BOOKS
There are over 3,000 books in our library covering a vast array of subjects. Our holdings include books on the allied arts, puppet making, set design, costuming, practical effects, stage lighting, children’s books, fairy tales, fine art, crafts, pulp fiction, Hollywood biographies, Hollywood history, Los Angeles history, Disney, geography, film criticism, performing arts, classic literature, and much much more!
A complete item-level inventory of this collection is coming soon!
Thus far we have catalogued 2,106 books here.
open reel AUDIo tape
There are 1,230 magnetic 1/4” open reel audio tapes in our collection. These are the original masters for all of the soundtracks used in the theater’s performances and road shows while Bob Baker was alive—and is still used today.
An item-level inventory of this collection is available here.
CASSETTE TAPES
There are 911 cassette tapes in our collection that have been inventoried. These recordings include access copies of the original open reel master tapes, source material for the theater’s productions, children’s music, and popular music from the 60s to the 00s.
An item-level inventory of this collection is available here.
GROOVED MEDIA
There are over 4,000 discs in this collection. Bob was a lover of theater, ballet, musicals, opera and popular music. During his lifetime he amassed an impressive collection of vinyl records and lacquer discs. Songs from many of these recordings were woven into the soundtracks for his own marionette productions.
An item-level inventory of this collection is available here.
videotape
There are 269 videotapes in our collection. These tapes document television appearances; theater performances; interviews; theater staff and volunteers; Bob’s love of silent film, classic movies, and the Golden Girls; feature films with practical effects Bob Baker Productions were commissioned to perform; as well as historic footage of marionettes being made for Disneyland’s Main Street window displays.
An item-level inventory of this collection is available here.
concept art
There are upwards of 1,000 folders of conceptual artworks in our collection. These pieces include sketches, diagrams, and notes for every puppet and display created by the theater. Mediums include concept drawings, fabric samples, show posters, historical signage and much more. This collection particularly valuable since it documents, demonstrates, and promotes the theater’s history of creation—in addition to providing necessary reference material for the restoration of puppets and show designs.
A folder-level inventory of this collection is available here.
REFERENCE clippings
Before the Internet, artists and creators had to keep their own image libraries for visual reference and inspiration. Bob compiled his own library of imagery from paper clippings that informed the design and creation of countless puppets, sets and concept art.
This collection is currently unprocessed. If you would like to volunteer with our archivists to help with this collection, fill out our volunteer form and mention your interest in the reference clipping collection and any relevant skills you may have.