- unitid
-
{"value"=>"186535", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"*T-Mss 2024-004", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b23445883", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1787-1992", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1787/1992"}
{"value"=>"1814-1891", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1814/1891"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Helen Menken collection of Booth Family papers"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"6 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1.37 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Billy Rose Theatre Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The Helen Menken collection of Booth Family papers, dated 1787 to 1992, consists of programs, correspondence, and illustrations relating to the English-American theatrical Booth family, mainly the patriarch Junius Brutus Booth. The material was collected by his daughter Asia Frigga Booth, and through her line passed to American actress Helen Menken."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"Multiple languages"}
{"value"=>"English and French."}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Booth, Junius Brutus, 1796-1852", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Booth family was a prominent nineteenth-century English-American theatrical family. The patriarch of the family, Junius Brutus Booth (1796-1852), began acting in England at the age of seventeen, after seeing a production of <span class=\"title\">Othello</span> in Covent Garden. He started his career in small theaters throughout London, before embarking on a theatrical tour of the Low Countries in 1814. When Junius Brutus returned from that the following year he made his London stage debut. It was while on his European tour that he met his first wife, Marie Christine Adelaide Delannoy, marrying her in 1815. They had one child that survived infancy, their son Richard Junius Booth (1819–1868). Junius Brutus achieved fame in England in 1817, when he performed the title role in <span class=\"title\">Richard III</span> at the Covent Garden Theatre. It was around this time that he became a professional rival of the actor Edmund Kean, one of the foremost Shakespearean actors of the time.</p> <p>In 1821 Junius Brutus emigrated to the United States with Mary Ann Holmes, a London flower girl, abandoning his wife and child in the process. The couple settled in Bel Air, Maryland, eventually building a house they named Tudor Hall, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Junius Brutus rapidly became a successful actor in the United States, and in 1825 to 1826 and 1836 to 1837 he embarked on tours in England, taking his family with him for the second of these tours. By 1831 he was also the manager of the Adelphi Theatre in Baltimore. However, Junius Brutus' career success was often hindered by his alcoholism and violent temper and his son Edwin was assigned the role of guardian. In 1838, while intoxicated, Junius Brutus attacked a friend, Tom Flynn. Flynn hit Junius Brutus in the face, breaking his nose and forever altering his voice and profile. Eventually his wife had discovered his second family and they divorced in 1851, after which Junius Brutus legally married Holmes. In 1852, while traveling by steamboat from New Orleans to Cincinnati, Junius Brutus developed a fever and died on the ship, near Louisville, Kentucky. He was fifty-six years old. Junius Brutus Booth is buried in Baltimore, Maryland.</p> <p>Junius Brutus Booth and Mary Ann Holmes had ten children, four of which achieved recognition of their own. These are Junius Brutus Booth Jr. (1821–1883), an actor and theater manager who was married to actress Agnes Booth (1843-1910), with whom he had a son, actor Sydney Barton Booth (1877–1937); Edwin Thomas Booth (1833–1893), an actor and the founder of the New York City actor's club, The Players, and who was married to actress Mary McVicker (1848-1881) and had a daughter, writer Edwina Booth Grossman (1861-1938) by his first wife, actress Mary Devlin Booth (1840-1863); Asia Frigga Booth (1835–1888), a writer who married actor/comedian John Sleeper Clarke, and had two children who became actors, Creston and Wilfred Clarke; and John Wilkes Booth (1838–1865), an actor and the assassin of president Abraham Lincoln. Junius Jr, Edwin, and John Wilkes appeared on stage together only once, in a 1864 production of <span class=\"title\">Julius Caesar</span>. Of the three, Edwin was the most well-regarded actor at the time. Edwin was a staunch Unionist who feuded with John Wilkes before the assassination and afterwards disowned him. Both Junius Jr. and John Sleeper Clarke were briefly jailed in connection with the assassination, and Asia and Clarke eventually emigrated to England.</p>"}
- custodhist
-
{"value"=>"<p>This collection was assembled by Junius Booth's daughter, Asia Frigga Booth Clarke. It was passed down to her son Wilfred Booth Clarke, who added to it, and his wife Grace Menken. Menken's sister Helen then inherited the collection and it passed to her husband George N. Richard after her death. The collection then passed to Richard's second wife, Bernice Parks Richard, and then to her daughter, the donor.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The main focus of this collection, dated 1787 to 1992, is Junius Brutus Booth. Alongside the Booth family content is a letter by Stephen M. Archer to Joelle Shefts, noting his use of the material in the writing of his book <span class=\"title\">Junius Brutus Booth: Theatrical Prometheus</span>. Of his three acting sons, Edwin Booth is the most represented. The Walnut Street Theatre, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania theater that was managed by the Booths and John Sleeper Clarke, also appears regularly. The material relating to John Wilkes Booth is limited to one letter, written while he was in England and sent to his father.</p> <p>The majority of the collection is composed of programs, often bound together. Also of note is Booth family correspondence, mainly from Junius Brutus Booth, and often to his father Richard Booth or Mary Ann Holmes. These letters were mostly written while Junius Brutus was on tour and discuss his performances. The correspondence indicates that Richard spent some time in Bel Air, Maryland. One letter to Richard, written in 1834, has a postscript note from Junius' son Henry Byron Booth, who died of smallpox during the family's 1836 to 1837 tour of England. Some of the letters are addressed to Richard Booth from a cousin. There is one letter addressed to Junius Brutus that is written in French. The letters to Mary Ann Holmes display Junius Brutus' affection for her, and she is always addressed as \"wife\" or \"Mrs. Booth\" even before their legal marriage. Additionally, there are a number of notes and journal entries written by Junius Brutus, some including financial accountings of performances.</p> <p>The collection also contains a number of illustrated prints, often with signatures. John Sleeper Clarke is featured often, and it should be noted that these materials were collected by his wife, Asia Frigga Booth.</p> <p>In addition to material on the Booth family, the collection contains items relating to other nineteenth-century actors, in the form of programs and illustrations. There is one illustration, possibly a costume design, that is unidentified.</p>"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>Alphabetical.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Gift of <span class=\"name\">Joelle Shefts</span> in <span class=\"date\">2024</span>.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Stacey Ference</span> in <span class=\"date\">2024</span>.</p>"}
- date_start
-
1787
- keydate
-
1787
- date_end
-
1992
- date_inclusive_start
-
1787
- date_inclusive_end
-
1992
- date_bulk_start
-
1814
- date_bulk_end
-
1891
- extent_statement
-
1.37 linear feet (6 boxes)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Helen Menken collection of Booth Family papers, *T-Mss 2024-004. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}