Thomashefsky, Boris

Clippings

The collection contains play manuscripts, programs, playbills, posters, photographs, correspondence, agreements, scrapbooks, clippings, printed ephemera, and memorabilia relating to Yiddish theater primarily in the early twentieth century, especially the interwar period. Also included are items of printed ephemera related to Yiddish film, Hebrew theater, and a broad range of Jewish performers, including cantors, singers and dancers. Geographically, the materials originate predominantly in Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe, including parts of the Russian Empire and, later, the Soviet Union; and, to a lesser extent, the United States, especially New York City. Also included are materials from Western Europe, Palestine (Eretz Israel), South America, and other regions around the world. Among the theater personalities represented in the collection with significant amounts of material are Herz Grossbard, David Herman, Joseph Winogradoff, Rudolf Zaslavsky, Zygmunt Turkow, Jonas Turkow, Moyshe Lipman, Ida Kaminska, and Esther Rachel Kaminska. The theater groups best represented include the Varshever Yidisher Kunst-Teater (VYKT; Warsaw Yiddish Art Theater), founded by Zygmunt Turkow and Ida Kaminska; the Vilna Troupe; Yung Teater / Nay Teater (Warsaw; Vilna), under the direction of Michael Weichert; the Moscow State Yiddish Theater (known by its Russian acronym "GOSET"); Maurice Schwartz's Yiddish Art Theatre, of New York; and the Hebrew theater "Habimah." A wide variety of other professional as well as amateur theater groups are represented with smaller amounts of material.

Clipping of a plate published in B. Gorin's book, Di geshikhte fun Idishen theater (New York: Literarisher Ferlag, 1918), vol. 2. Includes (clockwise from upper right): Sarah Adler, Bina Abramowitz, Boris Thomashefsky, Bessie Thomashefsky, Max Rosenthal, Maurice Moskowitz, Sigmund Feinman, and Leon Blank.

Localities: Cincinnati, Czortków (Chortiv), Los Angeles, New York, Warsaw

Thomashefsky in productions directed by him, including Gordin's "Der yidisher kenig lir," Cherniavsky's operetta "Tants, gezang un vayn" with libretto by Thomashefsky, "Di yidishe kroyn" by Thomashefsky, and "Op-toun un doun-toun" (Up-Town and Down-Town), together with Vera Gordon. Other featured performers include Regina Zuckerberg, Clara Rafalo, and S. Fogelnest (all with photos), as well as Ruth Réné, Ola Lilith, and W. Godik. Included is a flier for the film Bar mitsve. 6 items.

Localities: Detroit, Newark, New York, unspecified city (Romania)

Programs for the plays "Di yidn" by Chirikov, "Kaptsn, vu krikhstu?" by Kornblith, and "Hatikvo (Di idishe hofnung)" by Abraham S. Shomer; and one for a musical/dramatic evening featuring Thomashefsky together with Regina Zuckerberg and Noach Nachbush. Also includes a clipping of an installment of Thomashefsky's serialized memoir, concerning his parents, published in the Forverts, 23 November 1935; and a clipping about a letter from Olga Rabinowitz, widow of Sholem Aleichem, 1936, responding to parts of the memoir. 6 items.

- "Di yidishe kroyn" in Vilna. Directed by L. Szryftzecer.

- "Ideles barmitsve" in Vilna. Music by Rumshinsky and Szlosberg. Guest appearance of a troupe under the direction of A. Kompaneyets and A. Poliakov, with participation of A. Aniela, B. Borisova, A. Poliakov, and L. Rabinowicz.

- "Bar mitsve" in Vilna, 1928. 2 items. Guest performer Abe Karp. Directed by Sholem Brin.

- "Piękna amerykanka" (Beautiful American) in Kraków.

- "Dos farblonzhete shefele," 2 items. In Vilna, directed by Jozef Chasz, featuring Nechama Chasz. In Vilna, directed by L. Szryftzecer, featuring E. Lipovska.

- "Dos pintele yid," 2 items. In Warsaw, troupe of Kompaneyets. In Łódź.

- "Di poylishe khasene," 2 items. Music by Rumshinsky. In Warsaw, directed by L. Rabinowicz. In Vilna, guest performers Nekhama, Kadish, Khash (Chasz), L. Szyrftzecer, and Malwina Rappel.

- "Di khazn'te" in Detroit. Music by Rumshinsky. Featuring Boris Thomashefsky and Regina Zuckerberg.

- "Der khazn mit der khazn'te" in Chicago. Music by Rumshinsky. With Thomashefsky and Zuckerberg.

- "Tants, gezang un vayn" in Chicago. Music by Cherniavsky. Produced by and starring Thomashefsky.

- "Shloym'ke un Rikl," 2 items. In Vilna, farewell performance of composer and conductor Mordecai Hochberg, and actors Avrom Levin and Rokhl Hochberg. In Vilna, guest performer B. Abelman.

- "Der freylekher khazn" in Bucharest. Music by Rumshinsky. Directed by Thomashefsky.

2 items.

Signed "J. Rakow" in Roman characters on last page. Russian censor's stamp, St. Petersburg, June [?] 1913, and stamp for tax, 6 October 1913 (title page), as well as red wax seal (last page). Notebook manufactured in Warsaw. Accession no. 416/3677 (stamp).

German translation by an unidentified author, of the Yiddish-language play "Dos pintele yid," attributed here to Thomashefsky. According to Zylbercweig (I: 773; II: 820), Thomashefsky's production in 1909 was based on a text by Moyshe Zeyfert.

The manuscript (carbon copy) is accompanied by a letter in Polish, dated 2 March 1928, from the Kaminski Theatre in Warsaw, signed by director Moyshe Lipman, with stamp of the theater, addressed to the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs, administrative department, submitting a copy of the play, seeking approval for performance. The letter appears to be the theater's copy. A note in Yiddish on the title page indicates that the manuscript was sent by Moyshe Lipman for the "W. W. A." (an acronym for the Polish government office); a similar note is found on the item in Folder 4081.

Includes a sketch of the stage at the back. Russian-language stamp of N. S. Lipovski Theater, 6 February 1917. Accession no. 364/3625 (stamp).

Title page includes a dedication: "Geshriben far dem verten direktor Nahum Lipovski" (written for the worthy director Nahum Lipovski). Russian-language stamp of N. S. Lipovski Theater, 6 February 1917. The name Borodow is written/signed in Roman characters on the inside front cover, and on the last page, following the end of the play. Various other names are written or signed on the front flyleaf, some in Yiddish and some in Roman characters, including: Heniek Ayzenberg, Fishlevitsh, Hermalin, Hershkovitsh, and Karal (Karl) Tsimbalist. Notebook manufactured in Russian Empire. Accession no. 367/3628 (stamp).

Remnant of labeling on cover and spine. Accession no. 103/2351 (stamp).

Copied by I. Gelanek. Russian-language stamp of director and actor A. E. Strausfogel, Warsaw. An inserted leaf in the manuscript (no. 169993) is written on Russian-language letterhead of Strausfogel (with a photographic portrait). Russian-language stamp of N. S. Lipovski Theater, 6 February 1917. Notebook manufactured in Warsaw. Accession no. 366/3627.

Music by Arnold Perlmutter and Herman Wohl. Accession no. 102/2350 (stamp).

This subseries comprises approximately 1,000 oversize posters stored in map drawers. In Jonas Turkow's arrangement and cataloging of the items in the collection, oversize posters were fully integrated with the playbills found in Subseries 3; the item numbers they received fall within the same sequence as those of the playbills. Both types of items were categorized under the Yiddish heading "afishn" (posters, playbills; related to the French: affiche). The arrangement of the posters, therefore, mirrors that of the playbills in Subseries 3, with correponding folder titles and numbers (the folders containing posters are distinguished with the addition of a suffix "P" to the folder number).

- "Kolumbuses medine" in Warsaw. Troupe under the direction of Kompaneyets. Directed by Landau. (It should be noted that, although advertised as a work by Ter, the operetta in question is evidently the one by Boris Thomashefsky, also known as "Di sheyne Amerikanerin, oder Kolumbuses medine"; a manuscript of the work under the latter title is found in Folder 4164.)