urn:taro:utexas.cah.00449 A Guide to the Robert and Helen Oswald Papers, 1917-1930 August 17, 2005Encoded in XMetal 2 by Amy Ziegler according to instructions in TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. Descriptive Summary Oswald, Robert and Helen Robert and Helen Oswald Papers 1917-1930Materials are written in English. 2001-199, 2002-134 9 in. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History,The University of Texas at Austin Business and personal files document the lives of Robert and Helen Oswald, partners in a comedy troupe that performed in Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Biographical Note

Robert Oswald (1892-1948) and his wife Helen Oswald partnered with Jess and Irene Myers to form the Myers' and Oswald's Comedy Players. The comedy players performed in theatres and tent theatres in small towns and small farming and ranching communities throughout the south including Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma in the 1920's. The duo worked for the J. Doug Morgan Tent Show. Typically, shows featured a three-act comedy interspersed with vaudeville. The Myers and Oswald's Comedy Player's frequently featured The Peek-A-Boo Girls, a vaudeville style show featuring Helen Oswald and Irene Myers.

 Scope and Contents

Photo albums, business records, comedy material, financial records, advertisements, programs, correspondence, legal files, photographs, and a postcard document the lives of Robert and Helen Oswald. The collection is divided into business and personal files. In the business files the couples' schedule is recorded in a date book and a schedule of appearances. Financial records include receipts and an expense book of the comedy troupe. The papers include advertisements of the Myers' and Oswald's Comedy Players, including a postcard of the Peek-A-Boo Girls. Newspaper clippings provide show reviews and an obituary of a fellow comedian. The original material includes songs, poems, monologues, plays, jokes, and sketches used in their routine. Dance steps are recorded that were used in the shows. The couples' personal files include photographs, automobile purchases, and legal files including birth, baptism, and death certificates.

 Use Restrictions

Unrestricted access.

 Preferred Citation

Robert and Helen Oswald Papers, 1917-1930, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

 Index Terms Meyers, Irene Meyers, Jess Oswald, Helen Oswald, Robert Vaudeville Theatre Vaudeville United States Twentieth Century Theater--Kansas--History Theater--Missouri--History Theater--Oklahoma--History Theater--Texas--History

Forms part of the Professional Touring Entertainment Industry Archives.

 Detailed Description of the Papers Business files 3H128 Business correspondence, 1923-1935 Letterhead, undated Scheduling Date book, 1924-1925 Schedule of appearances, 1912-1930 Financial records Business receipts, 1924-1930 Expense books, 1924 and undated Advertising Advertisements, undated Newspaper advertisements, undated Newspaper clippings, undated Postcard of the Peek-A-Boo Girls, undated Theatre tickets and programs Myers and Oswald's Comedy Players Tickets, undated Liberty Theatre Programs, undated Myers and Oswald's Peek-A-Boo Girls American Theatre programs, undated Comedy material Published material Comic strip, undated Hillbilly Courtship by Austin Goetz, 1936 Humorous Incidents, undated Original material Jokes Minstrel gag, undated Quartette gag titles, undated Letters Humorous letter, undated Family Troubles, undated Plays My Jim, undated Poems It Might Have Been Worse, undated Cuddle Up, undated Monologues The 11:69, undated Blackface Monologue, undated Darling Nellie Gray, undated The German Senator, undated Queek on De Draw Goldberg, 1929 You Can't Do It, incomplete, undated Songs Song titles, undated Minstrel Song, undated Old Uncle Ned, undated White-Light Cafe, undated Dance steps, undated Sketches, undated Personal files Legal files Petition to place on record a birth not previously recorded for Robert Oswald, photocopy, 1892 Mary Helen Lavell's certificate of Baptism, photocopy, 1942 Death certificates of Robert and Helen Oswald, photocopy, 1948, 1981 Automobile Application for automobile license, 1929 Chattle Mortgage, automobile loan and payment receipts, 1925-1928 Memorandum of insurance coverage, August 15, 1924 Personal receipts, 1917-1929 Photograph album, photocopies, undated 3H136 Photograph album, photocopies, with some identification, undated 3S249.3 Photograph album, undated 3S249.3 Photographs, Irene and Jess Meyers and unidentified photos, undated Oversize material 3S129a War on Fun, Deandi Theatre Flyer, undated