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Creator
Harrigan, Edward, 1844-1911
Call number
*T-Mss 1941-003
Physical description
7 boxes and 3 vols. (11.1 linear feet (29 boxes))
Preferred Citation

Edward Harrigan Papers, *T-Mss 1941-003, 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
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

Correspondence, scripts, songs, articles, programs and clippings document the life and career of Edward Harrigan. Includes extensive correspondence with his wife when he was touring with Tony Hart in the 1870s, photocopies of typescripts of a few works in his MULLIGAN GUARD series and two handwritten scripts: DAN'S TRIBULATIONS and SQUATTER SOVEREIGNTY, bound volumes of his songs and illustrated sheet music covers.

Biographical/historical information

Born in New York City, the grandson of Irish immigrants, and originally apprenticed in the shipbuilding trade like his father, William, Edward (Ned) Harrigan ran away from home and made his theatrical debut in San Francisco's burgeoning variety theaters in 1867. His early partners were Alexander O'Brien, then Sam Rickey. The latter partnership was a success with a sketch called The Little Fraud, but Rickey's drinking problems led to the act being disbanded.

In 1871 Harrigan met Tony Hart in Chicago and they first appeared together in a sketch called The Big and Little of It. Together they were one of vaudeville's most popular attractions. Harrigan wrote sketches and song lyrics, Dave Braham, who became his father-in-law, wrote the music, and Hart, apparently an amazingly convincing female impersonator with a beautiful singing voice, played the wife, son or black maid to Harrigan's fatherly figure. Soon Harrigan expanded his sketches to full-length musicals. In 1879, The Mulligan Guards' Ball, the first of Harrigan's Mulligan Guard series, a spoof of the then popular paramilitary groups and a major hit, was produced. Harrigan played Dan Mulligan and Hart was his wife. Other plays included The Major, Squatter Sovereignty, Cordelia's Aspirations, Dan's Tribulations, The Leather Patch and Old Lavender. Harrigan and Hart played at the Theatre Comique on Broadway near Spring Street in New York City under the management of Martin Hanley. They had great success and opened a New Theatre Comique a bit further up Broadway in 1881, but a fire destroyed the building in 1884. They moved to the Park Theatre, later known as the Herald Square, but due to lingering bad feelings stemming from the fire, their partnership ended in 1885.

Harrigan continued at the Park Theatre until 1890 when he opened a new theater on 35th Street that he named for himself. His first production there, in which he played the title role, and his last real success, was Reilly and the Four Hundred. In later years Harrigan appeared in revivals of his plays, acted intermittently in plays written by others and leased his own theater that later became the Garrick Theatre.

Harrigan died of heart failure on June 6, 1911, leaving a widow, Annie Harrigan, and six children, two of whom, William and Nedda, also went on the stage. At the time of his death he believed himself forgotten by the public, but the outpouring of remembrances in the press belied this. His songs had been among the most popular of his era with hits such as The Mulligan Guard March, The Babies on Our Block, and Maggie Murphy's Home. His plays, presenting urban working class life in relatively realistic if comic terms, were one of the first attempts of American musical theater to identify with everyday life and indigenous themes.

Scope and arrangement

The papers document the life and career of actor, playwright, lyricist and producer Edward Harrigan with correspondence, scripts, songs, articles, programs and clippings. Highlights include extensive correspondence with his wife when he was touring with Tony Hart in the 1870s, photocopies of two handwritten scripts: Dan's Tribulations and Squatter Sovereignty, bound volumes of his songs, and illustrated sheet music covers. While Harrigan's caricatures of various ethnic groups, primarily Irish and German immigrants and African Americans, seems dated today, in his lifetime he enjoyed tremendous popularity and respect. His work, innovative both in its subject matter, tenement life, and in its realism, reflects the social life and sensibilities of his times.

The Edward Harrigan papers are arranged in eight series:

  • Series I. Correspondence
    1875-1954
    16 folders

    Almost entirely family correspondence, the jewel of this series is the extensive correspondence between Edward and Annie Harrigan while he was on tour. The largest portion was written between 1875 and 1877 and the progression of their relationship is reflected in his salutations beginning with "My dear Annie," then "My darling Annie," and finally "My darling wife." Annie Braham and Edward Harrigan were married on November 18, 1876.

  • Series II. Family Papers
    1 folder (1 notebook)

    Consists of a notebook belonging to Annie Harrigan containing accounts and French lessons.

  • Series III. Scripts
    18 folders

    Mostly clean photocopies, both typescript and handwritten, are for Cordelia's Aspirations, Dan's Tribulations, The Mulligan Guard Nominee, Mulligan Guard's Ball, Squatter Sovereignty, and Telephone. Also contains synopses for The Leather Patch and Old Lavender.

  • Series IV. Other writings by Harrigan
    4 folders

    Consists of a photocopy of his novel, The Mulligans, published by G.W. Dillingham Company in 1901 and dedicated to the memory of Tony Hart, a couple of autobiographical articles and a handwritten pamphlet on celebrities, probably by Harrigan.

  • Series V. Songs
    1873-1903
    3 volumes 2 boxes and 3 folders

    The bound volumes, probably prepared by Harrigan's daughter Nedda, contain songs by Harrigan and Braham arranged alphabetically by title (with a few filing discrepancies). The boxes contain loose copies of what is in the volumes. The series also includes sheet music covers, a list of song titles and a notebook of handwritten song lyrics by Harrigan.

  • Series VI. Articles about Harrigan
    1883-1984
    7 folders

    Consists of critical analyses of Harrigan's playwriting, including a thesis (1984) on Harrigan's comedy, part of a book-length biography of Harrigan and various magazine articles.

  • Series VII. Programs and other printed material
    1874-1917
    3 folders and 1 oversized box

    Contains programs, advertising, printed ephemera, and visual materials, mostly photographs from newspapers and magazines.

  • Series VIII. Clippings
    1874-1942
    13 folders

    Clippings, now photocopied, are on Edward Harrigan's life and career. Includes a few scrapbooks; one was a memorial scrapbook. Also contains a few clippings on his colleagues, Johnny Wild and David Braham, and on his family members, mostly his actor children, William and Nedda.

Administrative information

Custodial history

The Edward Harrigan Papers were donated in 1941 to the Billy Rose Theatre Division by his daughter, Nedda Harrigan Logan.

Source of acquisition

Papers: gift, Nedda Harrigan Logan, 1941

Processing information

Processed by Elisabeth Elkind.

Separated material

See also the following collection of materials:

Edward Harrigan Papers, c. 1870-1908 11.1 linear feet (29 boxes The New York Public Library Manuscripts and Archives Division View finding aid.

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.