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Creator
Dillingham, C. B. (Charles Bancroft), 1868-1934
Call number
MssCol 813
Physical description
46 linear feet (32 boxes, 18 v.)
Language
English
Preferred Citation

Charles Bancroft Dillingham 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.

Collection consists of correspondence, stage managers'reports, receipt books, roster and salary records, and some personal papers of Dillingham. Correspondence, 1903-1927, of Dillingham and his associates Bruce Edwards and Fred G. Latham with theatrical people relates mainly to the casting and production of shows at the Globe Theatre and at the Hippodrome. Some of the correspondence concerns the management of the road shows on tour in the United States. Records include stage managers' reports, 1910-1911 and 1926- 1927; receipt books, 1906-1907, 1913-1914 and 1920-1928, recording box office receipts for shows at the Globe Theatre; and roster and salary records, 1908-1909. Also, personal and miscellaneous papers, some of which were removed from the R.H. Burnside Papers, containing Dillingham's memoirs of his life in the theater, last will and testament, notebook, and research notes.

Biographical/historical information

Charles Bancroft Dillingham (1868-1934) was one of the leading theatrical producers in New York City during the first three decades of the 20th century. With his own company, the Dillingham Theatre Corp., and in partnership with A.L. Erlanger and Florenz Ziegfeld, he produced more than 200 comedies, musical comedies, operettas and vaudeville shows for the Broadway stage. He built and owned The Globe Theatre(at Broadway and 46th St.) and for many years he managed The Hippodrome,reputed to be the largest theatrical house in the world.

Scope and arrangement

The correspondence series is arranged alphabetically in over-lapping two-, three-, and four year intervals in the period 1903-1927 with some unsorted correspondence of various dates at the end of the series. It consists of correspondence of Dillingham and of his associates Bruce Edwardsand Fred G. Latham of the Dillingham Theatre Corp. with actors, actresses, theatrical managers, theatrical agents and producers, impresarios, literary agents, playwrights, song writers, musicians, band leaders, costumers and others. The correspondence relates mainly to the casting and production of plays, musical comedies, operettas, and vaudeville shows at The Globe Theatre and at The Hippodrome.Some of the correspondence relates to the management of the road shows on tour in the U.S.. Substantial correspondence is present with George Ade, Hans Bartsch, David Belasco, Irving Berlin, Col. E.A. Braden, Sir Alfred Butt, George M. Cohan, Francis W. Crowinshield, Carrère and Hastings, Haddon Chambers, A.L. Erlanger, W.C. Fields, James Forbes, Chares Frohman and Daniel Frohman, Sam H. Harris, J. Clarence Hyde, Arthur Houghton, Elsie Janis, Frederick Lonsdale, Cyril Maude, Louis Nethersole, and Florenz Ziegfeld.

There are also stage managers' reports (1910-11, 1926-27) for Over the River, The Old Town, Criss-Cross, and Sunny.There are 9 receipt books (1906-07, 1913-14, 1920-28) recording box office receipts for shows mainly at the Globe Theatre. There are also roster and salary records (1908-09) for The Top O' Th' World Company which provide the names of the principals, staff, chorus and orchestra and the amount of their weekly salaries. There are a few personal and miscellaneous papers of Dillingham (some of which is labelled as having been removed from the R.H. Burnside Papers) consisting of Dillingham's memoirs of his life in the theater in carbon typescript (104 p.), a copy of his last will and testament, a notebook labelled `Options and Expirations', and research notes made from the letters in the unsorted section of the correspondence series.

The Charles B. Dillingham papers are arranged in two series:

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Received, 1952-1953

Processing information

Processed by John Stinson; 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