From the end of the 1800s through the early 1900s, most theatre and opera house managers in the United States and Canada had to book their entertainment through Syndicates which controlled the touring schedules of most traveling shows and entertainers. One of the most prominent Syndicates was run by Marc Klaw and Abraham Lincoln Erlanger in New York City. This lot is a letter written from C. D. Hardy, manager of the Croswell Opera House in Adrian, Michigan, to Klaw and Erlanger. The letter requests that the terms for an upcoming performance of “Paid In Full” should be set at 60%-40%. The typed letter is signed by Hardy. The request was apparently unsuccessful since a penciled note on the letter states, “Make contract read 70/30.”

In existence for more than 150 years, the Croswell is the oldest theater in Michigan and one of the oldest continuously operating theaters in the United States. Named for Charles M. Croswell, an Adrian resident and the 17th governor of Michigan, the Croswell has seen more than its share of history. In addition to some of the greatest actors of the 19th century — Edwin Booth, Maude Adams, Otis Skinner, Mrs. Patrick Campbell — it hosted legendary bandmaster John Philip Sousa, not to mention important political figures like Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony.

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