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Creator
Slesin, Aviva
Call number
*T-Mss 2010-110
Physical description
2 linear feet (4 boxes)
Preferred Citation
Aviva Slesin collection of research and production materials for the ten-year lunch: the wit and legend of the Algonquin Round Table, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Some collections held by the Dance, Music, Recorded Sound, and Theatre Divisions at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts are held off-site and must be requested in advance. Please check the collection records in the NYPL's online catalog for detailed location information. For general guidance about requesting offsite materials, please consult: https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/lpa/requesting-archival-materials

This collection documents the creation of the film The Ten Year Lunch. Slesin acquired significant materials from numerous sources about the core group of the Round Table including Marc Connelly, Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott, Harold Ross, Robert Benchley, Ruth Gordon, and Edna Ferber, as well as satellite figures. Types of materials in this collection include photographs (both originals and copies), personal correspondence and ephemera, telegrams, sound recordings, a script, theatre programs, posters, and bound volumes. Includes the work of notable photographers such as James Abbe, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Nickolas Muray, and Carl Van Vechten. Slesin's production notebook includes a descriptive listing of 702 items that she consulted during her research, most of which are in this final collection. The final script for the film is accompanied by a promotional poster illustrated with a drawing by Al Hirschfeld of the Round Table members.

Biographical/historical information

Aviva Slesin (b.1943) is a documentary filmmaker based in New York City whose film The Ten-Year Lunch: The Wit and Legend of the Algonquin Round Table won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature of 1987.

The Algonquin Round Table was a group of journalists, editors, actors and press agents that met on a regular basis at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City. The group began having lunch together in June 1919 and continued on a regular basis for about eight years.

Scope and arrangement

Arrangement

Arranged in two series: Series I. Research materials; Series II. Production materials

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

Access to materials

Some collections held by the Dance, Music, Recorded Sound, and Theatre Divisions at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts are held off-site and must be requested in advance. Please check the collection records in the NYPL's online catalog for detailed location information. For general guidance about requesting offsite materials, please consult: https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/lpa/requesting-archival-materials

Conditions Governing Use

Collection is open to the public. Library policy on photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required. For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division