Manuscripts
John S. Anderson letters to John Larpent
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Two license books of John Larpent
Manuscripts
Register of licenses issued by John Larpent from Jan. 1801 to Jan 15, 1824. The entries include the names and brief descriptions of the plays for which licenses were granted, with the name of the theatre where it was to be performed, together with the entry for the license fee. In addition to the London theatres -- the Haymarket, Covent Garden, Drury Lane, the Adelphi and the Olympic -- there are entries for provincial theaters such as Norwich, Birmingham, Margate, Liverpool, Manchester, York, Hull, and Glasgow, sometimes with the name of the manager. A few plays are crossed out as "refused." There is an entry for "An address to be spoken on Master Betty's 1st appearance in London, Theatre Royal Covent Garden Dec. 1st 1804."
mssHM 19926
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William H. Anderson letter to Frances Anderson
Manuscripts
Letter from William H. Anderson to his daughter Frances, written from the "southern part" of New Mexico near Rincon. In the letter Anderson describes his travels from Boston to New Mexico by railroad. The letter was intended as a geography lesson for his daughter and Anderson carefully traces his progress through Buffalo, Detroit, down the Mississippi River to St. Louis, through Missouri and Kansas, and finally through Colorado to New Mexico. Anderson includes a slightly more detailed description of Kansas City, Missouri, where he rode in a cable street car. In addition to tracking his geographical progress Anderson writes of difficulties encountered with cattle on the railroad tracks.
mssHM 74757
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John Larpent Plays
Manuscripts
This collection consists of official manuscript copies of plays submitted for licensing between 1737 and 1824 that were in the possession of John Larpent, the examiner of plays, at the time of his death in 1824. These copies were later owned by John Payne Collier before being purchased by the Bridgewater House Library. The collection includes 2,399 identified plays as well as an additional 104 unidentified pieces including addresses, prologues, epilogues, etc. These copies of plays, generally, were clearly written by professional copyists attached to the theaters, though some are partly, or entirely, in the authors' handwriting. Most copies are accompanied by a formal application for license to perform, signed by the manager of the theater. The name of the author only rarely appears upon the play, except on title-pages of printed copies, submitted instead of manuscripts. Presumably, all new plays performed between June 24, 1737, and January 18, 1824, were licensed as the law required, but Larpent's collection is not entirely complete. The most conspicuous of the plays not now in the Huntington's collection (e.g., The Clandestine Marriage and The School for Scandal) are also not listed in the manuscript Alphabetical Catalogue with Notes of Theatrical representations &ca Submitted for Licensing From The Year 1737, to the Year 1787 inclusive in the handwriting of Larpent and of his second wife (now held by the New York Public Library). Their omission in Larpent's list suggest that these plays were removed from the Examiners' papers before Larpent took office. Others appear to have been either returned to the managers or given away by Larpent or by Collier. Note though that the Alphabetical Catalogue is incomplete and lacks a large number of titles held in this collection. A manuscript catalogue, Larpent dramatic manuscripts catalogue, 1737-1824 (call number: EL 26/B/11), was presumably made under Collier's direction, and it sometimes conveys information not found upon the copy itself, though the catalogue is incomplete and at times inaccurate. Originally, the manuscripts were bound in a rough whity-brown paper covers, upon which the Examiner often made notes. Before Larpent took office, the mark of an "X" on the paper cover seems to have indicated that the play had been examined; but Larpent usually entered the name of the theater submitting the play and a date, presumably when Larpent licensed the play and generally a day or two after the date of the application. Sometimes, though, the date is considerably after the first performance. On some copies, the marks of the Examiners indicate objectionable passages, and most suppressed plays bear endorsements stating that the license was not granted. While Collier had access to the collection, he inscribed many of the copies with notes, most of them partly in shorthand, recording his opinions on matters such as authorship, handwriting, or date. Though many of these notes are correct, others are mistaken or unintelligible. The fact that these plays are official copies sent to the office of the Examiner by the managers of the theaters, not the authors, places them in a different category from that of most literary texts. Their relation on the one hand to the acted version and on the other to the published work raises complicated problems that can be solved only individually. What liberties actors took with the text after it had been approved, one cannot say, but it seems likely that in general the licensed text was presented on the stage. The printed play, however, was generally set from copy provided by the author; and in it he had the opportunity to restore what the manager had eliminated, or to revise the piece in the light of its reception. The Larpent text, thus, may represent a state of composition either later or earlier than the first acted version. An examination of the manuscripts will show that the Examiner's copy seldom conforms entirely to the published text.
mssLA 1-2503
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Ann S. Ludlum letter to Eliza Jane Brown Anderson
Manuscripts
In this letter, Ann S. Ludlum thanks Eliza Jane Brown Anderson for the gift of "the album with the photographs of your husband and family" and relates the news of the mutual friend, Mrs. Colo. Chambliss. She notes that San Antonio, Texas "is improving rapidly," with "things are beginning to resume the appearance of old times," and people in "the country" being "very anxious to resume their political relations with the government."
mssHM 75842
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John S. Jenkins letter to William Titus
Manuscripts
In a letter to William Titus who then represented Cayuga County in the New York state legislature, John S. Jenkins, discusses his application for the position of Master in Chancery, a plan to acquire a share in the Cayuga Tocsin newspaper, and the Democratic Party.
mssHM 84151