- Creator
- De Kay, John Wesley, 1874-1938
- Call number
- *T-Mss 1984-009
- Physical description
- 1 volume (153 leaves), 32 cm; 1 volume (153 leaves), 32 cm
- Preferred Citation
- John W. De Kay papers, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library
- Repository
- Billy Rose Theatre Division
- Access to materials
- Request an in-person research appointment.
John Wesley De Kay, author and financier, wrote ca. twenty books and several plays, amassed and lost a number of fortunes, and pursued by charges of fraud for various financial deals, spent many years dodging extradition proceedings across Europe. Born in Iowa, he began his career in ranching and newspaper publishing in South Dakota, but by 1910 had achieved international business prominence as president of the Mexican National Packing Company which he had founded in 1902. In 1914 his play, Judas, starring Sarah Bernhardt, was produced at the London Coliseum. Collection consists of an unannotated typescript of De Kay's play, Judas, outlines and partial scripts with some handwritten changes for a few unproduced works, and an author's preface.
Administrative information
Source of acquisition
Papers: gift, Susan D. Smith, 08/30/84Using the collection
Location
Billy Rose Theatre DivisionNew York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor