Description: Pictured here is a scene called "Toby Steps Out" from the play "The Girl and the Game," featuring actors Mary and Henry Rollins, George Hill, and Fred Campbell, with Catherine Reynolds starring in the leading roll of Nellie Mays. The note on the reverse of the photograph records that Reynolds' father, Thomas J. Reynolds, was the captain and owner of the Majestic, one of the last traveling showboats on the Ohio River. Built in 1920, the Majestic was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989. It is currently permanently docked at the Cincinnati Public Landing and is a venue for comedies and musicals. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F01_024_001
Subjects: Showboats; Theaters--Ohio; Actors--Ohio; Performing arts--Audiences; Entertainment; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Middleport (Ohio); Meigs County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows stage actors performing a scene from "No Mother to Guide Her" on Captain Billy Bryant's showboat. Captain Billy Bryant owned and operated several showboats on the Ohio River in the early 1900s, and in 1936 he published a memoir chronicling his career titled "Children of Ol' Man River." This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F01_025_001
Subjects: Showboats; Actors--Ohio; Theaters; Performing arts--Audiences; Entertainment; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1939, this photograph shows an audience watching a showboat comedy on the Majestic, owned by Captain Thomas J. Reynolds, in Middleport, Ohio. Built in 1920, the Majestic is the last of the original traveling showboats on the Ohio River. It is a registered historic riverboat in Cincinnati, Ohio, listed in the National Register on December 20, 1989. Today it is permanently docked at the Cincinnati Public Landing and is a venue for comedies and musicals. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F01_027_001
Subjects: Showboats; Ohio River; Actors; Theaters; Performing arts--Audiences; Entertainment
Places: Middleport (Ohio); Meigs County (Ohio)