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Creator
Nash, Mary, 1885-1976
Call number
*T-Mss 1977-003
Physical description
8.32 linear feet (15 boxes, 16 volumes)
Preferred Citation

Mary and Florence Nash papers, *T-Mss 1977-003. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.

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

Mary Nash (1884-1976) was an American stage and film actress most famous for playing Katharine Hepburn's mother in The Philadelphia Story (1940). Her sister Florence Nash (1888-1950) was an American actress, comedienne, and writer. The Mary and Florence Nash papers contain correspondence, photographs, writings, scripts and other production files, scrapbooks, scores, and personal ephemera.

Biographical/historical information

Mary Nash was born Mary Ryan in Troy, New York on August 15, 1884. Her father died when she was a young child and both she and her sister adopted the last name of their stepfather, theatrical booking agent Phillip F. Nash. She trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and began her career as a dancer. In 1905 she made her acting debut in J. M. Barrie's Alice Sit by the Fire, which starred Ethel Barrymore, with whom Nash also appeared in Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines (1907) and The Silver Box (1907). Between 1905 and 1932 Nash appeared in twenty-seven Broadway productions, including The City (1909), The Woman (1911), The New York Idea (1915), Major Barbara (1915), The Man Who Came Back (1917), A Lady's Virtue (1925), and The Command to Love (1927). Along with many stage actors and writers, Nash moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s, and worked there steadily from 1934 to 1936. Though never achieving film stardom, Nash played supporting roles in many notable films including Easy Living (1937), Heidi (1937), The Little Princess (1939), The Rains Came (1939), The Philadelphia Story (1940), The Human Comedy (1943), and Til the Clouds Roll By (1946).

In 1924 Nash married actor José Ruben, but the couple divorced shortly thereafter. Mary Nash died in Brentwood, California on December 3, 1976.

Florence Nash was born Florence Ryan in Troy, New York on October 2, 1888. Like her sister, she became an actress in New York theatre. The Boys in Company "B" (1907) was her first play, and she went on to appear in Broadway plays like The Lily (1909) and Miss Patsy (1910). She simultaneously worked in vaudeville as a comedienne, toured with The Pied Piper, and appeared in When Sweet Sixteen in Chicago. Her big break on Broadway came with Within the Law (1912), which she followed up with Sinners (1912), The Mirage (1920), and Merton of the Movies (1922). Nash appeared with her sister in two Broadway plays, A Lady's Virtue (1925) and The Two Orphans (1926). She went to Hollywood in the 1930s and moved in with her sister. She only appeared in three films, but one was a classic, The Women (1939).

Florence Nash was also a writer and published a volume of poems called June Dusk: And Other Poems. She died in Hollywood, California on April 3, 1950.

Scope and arrangement

The Mary and Florence Nash papers document the acting careers and personal lives of Mary and Florence Nash and the writing career of Florence Nash. Correspondence consists of personal letters to and from Mary Nash, Florence Nash, and their mother, Ellen Nash. These letters span many decades and provide insights into the friendships, romantic relationships, careers, opinions, and daily activities of Mary and Florence Nash. Some of their notable correspondents include Rachel Crothers, Charles Dillingham, George S. Kauffman, and Rod La Rocque. There are many letters from C. J. Edgar Renner, with whom Florence Nash was romantically involved during 1906 and 1907.

Writings mainly consist of notebooks and loose pages containing complete poems, fragments, and notes of Florence Nash's poems. These may include early drafts for poems published in her 1918 collection, June Dusk. Drafts of many prose works by Nash are also held here, including two unpublished novels.

This collection contains late nineteenth and early twentieth century photographs and tintypes of Mary and Florence Nash as children, as well as other family members. These unidentified family photographs may depict relatives of their biological father, James H. Ryan; their mother, Ellen Frances McNamara; or their stepfather, Phillip F. Nash. Signed photographs of friends and colleagues of Mary and Florence Nash are also included here. Their stage and film careers are documented with professional headshots, protraits, and publicity photographs from plays and films in which they appeared. Productions represented with photographs include The Lady, Merton of the Movies, Remnant, Thy Name is Woman, and The Two Orphans.

Production files contain scripts, flyers, and negotiation letters, primarily from Mary Nash's career. There are scripts from The Command to Love, The Man Who Came Back, and The Lady of Niger; and flyers and handbills from The Man Who Came Back. There is one scenario, one unidentified excerpt from a play, and a scene from A Lady's Virtue. Production, rehearsal, backstage, and publicity shots of plays and films in which Mary and Florence Nash appeared can be found in Photographs and Scrapbooks.

Personal ephemera contains pamphlets from the American Woman's Association, pamphlets pertaining to Christian Science, visiting cards, membership cards, passports, and a 1914 Business Year Book which belonged to the Mary and Florence Nash's stepfather, Philip Nash.

Scores include published sheet music for early twentieth century popular songs, traditional songs, and classical pieces. There are also three notebooks of Mary Nash's, annotated with hand-written scores and instructions for vocal exercises.

Both Mary and Florence Nash maintained scrapbooks documenting their careers and public personas. These scrapbooks primarily consist of clippings, but may include telegrams, letters, photographs, flyers, and programs.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in the following groups: Correspondence, Writings, Photographs, Production Files, Personal Ephemera, Sheet Music, and Scrapbooks.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by the Estate of Mary Nash, 1977.

Processing information

Compiled by Diana Bertolini, 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 theatrediv@nypl.org.