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A collection of letters, manuscripts, and documents of prominent actors, actresses, and theatrical managers. Many of these are single, unrelated items. The largest body of correspondence is from the American actress, Charlotte Cushman (14 letters). Another figure of major interest is William Charles Macready, partly because of Miss Cushman's relationship to him (she toured with him for several years) and also as there are several of his letters. Sir Henry Irving, Edwin Forrest and James Mowatt are each represented by a few letters. A group of 8 unsigned letters may have been written by the famous singer, actress, and manager, Eliza Vestris. One box contains manuscripts of Samuel Coit, Charlotte Cushman, Clyde Fitch, Wallace Gould, Henry von Heiseler, E.H. Sothern, and Lester Wallack. Six boxes contain Augustin Daly's check stubs and bank books for Daly's Theatre, New York, for 1872-1899. (For additional Augustin Daly business records, see description sheets for Daly's Theatre Collection, X810.128/D15& the Dramatic Library Collection shelf list).

The 44 letters related to British theater in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, dating from 1773 to 1853. The collection is divided into five series: I. Letters to William Kenneth (8); II. Letters to or about Richard Brinsley Sheridan (3); III. Letters to James Winston (5); IV. Theatrical letters arranged alphabetically by sender (26); and V. Non-theatrica l letters (2). The two letters in the 5th series are a letter from a solicitor to Lady Emma Hamilton dated 1806 and a letter from Irish poet Thomas Moore dated 1832. Most of the theatrical letters deal with the engagement of players and theater personnel.

This collection consists of ten volumes of business records connected with the operation of Daly's Theatre between 1872 and 1899. Included are cash account books recording income and expenditures, rosters of personnel, attendance books for members of the company, salary accounts, receipt books, and one volume having to do with directions for the settings for various plays.

Papers, promptbooks, photographs, lecture notes, correspondence, and theatrical files of Somerville. Included are materials from the Washington Square Players and Duke's Oak Theatre in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Playscripts, correspondence about his scripts, poems, notebooks and other manuscripts including drafts, typescripts, notes, photographs, mimeographed scripts and printed materials, re. Cooper's plays, radio and television scripts, short stories, and novels.

Correspondence and manuscripts including drafts, typescript, notes, photographs, mimeographed scripts and printed materials, re. Hall's plays, radio and television scripts, short stories, and novels. Among the cataloged correspondents are: Alan Ayckbourn, Robert Bolt, Christopher Fry, Sir John Gielgud, and Harold Pinter.

Forty-three letters to Witmark which were taken out of autographed books given to the University by Mr. Witmark. The letters are from leading authors and artists of the world, chief among them John Kendrick Bangs, Harry B. Smith, and Frederick Kummer. They are mostly friendly notes, some of them in connection with Witmark's requests that authors autograph books for his library. Also, eight manuscript music scores written by various composers including Victor Herbert for the wedding of Witmark and Viola Cahn; and printed matter including programs, clippings, and prospectuses, two autographed photographs, and a typescript catalog of the "Autograph Library of Isidore Witmark, Esq.".

The collection of about 6,000 volumes is particularly strong in English and American drama and in Molière. Records for the books are found in the card catalog; the books are classed with a Dewey call number preceded by a "D." The core of the collection comes from Dramatic Museum, with books divided between RBML, Burgess, & GL. These books are cataloged in Columbia's card catalogs, but have not been retrospectively converted. The collection also currently includes Classed Manuscripts. 40 titles in 46 volumes - a variety of manuscripts of plays and of works about the theater, from the late 19th and 20th century, cataloged as books with additional main entry card for each title is filed in the RBML Manuscripts/Documents card file.

Shelved with this collection is the Peter Gilsey Collection of Theatrical Tokens and Medalets