The Puppet Co. Library is fairly extensive. There are over 300 books and videos ranging in subject matter from puppet performances through how-to puppet construction books, puppet play scripts and puppetry philosophy. There also a number of volumes of back ground materials that we have assembled as we have done research for the productions in our repertory. For instance, there are about twenty books and videos concerning Alice in Wonderland and Lewis Carroll and about ten about The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum. There is a small selection of books about stagecraft and design, and a number of volumes of children’s literature and the history and philosophies behind children’s literature. Finally, we have a file of well over a thousand pieces of paper ephemera reflecting the history of puppetry in the United States from 1930 through the present day. Our library also houses the archives of our local organization, the National Capital Puppetry Guild.
Our library is not a lending library and is not open to the general public. However, if you are pursuing a serious interest in puppetry, or researching a project or paper about puppetry or one of the works in our repertory, the library is open to individuals by appointment.
The Puppet Co. Library Collection covers any puppetry and memorabilia that are not specific the mid-Atlantic region. This included puppets from Europe, Asia – virtually anywhere in the world. There are also commercially made toy puppets, and representation of important American puppetry not from our immediate vicinity. As examples, Paul McPharlin (founder and first president of Puppeteers of America) is represented, along with work by his wife, Marjorie Batchelder McPharlin. There are about 150 pieces of work, created by both professional puppeteers and hobbyists, in the Library Collection.
As with our library, the collections are not open to the general public, although items from the collections are often displayed publicly in our lobby. Anyone with a serious and scholarly interest in puppetry will be provided access to any of the collections.
To gain access to the library or to the collections, or if you have a puppetry related item that you would like to contribute, please contact Allan Stevens.
