Archives
The Lambs is not only a social club but also a modest historical society focused on show business and theater history. The Lambs Foundation oversees thousands of pieces of theatrical ephemera, contracts, letters, papers, photographs, rare books, manuscripts, sound recordings, and musical scores. Our archives are overseen by our club’s Curator. The Lambs has a Historian-Librarian and an Archives subcommittee of volunteer members who help manage the collection.
The heart of our collection are sixty wonderful oil paintings, going back to the mid 19th century.
The paintings and memorabilia on the walls of The Lambs form an intimate and unique story of New York theatrical life, creating a veritable living history of American theater. Many of these paintings and portraits are by renowned artists, most of them Lambs:
- Howard Chandler Christy
- James Montgomery Flagg
- Charles X. Harris
- Everett Raymond Kinstler
- Robert Reid
- Sonya Sklaroff
- Hubert Vos
The collection is not open to the public. Visits for academic research purposes must be scheduled in advance by contacting the club historian for approval. The Lambs offers tours of the Clubhouse–by appointment only–to those interested in the collection’s history. A note for genealogists: The archives hold virtually no information on past members except for the most famous ones.
The Lambs often is contacted by the public to donate items that are from The Lambs or property from deceased members. During the past few years the Club has accepted photos, scrapbooks, memorabilia, and even Cary Grant's dental records. Contact the Club to make arrangements for donations–and thank you!
The archives team is working on finding aids for 2023-2024; they will be published online here.
The collection is owned and maintained by The Lambs Foundation, which gladly accepts tax-deductible donations to be used toward ongoing cataloging and restoration work.
To make a financial donation to The Lambs’ Foundation, click here.
To contact the Club Historian, click here.