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Creator
Anspacher, Louis Kaufman, 1878-1947
Call number
MssCol 110
Physical description
2 linear feet (4 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation

Louis K. Anspacher Papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.

Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Papers consist of correspondence and theatrical writings, ca. 1903-1960 of Louis K. Anspacher, playwright, author, lecturer, and occasional actor.

Biographical/historical information

Louis K. Anspacher (1878-1947) was a playwright, author, lecturer, and occasional actor. Born in Ohio, he was raised, educated and resided in New York City and its environs. After taking degrees in law and philosophy at Columbia University in 1905, Anspacher turned to writing for the theater and lecturing for his livelihood. He published 17 plays between 1904 and 1940, as well as lecturing at the League for Political Education (1906-1947), the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (1908-1947), and at Columbia University/Institue of Arts and Sciences. He toured extensively in the United States/lecturing on drama, art, politics, and social problems, often while acting in touring theater companies under an assumed name. In addition to his plays, Anspacher published three collections of poetry from 1943-1946, including several works commissioned by Isadora Duncan, and seven volumes of literary and social criticism and philosophy. Dr. Anspacher was also an active supporter of woman suffrage and birth control.

Scope and arrangement

The Louis K. Anspacher Papers consist of correspondence and theatrical writings. The correspondence (1903-1960), with actors, directors, producers and agents, including Charles Coburn and John Rumsey, concerns the publication, copyrights, and productions of Anspacher's plays in Europe, Great Britain and the United States, and includes contracts, agreements and royalty statements. The writings consist of multiple drafts, both manuscript and typescript, of several of Anspacher's plays, including Rhapsodyand That Day,as well as many of his lectures on theater, drama and society.

The Louis K. Anspacher papers are arranged in two series:

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of Mrs. Florence Sutro Anspacher, May 1960

Processing information

Charles Kronick; machine readable finding aid created by Apex Data Services and revised by Chatham Ewing.

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328