Thatcher Opera House photograph collection, 1885-1925

Overview of the Collection

Creator
McMurdie, William E., 1922-2007.
Title
Thatcher Opera House photograph collection
Dates
1885-1925 (inclusive)
Quantity
1 box, (0.5 linear feet)
Collection Number
UUS_P0399
Summary
The Thatcher Opera House photograph collection consists of 187 photographs from the late 1880s to the early 1920s donated by William E. McMurdie. The Thatcher Opera House was located in the Thatcher Bank at the corner of Main and Center Streets. Most of the images are reprints of promotional portraits of actors or copied from newspaper advertisements. There are also a handful of original images.
Repository
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu
Access Restrictions

No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

William McMurdie (1922-2007), a graduate of Utah State University, served in the U.S. Navy during WWII, and later in life worked as an announcer and sports broadcaster for several radio stations in Cache Valley. In the 1950s he began researching the historic Thatcher Opera House, which operated in Logan, Utah at the turn of the 20th Century. This research project was never completed; although he kept extensive notes on the backs of the photographs which he collected.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Thatcher Opera House photograph collection consists of 187 photographs from the late 1880s to the early 1920s donated by William E. McMurdie. The Thatcher Opera House was located in the Thatcher Bank at the corner of Main and Center streets in Logan. Most of the images are reprints of promotional portraits of actors or copied from newspaper advertisements. There are also a handful of original images.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Thatcher Opera House photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Photograph Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Preferred Citation

Initial Citation: USU_P0399; Thatcher Opera House photograph collection; Photograph Collections Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.

Following Citations:USU_P0399, USUSCA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Processing Note

Processed in November of 2010

Acquisition Information

Photographs collected and donated by William E. McMurdie.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Original Photographs, 1885-1925Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 1

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1
1-01-01: "Tom Thumb," unidentified actor
1885-1925
1 1
1-01-02: Alley Thatcher
1885-1925
1 1
1-01-03: R.C. Easton
1885-1925
1 1
1-01-04: "Wife of Tom Thumb," unidentified actress
1885-1925
1 1
1-01-05: "Tom Thumb," unidentified actor
1885-1925
1 1
1-01-06: Alley Thatcher portrait
1885-1925
1 1
1-01-07: Alley Thatcher portrait
1885-1925
1 1
1-01-08: Woman and girl. Verso reads, "Merry Xmas from the Waltons."
1885-1925
1 1
1-01-09: Inlayed ceiling decoration; probably inside the Thatcher Opera House
1885-1925

Promotional studio portraits of actors, 1885-1925Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 2

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 2
1-02-01: "The Burgomaster" Harry Hermsen
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-02: "Arizona" Edward Jo Farrell
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-03: "The Girl Question" Paul Nicholson
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-04: "Mrs. Temple's Telegram" Victor Gillard
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-05: "His Last Dollar" David Higgins
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-06: "Cousin Kate" Jeanne Russell
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-07: Cecil Fay
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-08: Bessie Clifford
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-09: Idilene Modyiska
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-10: Al Jolson
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-11: "The Witch of the Woods" Harriett Purdy Smith
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-12: Lew Dockstader
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-13: Luke Cosgrave
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-14: "Robin Hood" Alf Farrell, Hugh Dougall
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-15: "Robin Hood" Horace S. Ensign
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-16: "The Alaskan" Richard F. Carroll with 17 women identified as "The Hi Hi Girls"
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-17: "Rip Van Winkle" Thomas Jefferson
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-18: "Paid In Full" Edna Brothers, George Bancrofts
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-19: "Is Marriage a Failure?" Joseph Dietrick
1885-1925
1 2
1-02-20: "The Taming of the Shrew" Charles B. Hanford
1885-1925

Promotional studio portraits of actors, 1885-1925Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 3

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 3
1-03-01: "At Valley Forge" poster
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-02: "The Rivals" Joseph Jefferson, William W. Jefferson, two unidentified men
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-03: "The Taming of the Shrew" Marie Drofnah
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-04: Adilaide O'Brien, Joseph Breil
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-05: "Parsifal" poster
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-06: University of Utah drama students
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-07: "The Flower of the Ranch" 26 member singing and dancing chorus
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-08: "Her Double Life" Laura Frankenfield
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-09: "45 Minutes from Broadway" group of 8 chorus girls
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-10: Cora King Swain
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-11: Bissie Dean Allison, Nellie Druce Pugsley, Lizzie Thomas Edward, Ev. Stephens, Robert C. Easton, Heber S. Goddard
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-12: "Hans and Nix" 8 women around a constumed person
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-13: "Antony and Cleopatra" Alice Wilson
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-14: "The Burgomaster" Ruth White, 6 "Kangaroo Girls"
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-15: "Mr. Hap-(rest illegible)" Dallas Welford, unidentified woman
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-16: "You Never Can Tell" Hazel Barnes, H. Leo Marshall
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-17: George L. Graves
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-18: "The Old Homestead" William Lawrence
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-19: "The Lieutenant and The Cowboy" Theodore Lorch
1885-1925
1 3
1-03-20: "A Royal Slave" Hazel Rice
1885-1925

Promotional studio portraits of actors, 1885-1925Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 4

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 4
1-04-01: "The Man on the Box" Max Figman
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-02: "Yon Yonson" George Thompson
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-03: "The Merchant of Venice" Charles B. Hanford
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-04: "The Merchant of Venice" Blanchard Kendall
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-05: "Looking For a Wife" Wheeler and O'Neil
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-06: "Father and The Boys" William H. Turner
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-07: "Odette" Clara Morris
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-08: "Hip! Hip! Hooray!" Maude Leroy, Wellington Cross
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-09: "Mrs. Temple's Telegram" 3 unidentified women and 3 unidentified men in couples
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-10: Comedian John Gordon
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-11: "Rudolph and Adolph" Broadhurst, Currie
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-12: Josephine Deffry
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-13: "A Winter's Tale" Marie Drofnah
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-14: Unidentified man
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-15: "The Taming of the Shrew" drawing of a man (possibly Charles B. Hanford)
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-16: "Paid In Full" unidentified man and woman
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-17: Professor J.J. McClellan
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-18: "Midnight In Chinatown" drawing
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-19: "The Jolly Musketeer" Emma Lucy Gatis
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-20: "Don Caesar De Bagan" Marie Drofnah
1885-1925
1 4
1-04-21: "Paid In Full" unidentified man and woman
1885-1925

Promotional studio portraits of actors, 1885-1925Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 5

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 5
1-05-01: "The Christian" Lillian Lawrence
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-02: "The Vagabond King" Larle Palmer
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-03: "The Squaw Man" Willard Lee, unidentified man
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-04: "The Professor's Love Story" Earl Vancott, Vivian Jolbeerst
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-05: "Quincy Adams Sawyer" William A. Williams, 2 unidentified men, 2 unidentified women
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-06: "Antony and Cleopatra" Charlie B. Hanford, 9 "Dancing Girls"
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-07: "The New Black Crook" 6 women identified as "The Budweiser Girls"
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-08: Drawing of 3 couples
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-09: "The Lion and The Mouse" Dorothy Donnelly, Paul (illegible last name), 2 unidentified people
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-10: "The District Leader" Ethel Dovey, Fred c. Fruesdell, 17 others
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-11: "The Red Mill" 6 unidentified Dutch children
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-12: "The Lion and The Mouse" Miss Laurent, unidentified man
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-13: Edith Linsday, Mamie Lindsay, Luella Lindsay Cosgrave
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-14: "Are You Crazy" Lorraine Keene
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-15: Mr. and Mrs. Ruble
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-16: "The Squaw Man" Dustin Farnum
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-17: "Boys of Company B" Paul Gilmore
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-18: Seldy Rooch
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-19: "The Missouri Girl" Bonnie Maie
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-20: "A Message From Mars" Miss Becker
1885-1925
1 5
1-05-21: "We Are Bing" Edmund Carroll
1885-1925

Promotional studio portraits of actors, 1885-1925Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 6

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 6
1-06-01: "A Soldier of the Empire" Theodore Lorch
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-02: Thatcher Opera House on fire, 1912
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-03: G.W. Thatcher Sr
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-04: "The Red Mill" Franker Wood
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-05: "A Writer's Tale" cast
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-06: Maude May Baboock
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-07: Interior of Thatcher Opera House, ca. 1900
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-08: "The Little Minister" Maude Adams, Charles Frohman
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-09: "Corianton" several cast members identified on verso side
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-10: Thatcher Opera House, undated
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-11: William G. Stewart
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-12: "The Tale of Spice" Chas Purcell, Harry B. Watson, others unidentified
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-13: "Cousin Kate" Alberta Gallatin
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-14: "The Goddess of Liberty" Joseph Howard
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-15: Home Dramatic Company staff, ca. 1890
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-16: "The Man of the Hour" 3 men, probably Lionel Adams, Felix Haney, Louis Hendricks
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-17: "The Gladiator" illustration, probably Robert Downing
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-18: Edith Lindsay
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-19: "Arizona" Alma Bradley
1885-1925
1 6
1-06-20: "The Right of Way" Sanford Dodge, Adella Nickerson
1885-1925

Promotional studio portraits of actors, 1885-1925Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 7

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 7
1-07-01: "The Girl From Rictor's" Katherine Raymore
1885-1925
1 7
1-07-02: "The Head Waiters" Joe Kelly
1885-1925
1 7
1-07-03: "The House of Bondage" Florence Roberts
1885-1925
1 7
1-07-04: "Corianton."
1885-1925
1 7
1-07-05: 7 Thatcher Opera House band members in front of a horse-drawn Logan taxi
1885-1925
1 7
1-07-06: B.G. Thatcher
1885-1925
1 7
1-07-07: Audience in Thatcher Opera House, ca. 1900, G.W. Thatcher, Mr. Napper, Mr. and Mrs. B.G. Thatcher identified. (See note in folder 12)
1885-1925
1 7
1-07-08: Thatcher Opera House and Bank building, Center and Main in Logan, undated
1885-1925
1 7
1-07-09: "A Celebrated Case" program
1885-1925
1 7
1-07-10: "Black Mantle Opera" cast
1885-1925
1 7
1-07-11: Negative of 07:10
1885-1925

Promotional studio portraits of actors, 1885-1925Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 8

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 8
1-08-01: Thatcher Opera House burning, 1912
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-02: Unidentified woman
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-03: "Magda" Georgia Harper
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-04: "Zalmona" Etta Delman
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-05: "The New Faust" Della Pringle
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-06: "Corianton"
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-07: B.G. Thatcher, W.B. Preston Jr., R.C. Easton, Mrs. Alf Ferrell, Marian Scholes
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-08: "Corianton"
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-09: "Corianton" Alphonse Ethier, Elizabeth Vigoureux
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-10: Thatcher Opera House band
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-11: Nettie Thatcher Sloan
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-12: Alley Thatcher
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-13: Nettie Thatcher Sloan
1885-1925
1 8
1-08-14: Nettie Thatcher Sloan
1885-1925

Mostly reprints of originals found in Folder 1. The corresponding photograph is listed, 1885-1925Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 9

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 9
1-09-01: "Wife of Tom Thumb." (01:01:04)
1885-1925
1 9
1-09-02: "Tom Thumb." (01:01.05)
1885-1925
1 9
1-09-03: Woman and girl, Waltons. (01:01:08)
1885-1925
1 9
1-09-04: "Tom Thumb." (01:01:01)
1885-1925
1 9
1-09-05: Woman and girl, Waltons. (01:01:08)
1885-1925
1 9
1-09-06: "Tom Thumb." (01:01:05)
1885-1925
1 9
1-09-07: "Wife of Tom Thumb." (01:01:04)
1885-1925
1 9
1-09-08: "Tom Thumb." (01:01:01)
1885-1925
1 9
1-09-09: Alley Thatcher (01:01:07)
1885-1925
1 9
1-09-10: "The Silver King" Luke Cosgrave
1885-1925
1 9
1-09-11: "The Silver King" Luke Cosgrave
1885-1925
1 9
1-09-12: Singer Emma Ramsey
1885-1925
1 9
1-09-13: Unidentified woman
1885-1925

Photographs taken of newspaper clippings, 1885-1925Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 10

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 10
1-10-01: "The Red Mill"
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-02: John McClellan
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-03: "The Great Divide"
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-04: Unidentified scene from a play
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-05: Alley Thatcher. (Photo of 01:01:02)
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-06: Unidentified woman
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-07: "Father and The boys" Gregory Stegnor
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-08: "The Taming of the Shrew" Charles B. Hanford
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-09: "The Inventor" Kate Preston
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-10: "The Burgomaster" Harry Hermsen
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-11: "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" Theodore Lorch
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-12: "Mrs. Temple's Telegram"
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-13: "The Goddess of Liberty" Joseph H. Howard
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-14: "Golden Girl" Carlton King
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-15: Headline listing 3 plays for Dec. 27, 1890
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-16: Theodore Lorch and a list of plays in which he was to appear during the week of Feb. 14, 1910
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-17: "The Taming of the shrew" Charles B. Hanford
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-18: University of Utah Dramatic Club
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-19: "The Old Homestead" William Lawrence
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-20: "The Flower of the Ranch"
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-21: George L. Graves
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-22: "The Squaw man"
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-23: "Silver Threads"
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-24: "Jim The Penman" Florence Roberts, Thurlow Burgen
1885-1925
1 10
1-10-25: "Baby Mine" William A. Brady, unidentified woman
1885-1925

Photographs taken of newspaper clippings, 1885-1925Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 11

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 11
1-11-01: R.C. Easton
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-02: "Corianton"
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-03: "Corianton"
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-04: "The Georgia Ministers"
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-05: "Texas" Nora Shelby
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-06: "The Girl and The Governor" Fred C. Graham, Edna Evans
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-07: "Zira" Florence Roberts, unidentified woman, unidentified man
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-08: "The Clansman" advertisement
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-09: "Holy City" advertisement
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-10: "Hans and Nix"
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-11: "Jane Eyre" advertisement
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-12: "You Never Can Tell" Loa Roberts, Clifford Ashby
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-13: "Nobody From Starland" Olive Vale
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-14: "Paid In Full"
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-15: "Burgomaster" newspaper headline
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-16: The Jefferson family
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-17: "Grand Opening of Thatcher Opera House" headline from Logan Journal, 1900
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-18: "The Girl Question" 28 unidentified people in matching costumes
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-19: Bonnie Maie as "Daisy"
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-20: "The District Leader"
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-21: "The Budweiser Girls"
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-22: Advertisement for 3 plays on Dec. 13, 1890
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-23: "Hip! Hip! Hooray!" advertisement
1885-1925
1 11
1-11-24: "The Man of the Hour" William A. Brady, unidentified man
1885-1925

Documents that came with the collection, 1885-1925Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 12

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 12
1-12-01: Negative, probably a scene from "Black Mantle Opera." (See 01:07:10)
1885-1925
1 12
List of people in a photograph, probably corresponds with 01:07:07
1885-1925
1 12
List of people in a photograph, probably corresponds with 01:07:10
1885-1925
1 12
List of people in a photograph, note indicates that the photograph is missing
1885-1925
1 12
List of 7 members of Logan Dramatic Club and occupations, 1890
1885-1925
1 12
Note card listing 5 books, some clearly related to people in various photographs
1885-1925
1 12
Original envelopes which contained several photographs in the collection
1885-1925

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Actors--Utah--Logan--Portraits
  • Clippins (Books, newspapers, etc.)--Photographs
  • Theatrical posters, American--Utah--Logan--Photographs

Corporate Names

  • Thatcher Opera House (Logan, Utah)--Photographs

Form or Genre Terms

  • Negatives