The German play, originally published in 1847, is an adaptation of the French play Le Chef d'oevre inconnu, by Charles Lafont. The file contains materials related to rehearsal and performance, including a published copy (Hamburg: Verlags-Comptoir, 1854; second edition), which has been annotated as a prompt-book; a handwritten scenario; a handwritten item (letter) that served as a prop; and 10 handwritten role books. The published copy was at one point bound into a handmade cardboard cover; later the front cover was repaired using a sheet of paper, on the reverse of which is a form letter from Henry Frank advertising his book Das heutige Philadelphia, which was published in 1885. (Frank was the editor of theater newspapers in Philadelphia from 1885 to 1892.) The role books are for the following parts: Meister Michael; Rolla, Bildhauer; Stefano, sein Bruder; Leonore, Gräfin Costa; Marchese Appiani; Ascanio, Manoël, and Tebaldo (Verwandte Rolla's); ein Ausrufer; and ein Page. Two of the role books are oversized (those for Manoël and Tebaldo, see folder 716). Several role books bear the names of actors who were assigned the roles; there are two notations of "Dramatic Hall." The item that served as a prop is written on stationery for Textile Workers Progressive Union No. 8, North Front St., Philadelphia. (The collection's holdings of theater newspapers and playbills contain no references to this play.)
