Scope and arrangement
The Maude Adams collection reflects many of the actress' varied interests: acting, directing, lighting, writing, sketching, and teaching. Included in the collection, which spans the years 1879-1956, is a small amount of correspondence; writings by Miss Adams and others; papers related to her teaching and directing at Stephens College; and programs, autographed material, portraits, clippings, and mementos from friends and colleagues.
The Maude Adams collection is arranged in six series:
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1899-19562 folders
Letters from Maude Adams include a thank you note to Robinson Locke (1899), telegrams to the Quality Street company agent S. Goodfriend (1902), letters to her friends Marion and Paralee (1950's), and rough drafts of letters. Letters to Miss Adams include Julia Tompkins Pottle's suggestions for M.A.'s proposed film adaptation of Kim (1923) and a note from Burr McIntosh (1937). Letters about Maude Adams include a copy of a note from Ruth Gordon to Phyllis Robbins re: her book Maude Adams: An Intimate Portrait.
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6 folders
This series includes Maude Adams' income statement for 1913, two handwritten notebooks, a handmade book by Miss Adams entitled S'milestones, a collection of humorous poems about cast members of The Little Minister, a handpainted birthday card from that same cast, and a bookplate with the initials MEK.
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6 folders
These papers relate to Miss Adams' teaching experience. There are radio scripts for the Humanities course, a copy of her Pamphlet On English Speech and English Verse including handwritten notes, a speech concerning women and national defense, and miscellaneous teaching resource materials. In 1937 Miss Adams staged the college production of Chantecler. Included are her notes, script revisions, and remarks to her students.
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6 folders
This series consists of two typescripts [author unknown but may have been written by Miss Adams]: one about the life of Christ and another about Jonah; poems about Peter Pan entitled Betwixt and Between by Katharine Irons Brett; a rough draft of Mary of Des Moines [original title Our Lost World], a play based on Henry James stories and written by Annie Austin Flint in collaboration with Miss Adams; a synopsis of La Chanson de Roland; part of a radio script based on Dicken's Pickwick Papers; and a synopsis entitled Benjy (possibly an idea for a screenplay).
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3 folders
A silhouette of Maude Adams in Quality Street, a pencil sketch [artist unknown], and three watercolors by Mary McAndrew based on the Aladdin story complete this series.
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1879-193711 folders
This series contains programs, autographed material, a few photographs, a disassembled scrapbook of portraits and articles about various Maude Adams productions, two Maude Adams calendars, halftones, clippings, and a poster-size memento from the 1937 Stephens College production of Chantecler signed by cast and crew. Among the clippings is a series of articles written by Miss Adams in 1926 and 1927 for The Ladies' Home Journal recounting her life in the theater.