Spencer Berger Collection on film, theater, and music

Collection

Call Number: YCAL MSS 759

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of material created and accumulated by Spencer Berger, stemming from his avocational interest in film, theater, and music, and from his particular research and collecting activities focused on actors John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, and Ethel Barrymore and musicians Ted Lewis and Leopold Stokowski. Material includes correspondence; photographs, including movie stills and autographed photographs of John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore, and others; playbills, clippings, and other printed material; notes; scrapbooks; and other papers.

Dates

1876-2000

Creator

Berger, Spencer, 1917-2002

Language

English

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Boxes 24-25 (35mm film): Restricted Fragile Material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.

Conditions Governing Use

The Spencer Berger Collection on Film, Theater, and Music 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

Gift of Spencer Berger,1992-1996, and Eric H. Berger, 2007.

Arrangement

Organized into four groupings: October 1992 Acquisition, December 1995 Acquisition, December 1996 Acquisition, and November 2007 Acquisition.

Extent

15.55 Linear Feet ((27 boxes) + 2 broadside folders, 2 art)

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.berger

Additional Description

Overview

Spencer Berger (1917-2002)

Spencer Merriam Berger was a business executive and film historian. He was born on May 6, 1917 in New Haven, Connecticut, and graduated from Yale University in 1940. He served as president and chairman of the board of the former Berger Brothers Company of New Haven, which made women's and surgical corsets. He was a leading authority on the actors John, Lionel, and Ethel Barrymore, and an enthusiast of Ted Lewis and Leopold Stokowski.

Processing Information

This collection has received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and in some instances minimal organization. Various acquisitions associated with the collection have not been merged and organized as a whole. Each acquisition is described separately in the contents list below according to month and year of acquisition. In 2013, the collection was renamed from Spencer Berger Papers to Spencer Berger Collection on Film, Theater, and Music.

As a rule, descriptive information found in the Collection Contents section is drawn in large part from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during processing.

This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

Former call numbers: Uncat Za Ms 246, Uncat Za Ms 468, Uncat Za Ms 511, and Uncat MSS 993.