Sharp Collection, 1839-1912

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These programs were colleced by Harry Sharp between 1884 and 1910. In 1884, Harry was a 22-year-old picture framer and gilder living in Leichhardt, in inner Sydney, with his wife Ada. The family later moved to Denham Court, 40 kilometres south-west of Sydney, and continued their patronage of Sydney's theatres, keeping the programs of the attractions they saw. Harry Sharp died in 1939, and the programs were re-discovered in 1992. The Sharp collection has been kept intact, providing both a document of one family's theatregoing and a snapshot of popular theatre in Sydney over a period of nearly 20 years. Sharp's theatrical tastes were eclectic, ranging from Wagner's operas to vaudeville at Rickards' Tivoli theatre, from Shakespearean tragedies to Australian melodramas such as Breaking of the Drought, and Robbery Under Arms. [Information taken from an article by Richard Stone, published in the NLA News in October 2003 - Volume XIII Number 14.] Link to catalogue record.

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