John C. Wilson Theater Collection on Noel Coward
Scope and Contents
The collection, including playscripts, production files, and printed materials, documents the professional collaboration between American producer and director John C. Wilson and British playwright Noel Coward from 1931 to 1955. The collection features scripts for several plays, including Design for Living, Point Valaine, Time Remembered, Blithe Spirit, Present Laughter, Private Lives, Relative Values, Island Fling, and Quadrille. Accompanying production files include correspondence, cast lists, financial records, photographs, and other material. The correspondence, which includes fan mail to Coward, consists chiefly of letters between Wilson and others relating to production. Printed materials include clippings (reviews) and playbills, most for productions in the eastern United States.
Dates
- 1931 - 1955
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Restricted Fragile papers in box 5 may be consulted only with permission of the appropriate curator. Preservation photocopies or photographic prints for reference use have been substituted in the main files.
Conditions Governing Use
The John C. Wilson Theater Collection on Noel Coward 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 Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, Inc. on the Frederick W. Hilles Fund, 2008.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by title.
Extent
2.92 Linear Feet (5 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
Collection, including playscripts, production files, and printed materials, documenting the professional collaboration between American theater producer and director John C. Wilson and British playwright Noel Coward.
John C. Wilson (1899-1961)
Born in Trenton, New Jersey and educated at Phillips Academy and Yale University, John C. Wilson worked briefly for C. D. Barney & Co. on Wall Street before becoming a producer and director. From the early 1930s to mid 1950s Wilson served as Noel Coward's personal manager and, in 1934, with Coward, Lynn Fontanne, and Alfred Lunt, he established Transatlantic Productions, with exclusive production rights to Coward's plays in the United States. Wilson also served as co-director of the Westport Country Playhouse from the early 1940s to mid 1950s.
- American drama -- 20th Century
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Coward, Noel, 1899-1973
- Dramatists
- Dramatists, English -- 20th Century
- English drama -- 20th Century
- Fontanne, Lynn, 1887-1983
- Lunt, Alfred, 1892-1977
- Photographic prints
- Playbills
- Playscripts
- Theater -- Production and direction -- United States
- Transatlantic Productions
- Westport Country Playhouse (Organization : Westport, Conn.)
- Wilson, John C., approximately 1899-1961
- Title
- Guide to the John C. Wilson Theater Collection on Noel Coward
- Author
- by Michael L. Forstrom
- Date
- October 23, 2008
- 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.