The Punch and Judy Theatre, NYC. Murray & Dana, architects. Actor-producer Charles Hopkins built and managed this intimate playhouse. In 1926, Hopkins renamed it after himself. Once the Depression hit, it was no longer possible to sustain it, and Hopkins leased the venue to movie exhibitors. It was first an all-British cinema, then foreign films, then second-run Hollywood fare. Finally, pornography became the policy, and "Deep Throat" had its premiere here in 1972. Eventually, more respectable movies returned. In 1987, it was razed.
The picture above is from 1915 and shows Charles Hopkins and Mrs. Hopkins in The Clever Ones. Which opened on January 28, 1915 at the Punch and Judy Theater, NYC.
Five Plays: The Gods of the Mountain. The Golden Doom. King Argimenes and the Unknown Warrior. The Glittering Gate. The Lost Sillk Hat. By Lord Dunsany. Published in 1914 by Mitchell Kennerley of New York.
Sound binding. Sunning to spine and rubbing to top and bottom of spine and board tips. Top board tip bumped. Spotting especially to front board. Toning to endpapers. Light toning to text. Creasing to upper outer page tips due to bumping to board tip. Signed, dated and located by Charles Hopkins on front free endpaper. 7 1/2" x 5" with 116 pages.
Three Short Plays: Rococo. Vote by Ballot. Farewell to the Theatre. By Granville Barker. 1st American Edition published in 1917 by Little, Brown & Company of Boston.
Sound binding. Sunning/fading to spine. Light wear to top and bottom of spine and board tips. Some light spotting to boards. Pages lightly toned, clean and tight. Signed, dated and located by Charles Hopkins on front free endpaper. 7 3/4" x 5 1/4" with 86 pages.
The Inspector-General (or "Revizor,") by Nikolai V. Gogol. Translated from the Original with Introduction and Notes, by Arthur A. Sykes. Published in London by Walter Scott, Ltd. No date but must predate Hopkins "1915" on front free endpaper.
Sound binding. Rubbing top and bottom of spine and board tips. A bump to top of spine. Part of paper title label torn off. Sunning to spine. Pages are toned in the margins, clean, tight and whole. Signed, dated and located by Charles Hopkins on front free endpaper. 7" x 4 1/2" 185 pages plus ads.
Washington Square Plays: The Clod, by Lewis Bond. Eugenically Speaking, by Edward Goodman. Overtones, by Alice Gerstenberg. Helena's Husband, by Philip Moeller. With an Introduction by Walter Prichard Eaton. Preface by Edward Goodman (Director of the Washington Square Players). Published in 1917 by Doubleday, Page & Company of New York.
Sound binding. Paper and title label on spine is cracked and chipped. Heavy rubbing to top and bottom of spine and board tips. Some white spots to front board. Pages are lightly toned, clean, tight and whole. Signed, dated and located by Charles Hopkins on front free endpaper. 7" x 4 3/4" with 121 pages.