Programs are our best guides to what individual performances took place throughout the country at any time. Besides the date, time, and venue, the program typically records the performers - including minor figures often lost to history - and the musical or theatrical numbers given. Viewed over a period of time they reveal the changing tastes of urban and provincial audiences.

Program booklets may also include photographs or essays on the artists and the works they performed. The culture and style of the time are reflected in the graphic presentation as well as the content. In fact the advertising surrounding the actual program may be even more fascinating and informative to the social historian or the casual browser than the event itself.