Sifting through the photographs of the Philadelphia Stage Door Canteen, an entertainment center for members of the armed forces during World War II, one can almost forget there was a war going on. Though the outside world dealt with destruction and fear, there was a small haven in the basement of the Academy of Music building where men could forget their troubles and enjoy themselves.

The Stage Door Canteen first opened its doors in June of 1943, and reportedly served 2,500,000 members of the military before it closed in October of 1945. Though it remained open for only three years, the raucous good times that were had at the Canteen are not forgotten, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s Collection of World War II Papers features quite a few photographs of the Canteen.

Young men in uniform can be seen posing next to celebrities and enjoying a variety of entertainers. Faces of celebrities crop up with frequency; one photograph features a moment with Duke Ellington playing alongside an orchestra while the next photograph depicts Ethel Merman in the midst of an energetic performance. The entertainment offered by the Canteen was quite diverse. Dancers, opera singers, actors, ventriloquists, and instrumentalists alike all seemed eager to perform for the boys at the Canteen. The photographs of these performances, while varied, are not altogether unexpected. Once in a while, however, the collection provides an opportunity for surprise and even amusement.

One such surprise appears in a folder full of photographs concerning theatre and vocal performances. After images of singers, mouths wide open in mid-song, and actors caught up in their dramatic performances, the last photograph shows a boxing match. Another folder includes a photograph of a performing seal. The Canteen was clearly dedicated to entertaining its guests with all sorts of events, never mind the unusual nature.

Another opportunity for amusement is found in a folder that documents a show entitled This is the Army, a musical based on the 1943 motion picture. One of the last photographs depicts a group of men wearing frilly skirts, the main subject smiling in a pained way and daintily bending his knees. An inscription informs the reader that the picture is from a show cheekily called This is the Navy.

Yet another entertaining photograph appears in a folder full of dance performances. The first few photographs capture the performance of an exotic, scantily-clad dancer. She appears to be completely immersed in her performance. The next photograph reveals that the audience, or at least one specific member of the audience, is similarly immersed in her performance.

Eyebrows raised in interest, a young man in uniform tips his chair backward. Perhaps he was just trying to make sure the dancer had enough space to execute her dance, which apparently calls for her to be sprawled out on the floor at this moment. From his new angle, however, the young man certainly has an improved view up the loose skirt of the dancer. Whether this was an intentional result or merely a happy accident we may never know. The reactions of the rest of the audience to this vignette, ranging from uncertain horror to absolute amusement, are also worth noticing.

There are plenty more opportunities to witness the good times at the Philadelphia Stage Door Canteen in HSP’s Collection of World War II papers. Though the viewer may not completely forget the dark and serious events of World War II, he or she can certainly appreciate the small moments of happiness in an otherwise troubling time.

The project conservation team has been busy photographing each of the hundreds of volumes in the Bank of North America collection. In the process we have created a sizeable collection of decorated papers present in these volumes, either as endsheets or exterior covering. Most of these were created using a process known as marbling, although some books contain paste papers as well.

Forms of marbling have been documented in China, Japan and the Middle East prior to the 12th century. Japanese Suminagashi involves the use of sumi inks and it is still a popular paper marbling style. The Turkish Ebru style was first introduced to France, Italy and Germany and craftsmen continued to introduce a wide range of materials and techniques. A Western marbled paper was created by floating a sizing such as carageenan on the surface of a water bath, followed by pigments in the desired sequence and a surfactant such as ox gall. This layer could be manipulated with a variety of tools and motions as well as added chemicals. An alum treated paper was laid on top and gently pulled away to create an impression.

Marbled paper styles may be roughly classified by technique although the variety of the practice ensures dispute. To identify these I relied mostly on the nomenclature established by Richard J. Wolfe in Marbled paper: Its history, techniques, and patterns. With special reference to the relationship of marbling to bookbinding in Europe and the Western world . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990.

Below is an example of the Nonpareil pattern ("unparalleled" in French), formed with the use of an evenly spaced comb dragged through the pigment layer.

The Shell pattern below was created by mixing the last color to be added to the bath with oil, producinng the characteristic dark centered and white outlined color spots.

This Schrottel pattern's pebbly look was achieved by the addition of an oil and ox gall mixture to a Turkish color base.

The Italian pattern is meant to resemble actual marble stone and the thin veins of color between wide open spaces are created by adding a disperant to the bath after the initial colors. This may have been a combination of soap, spirits and ox gall. In addition, the bath was physically manipulated to create the gradated waves characteristic of the Spanish style,  an innovation that may or may not have originated with the shaky hands of a marbling craftsman nursing a hangover.

The Spanish moiré pattern is a variation that involved folding the paper diagonally first before laying it on the bath and rocking it with repeated motions. This particular paper was possibly double printed, with a gold vein pattern followed by the final Spanish moiré.

The open white lacing of the Stormont pattern below was achieved with the final addition of turpentine or some other dispersant to the bath.

Marbling on printed text occured occasionally as the craftsman reached for whatever paper was available and several volumes in the Bank of North America collection sport such endsheets. This one is a portion of the biography of De Witt Clinton, 1769-1828, the New York politician known as "the father of the Erie Canal".

HSP holds a copy of this 1829 publication: Memoir of De Witt Clinton: with an appendix, containing numerous documents, illustrative of the principal events of his life by David Hosack

More images of the marbled and paste papers of the Bank of North America collection can be seen in this set on the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's flickr page.