Popular Entertainment Collections

The Browne Library houses thousands of primary works relating to all kinds of popular entertainment, with particular strengths in materials documenting mass media: television, motion pictures, and radio.

In addition to books and periodicals, there are more than 35,000 television scripts and motion pictures scripts. A highlight of this collection is the Studio One Collection, a live dramatic anthology that aired on CBS-TV from 1948 to 1958. 

The Browne Library's holdings also include thousands of ephemeral items, such as press kits, lobby cards, and posters. Of particular interest are the Library's holdings of over 8,000 movie posters. Highlights of this collection are posters from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 20^th Century Fox, Republic, Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers, Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and United Artists.

The Browne Library has many other collections documenting popular entertainment in the United States. These collections cover diverse subjects such as beauty pageants, Radio City Music Hall, games, lyceums and chautauquas, and the card game Bridge.

The Browne Library also has a number of popular entertainment manuscript collections.

The following are links to resources mentioned above and some additional ones:

• Movies/Films/Motion Pictures
  • Motion pictures scripts, movie press kits, posters, Trading Cards (non-sport)
• Radio
  • Radio scripts, Cavalcade of America
• Television
  • Studio One Collection, Television scripts, Trading cards (non-sport), Star Trek Memorabilia, Mike Douglas Collection, Television Resources in the BPCL
• Other collections
  • Beauty pageants (Miss America and related state pageants), games, lyceums and chautauquas, world's fairs