Atlantic City Free Public Library

Date: 1898-1994; Bulk Dates: 1992-1993
Collection Number: H065

Extent: 1.5 cu. ft.

Repository: Alfred M. Heston Collection, Atlantic City Free Public Library, 1 North Tennessee Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ 08401, (609) 345-2269.

Preferred Citation: Vibrina Coronado Miss America Collection, Alfred M. Heston Collection, Atlantic City Free Public Library.

Creator:
Vibrina Coronado's interest in Miss America began as she altered pageant dresses in Raleigh, North Carolina. While fitting pageant contestants, Ms. Coronado became intrigued with the reasons why young women compete in the Miss America Pageant. While completing a Master's degree at New York University, Ms Coronado attended the Miss America Pageant twice in the early 1990's where she interviewed contestants, attended the preliminary competitions and saw the televised show live. Her Master's thesis “The Miss America Beauty Contest: Performing a History of Legitimacy” explores how the Pageant adjusted, from its beginnings in the 1920's, to changes in the expected social roles of women, including the women's liberation movement, college educations for women, and religious and ethnic minority winners.

Ms. Coronado finished her Master's in Performance Studies in 1993. Ms Coronado earned a PhD from Union Institute and University in Performance Studies in 2002 with research emphasis in women and popular entertainments, Native American (Indian) Performance, Latina/o Performance with a multi and interdisciplinary approach. While she was in graduate school, Ms. Coronado worked in professional costume shops in New York City building costumes for Broadway, regional theatre, opera, feature films, ice shows and other performance. She has taught speech at City University of New York colleges, theatre at University of North Carolina Pembroke, and American Indian Studies at University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Presently, she does non-profit and arts and crafts consulting.

IN-DEPTH INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Scope and Content:
This collection contains published books, magazines and brochures, micro audio cassettes, video footage, research notes, and correspondence. The majority of correspondence and notes are from the 1992 and 1993 Pageant, which Ms. Coronado attended. The published books include books about the perception of femininity, which may not directly relate to the Miss America Pageant, but do relate to Ms. Coronado’s study.

System of Arrangement:
Materials in this collection are divided into three series by format:

Series 1: Published Books – books used in Ms. Coronado’s research relating to the pageant and contestants. These items are cataloged in the Library catalog and are housed within the Heston Collection and are listed below.

Series 2: Research Materials – correspondence, press information, magazine articles and clippings, maps, pageant programs, and scripts for the 1992 and 1993 Miss America Pageants.

Series 3: Audiovisual Materials – videocassettes of the Miss America Pageants (1992 and 1993) and documentaries made about the pageant. *NOTE: These materials require a week's notice to access, as special arrangements must be made for viewing/listening.

OTHER INFORMATION FOR USERS OF THE COLLECTION

Subject Access Points:
Beauty contests – New Jersey – Atlantic City
Miss America Pageant
Coronado, Vibrina

Related Materials:
As Atlantic City is the birthplace of the Miss America Pageant, the Heston Collection has many related items. A subject search in the Library Catalog for “Miss America” lists the books in the collection. In addition, there are contestant photographs, video footage, and Miss America memorabilia in Heston Collection H029, the Miss America Collection. Other photographs of Miss America Pageants and parades are located in Heston Collection H009, the Atlantic City Free Public Library Collection of Atlantic City Photographs. The Samuel Formicola Miss America Collection (H047) contains photographs and work materials from Mr. Formicola, who was the photographer for the Miss America Pageant from 1957-1968.

Please see the Miss America Research Guide for more information about the Heston Collection’s holdings on this topic.

Processing Note: The collection is processed. Finding aid written by Heather Halpin Pérez, archivist, March 2010.

Copyright Notice: The Atlantic City Free Public Library does not hold the copyright for the published works within this collection. The Library may hold the copyrights for some of the other items within the collection. Please consult with the archivist before duplicating materials from the collection.

ITEM LIST

Series 1: Published Books (title is linked to Library Catalog record)

Series 2: Research Materials

Series 3: Audiovisual Materials

Published 10 March 2010.