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Creator
Roche, Emeline Clark, 1902-1995
Call number
*T-Mss 1996-016
Physical description
33 linear feet (52 boxes)
Preferred Citation

Emeline Roche Collection, *T-Mss 1996-016, 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 Emeline Roche Collection (1815-1988) consists of the Emeline Roche Papers (1815-1988) and the Jane Cowl Papers (1884-1949). The collection came in two installments: first after 1950 from Emeline Roche, the rest after her death from her executor and friend, Henry Grady.

Biographical/historical information

Emeline Clark Roche (1902-1995) was a set and costume designer, who, at various stages of her career, was involved in other aspects of theatrical production including lighting design and stock company management. Ms. Roche also worked as a technical designer for New York City stage, television and stock productions, as well as a designer of commercial productions.

Emeline Roche was born on October 3, 1902. She studied at the Art Students League, the New York School of Fine Arts, and with Norman Bel Geddes, later continuing on his staff for four years as an assistant draftsperson. During 1935-36, she served on the faculty of the Florence Cane School of Art.

Beginning in the late 1920s until 1939, she was involved with the Actor-Managers, Inc. run by Helen Arthur, Executive Director, Agnes Morgan, Aline Bernstein and Clara A. Weiss. She staged stock productions for that organization at the Newport Casino Theatre and Ann Arbor, among other venues. She was the stage manager for the touring companies of Ruth Draper and Angna Enters. Ms. Roche also worked as a technical supervisor for Aline Bernstein and Robert Edmond Jones.

During the 1930s and 1940s she was a technical assistant and costume designer for Herman Shumlin, Gilbert Miller, Charles Frohman, Inc. and the Theatre Guild, designing Broadway productions including Grand Hotel, State of the Union, Animal Kingdomand The Late Christopher Bean.

During World War II, Emeline Roche contributed her time and talents to the Stage Door Canteen and was the co-designer of the set for the original canteen. She served on the Executive Committee of the American Theatre Wing (ATW) War Service Inc. She also worked as an army aircraft spotter.

She joined the United Scenic Artists, Local 829, in 1927, and worked as a volunteer with the union from that time until her death in 1995. From 1947-1954, she served as recording secretary of the union and corresponded with designers including Jo Mielziner.

After the war, she assisted Lee Simonson, designing the setting for the Metropolitan Opera's 1947-48 production of the Ringcycle. From 1948 until 1954 she served as the costume designer for New York City Center Drama Productions.

Ms. Roche designed the costumes for the ANTA annual benefit at the Ziegfeld Theatre from 1949 to 1950 and again in 1955. She also served as technical designer for the television show the Kate Smith Hour, which ran until October 1951, and worked as a designer of exhibitions and pageants for corporations.

Ms. Roche met Jane Cowl in 1938 when Ms. Cowl was an actor in a stock production of Rain from Heavenat Ann Arbor. They later both served on the Executive Committee of the American Theatre Wing during World War II and became personal friends. As a result, Ms. Roche became involved with some of Ms. Cowl's other closest associates, including Jane Murfin, the co-author of four of her productions. After Jane Cowl's death in 1950, Roche organized the memorial in her honor and later purchased some of her property at auction in 1952.

Emeline Roche died on October 20, 1995 at the age of 93.

Jane Cowl (1883-1950), actor and author, was born Grace Bailey in Boston on December 14, 1883. According to a notation in the files, her date of birth was found in the Boston city records. She was the daughter of Grace and Charles A. Bailey. The family moved to New York City when she was three years old.

She began her career as an actor with David Belasco, debuting in the Belasco Theatre on December 10, 1903 as an extra in Sweet Kitty Bellairs, and quickly rose to starring roles with his company. In 1912, she scored a major success as Mary Turner in Within the Law. She also appeared in the early silent movie The Spreading Dawnin 1917.

Ms. Cowl later collaborated with Jane Murfin (Crisp) to write and appear in four plays including Lilac Time(1917), Smilin' Through, first produced in New York in 1919, Information Pleaseand Daybreak. She was the author of the plays The Jealous Moonand Hervey House. Ms. Cowl was acclaimed for her Shakespearean roles. She was considered the greatest Juliet in American theater, playing a record-breaking number of performances during the 1922-1923 season. During the 1920s Jane Cowl formed her own production company, directing and starring in productions including Romeo and Juliet. Her career also took her to London where she appeared in Noel Coward's Easy Virtueand other productions.

Ms. Cowl lectured and wrote on theatrical and other topics. In the 1940s she had a radio program on WOR. During World War I she was active in war relief and in World War II she was the co-chair of the Stage Door Canteen Committee and served on the Board of Directors of the American Theatre Wing.

She married Adolph Klauber, a New York Times drama critic and theatrical producer, on June 19, 1906. He died in 1933.

At the end of her 47 year theatrical career, she moved to Hollywood and appeared in films including Once More My Darling, released in 1949 and her last film, Payment on Demand, released in 1951 after her death.

Jane Cowl died in Santa Monica, California on June 22, 1950.

Scope and arrangement

The Emeline Roche Collection (1815-1988) consists of the Emeline Roche Papers (1815-1988) and the Jane Cowl Papers (1884-1949). The collection came in two installments: first after 1950 from Emeline Roche, the rest after her death from her executor and friend, Henry Grady.

The Roche Papers include correspondence, manuscripts, contracts, financial records, personal papers, photographs, scrapbooks, clippings and memorabilia, set, costume and lighting designs, drawings and renderings, original artwork and extensive research files.

The largest part of the Roche Papers consists of professional work files and related production designs and research materials. There are almost no personal materials such as biographical documents, personal papers, ephemera or correspondence. The papers are rich in materials relating to the role of professional women in the theater after World War I through the mid-fifties. However, with the exception of records relating to her personal interest in Jane Cowl, no materials exist that document the last four decades of Emeline Roche's life.

The collection includes drafts of chapters from a proposed biography on Ms. Cowl to be written by Frank P. Morse. Not only are there detailed annotations by Emeline Roche, but, in addition, a series of letters between Ms. Roche and Mr. Morse further clarifies important aspects of Ms. Cowl's life and theatrical career. Other writings by Jane Cowl's friends round out a picture of the famous actor, director and author whose theatrical career spanned nearly half a century.

The Jane Cowl Papers contain a large collection of materials documenting her professional career and personal life. The papers contain extensive personal and professional photographs. Included are tintypes of Jane Cowl and her mother, as well as photographs of her husband, Adolph Klauber.

The Cowl Papers also contain a large number of theatrical scripts, including a promptbook for Romeo and Juliet, which Ms. Cowl directed and starred in, presentation copies of Lilac Timeand Romeo and Juliet, as well as other promptbooks and annotated scripts. Ms. Cowl initially wrote under the pen names of C. R. Avery and Alan Langdon Martin, as well as crediting male aliases Theodore Charles and Reginald Lawrence as co-authors of her plays. The papers also include a number of holographic and typewritten drafts of radio scripts, lectures and articles.

However, the Jane Cowl Papers contain no letters between Ms. Cowl and her husband, almost no personal correspondence from friends, and little correspondence from theatrical associates, with the exception of materials relating to Jane Cowl's work with the Stage Door Canteen in World War II. The bulk of the personal correspondence about Ms. Cowl is found in the papers of Emeline Roche. Another major weakness in the papers is the shortage of financial and other business records.

The Emeline Clark Roche Collection is arranged in eleven series:

  • Series I. Emeline Clark Roche Papers: General files
    1935-1988
    .8 linear feet (2 boxes)

    The bulk of the series consists of Ms. Roche's business correspondence and other documents relating to the organizations with which she was affiliated including the Stage Door Canteen and the United Scenic Artists. The second largest number of files contains correspondence with theatrical friends, including Aline Bernstein.

  • Series II. Emeline Clark Roche Papers: Professional Work files,.
    1924-1951
    2.2 linear feet (5 boxes)

    Professional work files include production files containing programs, newsclippings, costume plots and swatches, set and light designs, contracts, correspondence, scripts, financial documents and other materials. Files document the performances of Angna Enters and Ruth Draper. The series clarifies Ms. Roche's working relationships with Jane Cowl and other actors and theater personnel, including Aline Bernstein, Agnes Morgan, Lee Simonson and Helen Arthur.

  • Series III. Emeline Clark Roche Papers: Research Files,.
    1815-1955
    5.7 linear feet (11 boxes)

    Research files are arranged by topic, often further sub-divided by date and country of origin, and contain brochures, color prints, etchings, catalogs, postcards, sketches, research notes, drawings, articles, correspondence, clippings, blueprints and photos. Many folders are cross-referenced to other research materials. The files are particularly strong in the subject areas of architecture and costume design. Included are original English colored engravings of costumes (1815-1830), German colored costume plates from Der Bazar(1880-1898), and colored European costume prints of the 1880s. The series also contains a holographic letter from Queen Mary (1924) found in Box 14, Folder 16 about Queen Mary's Doll House and many cabinet cards and other 19th century photographs.

  • Series IV. Emeline Clark Roche Papers: Ephemera,.
    1915-1950
    3.1 linear feet (2 boxes)

    This series includes a scrapbook of the 1938 Ann Arbor Dramatic Season containing clippings on Jane Cowl in Rain from Heaven. There are also personal and professinoal photographs of the staff of The Actor-Managers, Inc., photos of Aline Bernstein, Helen Arthur and a set of rotogravures of Geraldine Farrar in Cecil B. DeMille's production of Joan of Arc. Also included in the series are clippings about Jane Cowl. Ephemera includes Ms. Roche's 1927 union card and World War II documents consisting of certificates of appreciation and Stage Door Canteen materials.

  • Series V. Emeline Clark Roche Papers: Original Artwork
    1922-1958
    10.3 linear feet (12 boxes)

    This series includes watercolors, drawings and other original artwork by Emeline Roche and Angna Enters. The series also contains many black and white photographs of set designs, production renderings, sketches, working drawings, plans and elevations, blueprints and tracings, lighting plots and color costume and set designs.

  • Series VI. Emeline Clark Roche Papers: Jane Cowl
    1938-1988
    .4 linear feet (1 box)

    The series includes letters to Ms. Roche from Jane Cowl's associates, such as Jane Murfin, with reminiscences about her life and career, plans for her memorial service, and discussions about the purchase of her possessions at auction and their subsequent distribution to friends.

    A number of documents shed light on Ms. Cowl's career and personal history. The most extensive of these consists of correspondence about a proposed biography of Jane Cowl with working draft chapters. The biography was to be written by Frank P. Morse who first met Ms. Cowl when she was seventeen. Emeline Roche provided extensive comments on the contents of the chapters based on her own research. Ms. Roche and Mr. Morse entered into a series of letters providing detailed information on Jane Cowl's life and colleagues.

  • Series VII. Jane Cowl Papers: Correspondence
    1934-1949
    .4 linear feet (1 box)

    This series is divided into personal and business correspondence. The personal correspondence includes letters by Jane Cowl, as well as correspondence from employees and friends. The business correspondence focuses on Jane Cowl's World War II involvement with the Stage Door Canteen and the American Theatre Wing War Service Inc.

  • Series VIII. Jane Cowl Papers: Scripts
    1912-1943
    4.2 linear feet (10 boxes)

    This series contains radio and stage scripts, many hand annotated. Also included are promptbooks and presentation volumes of her best known productions with autographs, photos and other ephemera. This series is particularly valuable for a study of the performing arts in the first half of the twentieth century.

  • Series IX. Jane Cowl Papers: Writings
    1929-1951
    .25 linear feet (1 box)

    In addition to her work as a playwright, Jane Cowl lectured and wrote on topics ranging from meetings with famous people like President Coolidge to autobiographical stories and articles. This series includes manuscripts, typescripts and copies of articles relating to her work. Many items are holographic or contain written annotations and notes.

  • Series X. Jane Cowl Papers: Personal Papers
    1884-1949
    2 linear feet (4 boxes)

    This series contains personal papers including copies of her marriage certificate, research notes about her date of birth, many personal photographs of her as a child and adult, ephemera and clippings about her professional career and travels. Oversized material suitable for exhibition include magazine covers featuring Jane Cowl and related program materials.

  • Series XI. Jane Cowl Papers: Scrapbooks
    1907-1942
    3.3 linear feet (3 boxes)

    This series contains scrapbooks about Jane Cowl's performances in Antony and Cleopatra(1924), Easy Virtue(1926), First Lady(1936-1937), and Punch and Julia(1942). There is also a personal scrapbook of her first trip to Europe with her husband in 1907 containing mementos, photographs and letters. The scrapbooks are a good source of documentation for notable events in her career and life.

Administrative information

Custodial history

The Emeline Clark Roche Collection was donated to the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in 1996 by her executor and friend Henry Grady. The collection was conserved, re-housed and processed in 1996 and 1997. Prior to her death, Ms. Roche had donated portions of her collection of Jane Cowl materials to the Library. These papers which had been cataloged in MWEZ and the Library's Cage files were reorganized and processed with her own collection to form the Jane Cowl Papers within the Emeline Roche Collection. The Manuscripts Division of the New York Public Library holds 2 boxes of additional Jane Cowl materials.

Source of acquisition

Gift, Henry Grady and Emeline Roche, 1996

Processing information

Processed by Ellen Kastel.

Separated material

  • Photographs
    • Over 700 production photos, portraits and signed photographs have been separated from the collection and are in the Theatre Collection's photo files. Includes over 100 portraits of Jane Cowl including one by Edward Steichen
  • T-Cabinet
    • Dagger in case with ribbon used by Jane Cowl in Antony and Cleopatra

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.