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Call number
*T-Mss 2003-019
Physical description
3.06 linear feet (8 boxes, 1 volume)
Preferred Citation

Harry Davenport and Phyllis Rankin family papers, *T-Mss 2003-019. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Harry Davenport (1866-1949) was a stage and film actor who appeared in films of the silent and sound eras. His second wife, Phyllis Rankin (1874-1934), was a stage and film actress who appeared in silent films. The Harry Davenport and Phyllis Rankin family papers, dating from 1857 to circa 1946, document the careers of Davenport and Rankin, as well as members of their extended family.

Biographical/historical information

Harry Davenport (1866-1949) was a film and stage actor who appeared in many films of the silent and sound eras. He was best known for the role of Dr. Meade in Gone with the Wind (1939). His second wife, Phyllis Rankin (1874-1934), also a film and stage actor, appeared in many silent films.

Harry Davenport's parents were the actors E. L. Davenport (1815-1877) and Fanny Vining Davenport (1829-1891). One of his sisters, Fanny Davenport (1850-1898), was also an actor.

Phyllis Rankin's parents were the actors McKee Rankin (1841-1914) and Kitty Blanchard (1847-1911). She had two sisters. One, the actress Doris Rankin (1887-1947), was the first wife of Lionel Barrymore. The other, Gladys Rankin, was the first wife of Sidney Drew, and performed with him in a comedy act called Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew. Their son, Sidney Rankin Drew, was a noted aviator who died in World War I.

Scope and arrangement

The Harry Davenport and Phyllis Rankin family papers, dating from 1857 to circa 1946, document the careers of Davenport and Rankin; their extended family, which included members of the Drew and Barrymore families by marriage; and friends in the theatrical community. They consist of photographs, theater programs, scrapbooks, letters, scripts, clippings, and theater memorabilia. For an item-level description of the collection, see the inventory in additional resources. Identification numbers in the inventory also appear in the container list.

Photographs in good quality, some large, comprise half of the collection. A few are autographed. Dating from 1857 to 1941, they include posed production photographs as well as actor publicity images. Most have the subject written on the back. Some photographs are individually foldered and identified in the container list, while others (in box 6) are not identified. Researchers should look in both places for particular subjects.

The photographs include prints of Harry Davenport, Phyllis Rankin, E. L. Davenport, Fanny Vining Davenport, Fanny Davenport, McKee Rankin, and Kitty Blanchard. Other subjects include Louisa Lane Drew, Sidney Drew, Sidney Rankin Drew, Georgie Drew Barrymore, Sarah Bernhardt, Ethel Barrymore, Clara Louise Kellogg, Katherine Grey, and Julia Marlowe. Also present is a set of informal photographs of Irving Berlin taken on a military tour during World War II by Edward Davenport, the son of Harry Davenport and Phyllis Rankin.

Playbills and programs document the careers of E. L. Davenport, Fanny Vining Davenport, Harry Davenport, Phyllis Rankin, McKee Rankin, and Kitty Blanchard. They date from 1860 to 1935. The identification numbers in the inventory are in three sets: 1800s (18-1, 18-2, etc.), 1900s (19-1, 19-2, etc.), and undated (U-1, U-2, etc.).

Within the inventory, scrapbooks, clippings, and correspondence are arranged under the header of Miscellaneous Items, with identification numbers M-1, M-2, etc. This designation has been maintained. Dating from 1853 to 1946, they include scripts, a prompt book, and scrapbooks of programs and clippings for E. L. Davenport, McKee Rankin, Kitty Blanchard, and Harry Davenport. Letters are from McKee Rankin to Phyllis Rankin (1899-1914); and to McKee Rankin from friends and business associates (1868-1911). The letters to Rankin also hold contracts.

Arrangement

The papers are in three divisions: Playbills and Programs; Miscellaneous Items; and Photographs.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Carol Ortner, 2003.

Processing information

Compiled by Matthew Snyder, 2014

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

The author/creator retains copyright of materials. For information on obtaining permission to publish, contact the Theatre Division at theatre@nypl.org.