Sir John Gielgud [1904 - 2000]
81306 – 81590 . Letters, papers, and photographs relating to the public life and professional career of Sir John Gielgud OM CH (b. 1904, d. 2000), actor and director. Partly French, Danish, Italian, Russian, German, and Hebrew. Partly copies and printed. Gielgud’s career has been covered in great detail, not only in his own autobiographies and books of memoirs - Early stages (1939, revised 1987); Stage directions (1963); Distinguished company (1972); An actor and his time (1979, revised edition, 1996); Backward glances (1989); and, Shakespeare: hit ot miss?; 1991, revised as Acting Shakespeare, 1997 - but also in a number of biographies, including Gyles Brandreth, John Gielgud: a celebration (1984; revised as John Gielgud: an actor’s life, 2000 and 2004); Jonathan Croall, Gielgud: a theatrical life (2000); and Sheridan Morley, John G: the authorised biography of John Gielgud (2001). Both Croall and Morley had access to Gielgud’s surviving letters and papers. Gielgud’s letters have also been edited by Richard Mangan (2004). Presented by Sir John Gielgud’s executors, in accordance with his previously expressed wishes, August 2000. In addition, Add. 81315 consists of three small collections of letters from Gielgud, partly copies, to Mrs Mary Silverstein, to Noël Coward, and to Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, presented, respectively, by Mrs Silverstein, Mr. Barry Day, and Mr. Martial Smith.
285 vols. British Library arrangement, as follows.
A. Letters: 81306 – 81316.
B. Papers relating to Kate Terry Gielgud, Gielgud’s mother, and other members of the Terry theatrical dynasty: 81317 – 81328.
C. Juvenilia, presentation volumes, and diplomas: 81329 – 81334.
D. Contracts and financial papers: 81335 – 81339.
E. Scripts and libretti: 81340 – 81418.
F. Books and articles: 81419 – 81425.
G. Programmes and poster: 81426 – 81433.
H. Photographs: 81434 – 81524.
I. Cuttings: 81525 – 81589.
J. Objects: 81590.
A. Letters.
81306 – 81310. John gielgud archive. Letters from John Gielgud to his mother and father, Kate and Frank Gielgud: 1910 – 1956. The overwhelming number of letters are addressed to Kate Gielgud; in his early days on tour in the English provinces, Gielgud would write to her at least once or twice a week.
81306 – 81309. John gielgud archive. Letters to Kate and Frank Gielgud, 1910 – 1947.
81306. John gielgud archive. 1910 – 1922. Includes youthful letters written from Gielgud’s prep school, and also from army cadet camps when he was at Westminster School.
81307. John gielgud archive. 1923 – 1934.
81308. John gielgud archive. 1935 – 1946.
80309. John gielgud archive. Letters to his parents while on tour in the USA with Hamlet, 1936 – 1937, and a later US tour with The importance of being earnest, Love for love, and Medea; 1947.
81310. John gielgud archive. Letters to his mother, 1951 – 1956.
1. North American tour of The lady’s not for burning, by Christopher Fry, 1951.
2. Rhodesian tour of Richard II, 1953.
3. Season at Stratford-on-Avon, including Much ado about nothing and KingLear; 1955.
4. Tour of English provincial theatres with Nude with violin; by Noël Coward, 1956.
81311 – 81313. John gielgud archive. Letters to John Gielgud from friends, fellow actors, and members of the public, relating to specific performances; 1930 – 1940.
81311. 1930 – 1933.
1. Season at the Old Vic, 1930.
2. Old Vic Hamlet (transferred to Queen’s Theatre), 1930.
3. King Lear, 1930.
4. The Good Companions, by J. B. Priestley and Edward Knoblock; Spring 1600, by Emlyn Williams; Romeo and Juliet (directed by Gielgud for the Oxford University Dramatic Society), all 1932.
5. Musical chairs, by Ronald Mackenzie, 1932.
6. Richard of Bordeaux, by Gordon Daviot, 1933.
81312. 1934 – 1940.
1. The Maitlands, by Ronald Mackenzie, 1934.
2. Hamlet, at the New Theatre, 1934.
3. Noah, by André Obey; 1935.
4. Romeo & Juliet, 1935 – 1936.
5. The seagull, by Anton Chekhov; 1937.
6. Richard II; 1938.
7. Three sisters, by Anton Chekhov; 1939 – 1940.
8. The tempest; 1940.
9. King Lear; 1940.
10. Other plays, 1933 – 1940.
81313. North American tour of Hamlet; 1936 – 1937.
81314. John gielgud archive.
1. Letters to John Gielgud from (a) Dame Edith Sitwell; 1946 – 1962; (b), A. L. Rouse, 1963; and (c) John Masefield, 1964, n.d.
2. Miscellaneous letters to John Gielgud, 1938 – 1999.
3. Letters of members of the Terry family, 1874 – 1931, n.d. Partly copies.
81315. John gielgud archive. Letters from John Gielgud, 1924 – 1986.
1. To Mrs Mary Silverstein, 1979 - 1984. Includes letters from Gielgud’s partner, Martin Hensler, to Mrs Silverstein and her husband. The Silversteins had been near-neighbours of Gielgud and Hensler at Wotton Underwood for several years. Presented by Mrs Mary Silverstein.
2. To Noël Coward, 1932 – 1966, n.d. Copies. Presented by Mr. Barry Day, honorary archivist to the Coward estate.
3. To Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, 1924 – 1986. Copies. Presented by Mr. Martial Smith, biographer of Dame Gwen, with the permission of Dame Gwen’s heirs.
81316. John gielgud archive. Letter from George Bernard Shaw to Elizabeth Bergner, with incomplete text of Shaw’s St Joan annotated by the author, 1938. Copy, circa 1986. Shaw begins neutrally with “Ayliff has given me this book to study your proposed alterations to the text”, but proceeds to fill three pages with a robust refusal to countenance any of the proposed changes, ending with the brisk “Implacably. G. Bernard Shaw”. An autograph note by Gielgud on the back of one of his “With the compliments of ... ” cards reads “This is a copy of a letter from Shaw to Elizabeth Bergner after she played St Joan at Malvern. I suppose Ruth Rosen must have given it to me after Elizabeth died, though I have no memory of how I came by it.” Shaw wrote in his unmistakeable style on the title page and two blank pages of the 1924 Constable edition of St Joan, and there are 33 further pages from the text, most very heavily annotated with Shaw’s vehement disagreements with Bergner’s planned alterations.
B. papers relating to Kate Terry Gielgud, Sir John’s mother, and other members of the Terry theatrical dynasty.
Continued...
|
