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Cleveland Artist John Lorin Black

Of the many wooden printer’s blocks used in the creation of early marketing pieces for the Cleveland Play House, this is a favorite.  "You Are Cordially Invited to a Marionette Evening" was the work of Cleveland artist John Lorin Black (possibly 1894-1963.) 

image detail on reverse of printer's block. Cleveland Play House Archive

On March 15, 1918 the Play House puppet group presented two short marionette plays; Shadowy Waters by William Butler Yeats, and, The Soul of Chopin adapted from Liszt's Life of Chopin. Black also designed the set and served as a reader for Shadowy Waters. The following amusing description of the evening is from chapter nine of Julia Flory's The Cleveland Play House: How it Began.

"The scene of this first play was the deck of an ancient ship with a golden sail against a purple sky. I was up on the bridge this time manipulating the strings of the queen with "hair the color of burning" while statuesque Martha Yeager, perched nearby, read the lines and provided the forlorn "keening." There was much keening, much Gaelic gloom, weird beauty, poetic grief.

The other manipulators were Emma Joseph, Blanche Nicola, Marian Morris, and Helen Joseph, while the zealous readers were Harry Mereine, Ralph Silver, Lorin Black (Johnnie) and Ray W. Irvin.

With some embarrassment I now chronicle that, after many weeks of these rehearsals in unmitigated gloom, the reaction of the cast was natural and complete. When the final curtain fell, a group of them grasped hands and dashed down to the Roxy (Burlesque) Theatre as an antidote."

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CPH WWII armed services stories

When he left the Cleveland Play House (CPH) to join the Army in WWII, Jack Weinstein wrote to his friends back home with news of the campaign in Italy and thanks for the care packages they sent.  When the war ended he returned to CPH, briefly, before launching his career as Jack Weston, Tony award nominated actor known for many roles on Broadway, in television and the movies.

Correspondence from the Cleveland Play House Archive in the Kelvin Smith Library Special Collections.

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380 years young

This 1639 document, folded multiple times, is off to the preservation lab for flattening and re-housing - we can’t wait to see what the insides look like!

From the Howard J. Garber autographed letter collection in the KSL Special Collections.

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Decorated cloth book covers

Patterned after the then popular publishers book covers featuring decorated cloth, Zella Allen Dixson designed and created this example for her 1903 work on bookplate collecting. As owner/operator of the Wisteria Cottage Press in Chicago, Dixson combined her passions for bookplate collecting, writing and small press work to create this volume now located in Special Collections.  

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So many beards! Perhaps deciding Antigone’s fate?  

From the Cleveland Play House 1930-1931 production of Antigone. With Russell Collins, Elmer Lehr, Noel Leslie, Ainsworth Arnold, James Allison, and Byron McGrath.  Look at more images from the Cleveland Play House Archive in Digital Case.

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A heartwarming story illustrated with Cleveland Play House Archive materials featured in this promotional video for the current CPH production, “Into The Breeches!”

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Portraits of Frederic McConnell as Androcles and Russell Collins as The Lion in the 1930-31 Cleveland Play House production of George Bernard Shaw’s Androcles and the Lion. 

Images from the Cleveland Play House Archive in the Kelvin Smith Library

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What is this #Monday mischief? Dorothy Paxton and Noel Leslie in the 1938-1939 Cleveland Play House production of Stop Thief.

Image from the Cleveland Play House archive

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This flyer for the Machinists Lodge #1253 event has us daydreaming about summer picnics by the lake. 

From the Warner and Swasey World War II Employee Scrapbook.

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Congratulations to the Shop Girls Bowling Team! Winners of the 1944 Warner and Swasey A.A. Loving Cup 

From the Warner and Swasey World War II Employee Scrapbook

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Before he played Dr. David Stewart for 31 years on the soap opera "As the World Turns” Henderson Forsythe appeared in several CPH productions.

He performs the heavy lifting in this scene with John Rowe in the 1940-1941 Cleveland Play House production of Tony Draws a Horse. 

Find more images of Forsythe from the Cleveland Play House archive in Digital Case.

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Footage from the Archives! 

Dancers rehearse “Black Ice” under the direction of Professor Kathryn Karipides for a February 1994 performance in the Mather Dance Center at Case Western Reserve University. 

Under Karipides direction the Mather Gymnasium evolved into the Mather Dance Center of Case Western Reserve University.

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Footage from the Archives!

Dancers perform “Facings” in the Mather Dance Center at Case Western Reserve University in 1985. From the Kathryn Karipides collection. 

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#Happy Friday! May your weekend be as lively as this “party scene” from the 1934-1935 Cleveland Play House production of Girls in Uniform. Search the Cleveland Play House archive to find more information about production photographs.

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Apollo 11 flight charts

We feature today, on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission launch, the chart index to the Apollo 11 flight charts in our NASA publications collection. The collection was donated by Melvin Kranzberg in 1969. 

Kranzberg, one time Professor at the Case Institute of Technology and co-founder of the Society for the History of Technology was an early advocate for the establishment of the NASA History Office.

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Join the Warner and Swasey girls bowling team today! 

From the Warner and Swasey World War II Employee Scrapbook, August 10, 1944

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Noah spends some quality time with the animals before boarding the ark in the 1937-1938 Cleveland Play House production of Noah. Pictured here: John Rowe as Noah, Artheda Lane as Lion, Marcella De La Grange as Monkey, and Catherine Madigan as Tiger.

From the CPH Archive.  See more CPH production images in Digital Case.