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George Sklar and Miriam Blecher papers

 Collection
Call Number: YCAL MSS 1446
Scope and Contents

The collection contains correspondence, writings, photographs, printed material, personal papers, and other papers by or relating to George Sklar and Miriam Blecher. Among the correspondents are theater associates of Sklar such as Vera Caspary, Albert Maltz, and Paul Peters, and Blecher's modern dance colleagues, including Lily Mehlman and Estelle Oringer, as well as members of the Sklar and Blecher families. A number of letters reference the House Un-American Activities Committee and the blacklisting of Sklar and other writers. Materials documenting his career as a playwright include drafts, reviews, and theater ephemera for Merry-Go-Round, Life and Death of an American, And People All Around, Brown Pelican, and other plays, some of which were produced by the Union Theatre and Federal Theatre Project. Also present are performance photographs from Sklar and Peters's Stevedore, featuring images of African American actors Canada Lee, Georgette Harvey, and Leigh Whipper, and another of their works, the satirical revue Parade. In addition, the collection contains novels and short stories by Sklar. Papers documenting Blecher's work as a dance instructor include lesson plans, class notes, correspondence, promotional cards and fliers for her dance studio, and one cassette tape related to four-year-old students. Personal papers of George Sklar include documents from an FBI investigative file on Sklar and Blecher and papers related to a Writers Guild pension for blacklisted authors, address books, financial, legal, and medical records, clippings, and books from his library.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Box 20 (cassette tape): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.

Conditions Governing Use

The George Sklar and Miriam Blecher Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Between the Covers on the Sinclair Lewis Fund, 2019.

Arrangement

Organized into five series: I. Correspondence, 1914-1989. II. Writings, 1932-1986, undated. III. Photographs, circa 1926-1935. IV. Miriam Blecher Papers, 1924-1980. V. Personal Papers, 1898-2001.

Dates
1898-2001
Extent
14.53 Linear Feet (20 boxes)
Related Names
Sklar, George, 1908-1988
Blecher, Miriam, 1912-1979
Language of Materials
English