of theatrical heritage, restoration of historic backdrops, and the training of scenic artists in lost painting techniques. In addition to evaluating, restoring, and replicating historic scenes, Waszut-Barrett also writes about forgotten scenic art techniques and theatre manufacturers. Recent publications include the The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018), as well as articles for Theatre Historical Society of America’s Marquee, InitiativeTheatre Museum Berlin’s Die Vierte Wand, and various Masonic publications such as Scottish Rite Journal, Heredom and Plumbline. Dr. Waszut-Barrett is the founder and president of Historic Stage Services, LLC, a company specializing in historic stages and how to make them work for today’s needs. Although her primary focus remains on the past, she continues to work as a contemporary scene designer for theatre and opera.

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