Library & Learning Commons: Stage Properties: Prop Reference + Research

Digital Resources

Selected Ebooks

The Prop Building Guidebook by Eric Hart
ISBN: 9781138183674
Publication Date: 2017
Experienced prop maker and UNCSA alum Eric Hart walks readers through techniques used in historical and contemporary prop making and demonstrates how to apply them to a variety of materials. Hundreds of full-color photographs illustrate the tools and techniques used by professional prop makers throughout the entertainment industry.
Bridgeman Images: Christies Collection
Publication Date: 2014
A collection of auction house, fine art, furniture, antiques, and decorative arts images.
Furniture Design by Stuart Lawson
Publication Date: 2013
Furniture Design is a comprehensive guide and resource for students and furniture designers. As well as discussing pioneering contemporary and historical designs, it also provides substantive answers to designers questions about function, materials, manufacture and sustainability, integrating guidance on all of these subjects -- particularly material and manufacturing properties, in one accessible and structured volume.
Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Design Since 1900 by Guy Julier
ISBN: 0500203792
Publication Date: 2005
Handbook for professional designers, students, or anyone with a curiosity about design. Embraces all aspects of modern design: graphics, products, interiors, furniture, and industrial and architectural design.
The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts by Gordon Campbell
ISBN: 9780195189483
Publication Date: 2006
Covers thousands of years of western and non-western history, practice, and mechanics of the decorative arts.
Bridgeman Images: William Morris Collection
Publication Date: 2014
A collection of images of William Morris Designs.

Databases + Web Resources

Ad* Access This link opens in a new window
Over 7,000 U.S. and Canadian advertisements covering five product categories - Beauty and Hygiene, Radio, Television, Transportation, and World War II propaganda - dated between 1911 and 1955.

USModernist Library of Architecture
Open digital collection of major U.S. 20th-century architecture magazines with approx. 2.5 million downloadable pages. Also a good source for browsing furniture and decor.

Europeana This link opens in a new window
Over 50 million artworks, artifacts, books, videos, and sounds from across Europe. Major topics include art, fashion, maps, music, and natural history.
Digital Public Library of America This link opens in a new window
Explore nearly 17 million digital items such as maps, news footage, oral histories, personal letters, and museum objects from libraries, archives, and museums across the US.

Physical Materials in the Library

Searching the Library Collections

Materials in the library are organized by subject. Browsing the art shelves of the library in-person can help you discover new work, materials, inspiration, and connections. Listed below are general call number ranges for prop design at UNCSA Library:

NK1700-2195 - Interior decoration; house decoration
NK3175-3296.3 - Upholstery and drapery
NK2200-2750 - Furniture history and reference
PN 2085-2091 - Theatre > Stage and Accessories
TK7800-8360 - Electronics
TT180-200 - Woodworking; Furniture making; Upholstering
TT201-203 - Lathework; Turning
TT205-267 - Metalworking
TT300-382.8 - Painting; Wood finishing
TT387-410 - Soft home furnishings
TT697-927 - Home arts; Homecrafts, including sewing, embroidery, decorative crafts

You can search our digital and in-library collections simultaneously by title, author, subject, or keyword via LibrarySearch. Click Advanced Search for additional search criteria (like material type, language, year, etc.).

Selected Print Books

The Prop Building Guidebook: For Theatre, Film, and TV by Eric Hart
Call Number: PN2091.S8 H255 2013 - Stacks (3rd Floor)
Publication Date: 2013
Experienced prop maker and UNCSA alum Eric Hart walks readers through techniques used in historical and contemporary prop making and demonstrates how to apply them to a variety of materials. Hundreds of full-color photographs illustrate the tools and techniques used by professional prop makers throughout the entertainment industry.
The Prop Effects Guidebook by Eric Hart
Call Number: PN2091.E4 H37 2018 - Production - Lighting & Sound & Tech, Browsery (2nd Floor)
ISBN: 9781138641136
Publication Date: 2018
Covers how to connect and assemble components and parts to make props light up, explode, make noise, and bleed. The book delves into the world of electricity, pneumatics, liquids, and mechanical effects to teach you how to make your props perform magic in front of a live audience. The book is complemented by a companion website featuring videos of how to create individual prop special effects: www.propeffectsguidebook.com.
The Prop's The Thing: Stage Properties Reconsidered by J.K. Curry, editor
Call Number: PN2091.S8 P78 2010 - Stacks (3rd Floor)
Publication Date: 2010
The essays in this Theatre Symposium volume approach the subject of stage props from many angles, and include examinations of props in contemporary and historical productions, explorations of the cultural significance of specific props, and arguments about the nature of the prop itself.
The Routledge Companion to Puppetry and Material Performance by John Bell (Editor); Dassia Posner (Editor); Claudia Orenstein (Editor)
Call Number: PN1972 .R68 2014 - Stacks (3rd Floor)
ISBN: 9780415705400
Publication Date: 2014
Looks at puppetry and material performance from six perspectives: theoretical approaches to the puppet, perspectives from practitioners, revisiting history, negotiating tradition, material performances in contemporary theatre, and hybrid forms.
The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts by Gordon Campbell
Call Number: Ref. NK28 .G76 2006 - Reference (2nd Floor)
ISBN: 0195189485
Publication Date: 2006
Over 1,000 entries covering thousands of years of decorative arts production throughout western and non-western culture.