Scope and Contents
The Philip Barry Papers document Barry's development and career as a playwright, from his earliest production at Yale in 1919 to his final work in 1949. The Papers are composed chiefly of Barry's notes, sketches, and drafts of his plays, materials relating to production and publication, and correspondence with friends, family, fans, and colleagues in the worlds of theater and literature. Additional materials are also present, including scripts of plays by other authors, college and workshop notes, press clippings, and pamphlets and photographs relating to professional and social organizations.
Dates
- 1917 - 1950
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of the collection are available on microfilm. Consult Access Services for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Philip Barry 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
Acquired from Ellen Barry, 1940-1961 and from unidentified sources.
Arrangement
Organized into five series: I. Writings, 1918 - circa 1949. II. Subject Files, 1921-1949. III. Correspondence, 1921-1949. IV. Other Papers, 1917-1950. V. Plays by Others, 1933-1941.
Extent
22.28 Linear Feet (54 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The Philip Barry Papers document Barry's development and career as a playwright, from his earliest production at Yale in 1919 to his final work in 1949. The Papers are composed chiefly of Barry's notes, sketches, and drafts of his plays, materials relating to the production and publication of his plays, and correspondence with friends, family, fans, and colleagues in the worlds of theater and literature. Additional materials are also present, including scripts of plays by other authors, college and workshop notes, press clippings, and pamphlets and photographs relating to professional and social organizations.
Philip Barry (1896-1949)
Philip Jerome Quinn Barry (1896-1949) was a 20th-century American playwright most widely known for comedies he authored during the 1920s and 1930s, including Paris Bound (1927), Holiday (1928), and The Philadelphia Story (1939). Born in Rochester, New York, Barry was the third and youngest son of a successful Irish immigrant father and an Irish-American mother from Philadelphia. After graduating from Yale in 1919, Barry attended George Pierce Baker's legendary 47 Workshop at Harvard, where he won the prestigious Richard Herndon Prize in 1922 for The Jilts. Subsequently produced by Herndon on Broadway as You and I, this script was the first of several composed before1930 that would establish Barry's reputation for high comedy and repartee. Together with the comedies of manners for which he was most popularly received, Barry authored a number of serious dramas tending toward religious and existential themes, including Tomorrow and Tomorrow (1931) and the more experimental Hotel Universe (1930) and Here Come the Clowns (1938). Barry's career as a playwright peaked in 1939 with the production of The Philadelphia Story, starring Katharine Hepburn, which was adapted to the screen the following year in a film featuring Hepburn, James Stewart, and Cary Grant.
Barry married Ellen Semple (1898-1995) in 1922. The two divided their time primarily between their homes in Manhattan and Mount Kisco, New York. They were the parents of two sons, Philip Semple Barry and Jonathan Peter Barry, and a daughter who died in infancy in 1933. Philip Barry died of a heart attack in 1949 at the age of 53.
Barry married Ellen Semple (1898-1995) in 1922. The two divided their time primarily between their homes in Manhattan and Mount Kisco, New York. They were the parents of two sons, Philip Semple Barry and Jonathan Peter Barry, and a daughter who died in infancy in 1933. Philip Barry died of a heart attack in 1949 at the age of 53.
Processing Information
This collection includes materials previously identified by the following call number: Za Barry.
This finding aid was produced from a previously existing card set in the Manuscripts Catalog, or from another inventory.
This finding aid was produced from a previously existing card set in the Manuscripts Catalog, or from another inventory.
- American drama -- 20th Century
- American literature -- 20th century
- Authors
- Authors, American -- 20th Century -- Archives
- Barry, Philip, 1896-1949
- Dramatists
- Dramatists, American -- 20th Century
- Photographic prints
- Playwriting
- Theater -- Production and direction -- United States
- Theater -- United States
- Theater scripts
- Title
- Guide to the Philip Barry Papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- by Will Baker
- Date
- 2010
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.