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Creator
Brinker, Una Abell, 1874-1952
Call number
*T-Mss 1989-001
Physical description
.8 linear feet (2 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation

Una Abell Brinker Papers, *T-Mss 1989-001, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

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

The papers of Una Abell Brinker contain photographs, correspondence, personal mementos, unpublished writings and clippings of both her private life and career in the Newark theater and span the years 1895 to 1952.

Biographical/historical information

Una Abell Brinker was born in Wayne, Michigan in 1874. She made her debut in Newark, New Jersey at age 24 in Blue Jeans, a melodrama. She soon became an idol of the theater going public, performing in over 1000 roles and earning the distinction, First Lady of the Newark Theatre. Her first husband, H. Coulter Brinker, was her leading man in many productions of the Columbia Theater Stock Company. She later married theatrical producer Jacob H. Kahn. Miss Brinker conducted her own stock companies at the Neu Century, Orpheum and Newark Theatres in Newark, as well as the Lee Avenue Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. She played with Sarah Bernhardt, Modjeska and Rhea in repertoire, in addition to Maurice, Lionel and Ethel Barrymore in such plays as Camille, The Prisoner of Zenda, Romany Rye and Under the City Lamps. She made her farewell to the stage at age 50 in The Ruined Lady. She died in New York on November 12, 1952.

Scope and arrangement

The Una Abell Brinker Papers consist of scrapbook clippings of her theatrical career, family photographs and personal effects, some correspondence and unpublished memoirs, spanning the years 1895-1952. The value of this collection is in its newspaper documentation of the Newark theatre in the early 20th century, as well as Miss Brinker's personal recollections of famous performers with whom she appeared. The collection also contains correspondence from Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. and Wendell L. Willkie.

The Una Abell Brinker papers are arranged in two series:

  • Series I: Personal Papers
    1895-1952
    .4 linear feet

    Contains both professional and personal correspondence spanning the dates 1895-1952, including letters from such individuals as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. and Wendell L. Willkie.

    The majority of Una Abell Brinker's outgoing correspondence are handwritten letters to her daughter, Joan. The highlight of this section are her brief handwritten memoirs on performers with whom she collaborated, including Sarah Bernhardt and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., among others. Several manuscripts are also included: her grandfather's handwritten reminiscences and an autobiographical typescript. This series includes historic family photographs (tintypes), as well as stage portraits of the actress. Rounding out the collection are sheet music of the “Brinker-Abell March” and her baptismal cap.

  • Series II: Clipping and Scrapbooks
    1900-1952
    .4 linear feet

    This series consists mostly of clippings and scrapbooks pertaining to Una Abell Brinker's career in the Newark theatre. The range of dates covered is 1900-1952. There are obituary files for both Miss Brinker and her second husband, Jacob H. Kahn, a theatre producer. One scrapbook remnant is devoted to the accidental death of her first husband and leading man, H. Coulter Brinker, due to a fall in 1900.

Administrative information

Custodial history

Donated by Joan Arbuse, daughter of Una Abell Brinker.

Source of acquisition

Gift, Joan Arbuse, 1989

Processing information

Processed by Kenneth Schlesinger and Mary Ellen Rogan.

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

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.

Access restrictions

Photocopying prohibited.