Traveling Culture: Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century

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Group of people posed in front of a train, with a sign reading "Redpath Chautauqua Special"
"Redpath Chautauqua Special" Train in Pulaski, Tennessee.
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Overview

This digital collection presents 7,949 publicity brochures, promotional advertisements and talent circulars for some 4,546 performers who were part of the Chautauqua circuit. These talent brochures are drawn from the Records of the Redpath Lyceum Bureau, held by the University of Iowa Libraries. One of the largest booking agencies for the Chautauqua performers, the Redpath bureau managed a vast talent pool. Performers and lecturers were familiar names as popular entertainers or well known in the political, religious, and cultural worlds.

1998 LC/Ameritech Competition Awardee Institution: University of Iowa

Essay*

What Was Chautauqua?