Scrapbook owned by Reginald Beane

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A brown leather-bound scrapbook documenting the career of actor and pianist, Reginald "Sonny" Beane. The front and back covers of the scrapbook are constructed of brown leather on cardboard, with interior leaves of thick off-white paper. The front cover features an embossed decorative geometric design of a cross within a rose within a starburst. Materials within consist of three (3) photographs, twenty-eight (28) partial telegraph messages, four (4) letters, five (5) tickets, a typed CV, and many dozens of newspaper and program clippings mounted on 28 scrapbook leaves. Much of the content is related to Beane's performance in William Saroyan's play "The Time of Your Life," including clippings of reviews and programs, congratulatory telegrams from Ethel Waters and Frances Williams, a letter and postcard signed by Saroyan, and a photograph of Beane at his piano in a 1940 Chicago performance of the play.

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