Scope and arrangement
The papers of Eileen Burns document her personal life, as well as her acting and writing career from the late 1920's to the early 1990's. The collection includes correspondence, biographical materials, scripts she wrote, photographs, writings, and newsclippings. Writings and drafts make up the bulk of the collection. The collection contains few scripts from her time on Broadway. Still, the photographs, the scrapbook and the ephemera within this collection document her time with several productions.
The Eileen Burns papers are arranged in ten series:
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1928-19912 Boxes
This series contains newspaper reviews on her acting, resumes and personal items collected over the course of Eileen Burn's career.
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1934-199144 folders
This series contains letters from Eileen Burns’ family and close friends, business associates and fans spanning 1934 until 1991.
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1968-199114 folders
This series contains the journals written by Eileen Burns - within the journals are personal descriptions of daily events and ideas for potential plays or novels.
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1973-199417 folders
This series contains the calendars used by Eileen Burns - within are numerous notations for events she attended.
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1934-198837 folders
This series contains contact sheets, playbills, correspondence and ephemera directly connected with the various Broadway and off-Broadway productions that are within the collection - e.g. Albee Directs Albee, Light Up the Sky and Mourning Becomes Elektra.
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1975 - 19842 Boxes 16 Folders
This series contains the journals, notes, and papers in the collection dealing with Eileen Burns' time spent at Hunter College to attain her Masters Degree. The numerous papers and plays dealing with playwriting and acting that she has within this series illuminate her progression as a writer.
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1953-19922 Boxes
This series contains the short stories, outlines and plays written by Eileen Burns that were found in a reliable sequence within the collection.
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n.d.4 Boxes
This series contains the untitled short stories, outlines and plays written by Eileen Burns that were found in an irregular sequence within the collection. As these pieces have no title to distinguish one from another, a main character from each was selected as an identifying mark.
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1929-19881 Box
This series includes personal photographs of Eileen Burns with friends and family, as well as headshots, proofs, negatives and production pictures found within the collection from her time on the stage. The photographs document Ms. Burns’ adult life.
Sub-series 1 - Personal Sub-series 2 - Professional -
1973-19865 folders
This series contains a Bachelors diploma, a Masters diploma, a calendar, and illustrations.