From the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Special Collections Blog:
Fabulous production shows were a staple of the Las Vegas entertainment industry and made the showgirl a Las Vegas icon.
Today, researchers from around the world can explore this glamorous world and see behind the scenes via new digital collections from UNLV Special Collections and Archives.
Historical photographs provide visual documentation of individual entertainers on stage and in publicity shots around the hotels, as well as images of dancers and showgirls and the production shows that made them famous. Manuscript collections feature the publicity records of entertainment departments which provide insight into the business of entertainment on the Las Vegas Strip and personal papers of noted Las Vegas show producers, such as Jerry Jackson, provide insight into the rarified world of the production show with its feather and rhinestone-clad showgirls and fantastic stage technology. Included in these collections are hundreds of costume design sketches from Las Vegas production shows.
UNLV Digital Collections is currently completing the digitization of three manuscript collections for public online access: the Sands Hotel Public Relations Records, the Jerry Jackson Papers, and the Donn Arden Papers. Digitized photographs, costume and set drawings, scrapbooks, correspondence, and other records from these collections are now available in the Entertainment digital collection.
Learn More About the Project + a Few Collection Highlights in the Complete Blog Post