Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection
Object Details
- Scope and Contents
- The Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection documents the business endeavors of Frank Schiffman, and the Apollo Theater's contribution to American culture. The collection includes sound recordings, personal and business correspondence, photographs, business records, and printed material. The collection is arranged in six series as follows: Series 1: Correspondence, 1938-1985, consists of communications to and from Frank Schiffman, Jack Schiffman, and various business associates and friends. Correspondence is arranged in chronological order and by coresspondent.. Series 2: Business Records, 1931-1974, includes financial ledgers; phone books; booking cards containing names, dates, and performance reviews; and accounting documents pertaining to the management of the Apollo Theater. Series 3: Publicity, undated, includes print media, pamphlets, scrapbooks, and flyers documenting the numerous performances and activities at the Apollo Theater. Several of the newsprint advertisements were reprinted in two books written about the Apollo Theater: Ted Fox's Showtime at the Apollo Theater, and Jack Schiffman's Uptown: The Story of Harlem's Apollo Theater. Series 4: Photographs, undated primarily standard publicity stills of vocalists, comedians, musicians, and other artists who performed at the Apollo Theater, such as Lena Horne, Bo Diddley, Pearl Bailey, B.B. King, Jackson Five, Pigmeat Markham, Moms Mabley, Dick Gregory, Richard Pryor, and the Nicholas Brothers. Also includes candid shots of Frank Schiffman with business associates and friends. Similar to the print media, many of the photographs were used as illustrations in Ted Fox's Showtime at the Apollo Theater, and Jack Schiffman's Uptown: The Story of Harlem's Apollo Theater. Series 5: Ephemera, undated, includes interview transcripts, various manuscripts, and architectural drawings of the Apollo Theater. Series 6: Audio Recordings, 1940-1975, contains promotional broadcasts, publicity shorts, and one random music album. All of the audio recordings in the Schiffman Collection originated on 1/4" open reel audio tape and have cassette reference copies.
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research. The scrapbooks in Series 5 are in extremely fragile condition. They cannot be made available for use until they are preserved.
- Provenance
- Collection donated to the Archives Center by Jack and Robert Schiffman in January 1996.
- Arrangement
- The collection is arranged into six series. Series 1: Correspondence, 1938-1985, undated Series 2: Business Records, 1931-1974 Series 3: Publicity, undated Series 4: Photographs, undated Series 5: Ephemera, undated Series 6: Audio Recordings, 1940-1975
- Biographical / Historical
- The Apollo Theater is located in the Harlem section of New York City. A prominent and influential institution, the Apollo Theater hosted numerous performances by popular entertainers who were primarily African-American, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Holiday, Smokey Robinson, and the Temptations from the early 1930s to the present. It became best known as the site of "amateur night" programs, which catapulted many of its winners (and losers) to national and international acclaim. To this day, the Apollo Theater remains an important fixture in both the music industry and the African-American community. The son of Austrian immigrants, Frank Schiffman began his career in the promotion and distribution of motion pictures in New York City. As his career grew, he managed various New York theaters such as the Lafayette and the Harlem Opera House. In 1934, Frank Schiffman became the first manager of the ApolloTheater. Soon thereafter, he became co-owner, and retained the management position until the early 1960s. Schiffman's lack of racial bias as well as his keen business sense helped the Apollo Theater to become a cultural icon within the performance industry. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Schiffman's sons, Jack and Robert assisted him with the management of the Apollo, and later took over management upon Frank Schiffman's retirement. Frank Schiffman died in 1974 at the age of eighty.
- Collector
- Schiffman, Frank, ?-1972
- Donor
- Schiffman, Jack
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Genre/Form
- Publicity photographs
- Ledgers (account books)
- Handbills
- Photographs -- 20th century
- Awards
- Scrapbooks -- 20th century
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0540
- Collector
- Schiffman, Frank, ?-1972
- Donor
- Schiffman, Jack
- Names
- Apollo Theatre (New York, N.Y.)
- Schiffman, Robert
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Publicity photographs
- Ledgers (account books)
- Handbills
- Photographs
- Awards
- Scrapbooks
- Extent
- 4 Cubic feet (16 boxes)
- Place
- New York (N.Y.) -- 20th century
- Harlem (New York, N.Y.) -- 20th century
- Citation
- Frank Schiffman Apollo Theatre Collection, 1935-1973, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
- Processing Information
- Collection processed by Danielle Synder, intern, 2002; Sarah Gediman, intern, 2019; Lauren M. Janik, intern, 2019; Savannah, intern, 2019; supervised by Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist, 2019.
- Related Materials
- John and Devra Levy Collection, dates Program in African American Culture, dates
- See more items in
- Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection
- Topic
- African American entertainers -- 20th century
- Entertainers -- 1930-1980
- Concerts -- New York (State) -- New York
- African American musicians
- Music-halls -- 1930-1980
- Theaters -- New York (State) -- New York
- Date
- 1931-1985
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
EAD Collection Results
92 result(s) Skip to facets for narrowing search resultsFacets
- Media Type
-
Resource Type
- filter Archival materials 92 Exclude Archival materials
- filter Sound tape reels 4 Exclude Sound tape reels
- filter Advertisements 2 Exclude Advertisements
- filter Clippings 2 Exclude Clippings
- filter Newspapers 2 Exclude Newspapers
- filter Card files 1 Exclude Card files
- filter Cards 1 Exclude Cards
- filter Typescripts 1 Exclude Typescripts
- Culture
- Date
- Place
-
Set Name
- filter Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection 92 Exclude Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection
- filter Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 2: Business and Financial Records 23 Exclude Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 2: Business and Financial Records
- filter Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 4: Photographs 21 Exclude Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 4: Photographs
- filter Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 1: Correspondence 15 Exclude Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 1: Correspondence
- filter Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 5: Ephemera 12 Exclude Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 5: Ephemera
- filter Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 3: Publicity 5 Exclude Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 3: Publicity
- filter Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 6: Audio 4 Exclude Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 6: Audio
- filter Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 2: Business and Financial Records / Booking cards (A-L) 2 Exclude Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 2: Business and Financial Records / Booking cards (A-L)
- filter Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 2: Business and Financial Records / Booking cards (Mc-Z) 1 Exclude Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 2: Business and Financial Records / Booking cards (Mc-Z)
- filter Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 3: Publicity / Playbills and pamphlets 1 Exclude Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 3: Publicity / Playbills and pamphlets
- filter Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 3: Publicity / Print media newspaper clippings, flyers, etc. (reference) 1 Exclude Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 3: Publicity / Print media newspaper clippings, flyers, etc. (reference)
- filter Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 3: Publicity / Print media, reference 1 Exclude Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection / Series 3: Publicity / Print media, reference
-
Topic
- filter African American musicians 5 Exclude African American musicians
- filter Jazz 4 Exclude Jazz
- filter Women in music 4 Exclude Women in music
- filter Women in jazz 3 Exclude Women in jazz
- filter Women musicians 3 Exclude Women musicians
- filter Jazz musicians 2 Exclude Jazz musicians
- filter Singers 2 Exclude Singers
- Metadata Usage
- online_visual_material
- type