UUS_P0399.xml Guide to the Thatcher Opera House photograph collection1885-1925 Thatcher Opera House photograph collection Finding aid/register created by Carl J. Aldrich Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library Utah State University 3000 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322-3000 Phone: 435 797-8248 Fax: 435 797-2880 Email: scweb@usu.edu
©2012

Much of the information written on the photographs came from G.W. Thatcher, who owned the Thatcher Opera House. Photographs are listed with the name of the play, if known, followed by person(s) identified. For most images there is much more information listed on the verso side.

Encoded in oXygen XML editor by Daniel Davis, 2012 January 03 Finding aid encoded in English Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition). 2009 Template information was updated to reflect Archives West best practice guidelines. Overview of the Collection UUS_P0399 Thatcher Opera House photograph collection 1885-1925 McMurdie, William E., 1922-2007. Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives Photograph Collection
Merrill-Cazier Library Utah State University 3000 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322-3000 Phone: 435 797-8248 Fax: 435 797-2880 Email: scweb@usu.edu
1 box 0.5 linear feet 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. Material in English

Processed in November of 2010

Photographs collected and donated by William E. McMurdie.

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

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.

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.

 Biographical Note

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.

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.

 Performing Arts Images Thatcher Opera House (Logan, Utah)--Photographs Actors--Utah--Logan--Portraits Theatrical posters, American--Utah--Logan--Photographs Clippins (Books, newspapers, etc.)--Photographs Negatives 1 1 Original Photographs 1885-1925 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 1 2 Promotional studio portraits of actors 1885-1925 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 1 3 Promotional studio portraits of actors 1885-1925 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 1 4 Promotional studio portraits of actors 1885-1925 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 1 5 Promotional studio portraits of actors 1885-1925 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 1 6 Promotional studio portraits of actors 1885-1925 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 1 7 Promotional studio portraits of actors 1885-1925 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 1 8 Promotional studio portraits of actors 1885-1925 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 1 9 Mostly reprints of originals found in Folder 1. The corresponding photograph is listed 1885-1925 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 1 10 Photographs taken of newspaper clippings 1885-1925 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 1 11 Photographs taken of newspaper clippings 1885-1925 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 1 12 Documents that came with the collection 1885-1925 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