Scope and arrangement
The Florence Ryerson and Colin Clements papers date from 1909 to 1965 and contain scrapbooks, typescripts, notes, and correspondence. The collection is not a comprehensive representation of their work, and is more reflective of Ryerson's experiences and career.
The bulk of the collection consists of scrapbooks. A few of the scrapbooks document the reception of Ryerson's and Clements's collaborations such as the clippings for Fear of Fear, Diana Laughs, and The Borgia Blade. There is also a guide to the screen version of The Wizard of Oz in Photoplay Studies magazine. The other scrapbooks highlight periods in their individual careers. One pertains to Clements's theatrical work for amateur groups such as his Plays for a Folding Theater and Plays for Pagans. There is a scrapbook of Ryerson's short story clippings with a table of contents that includes the name of the story, where it was published, the date, and the amount she received for publication. Additionally, there is a scrapbook of materials from Ryerson's life as Florence Willard and her early theatrical efforts such as clippings and programs from the 1911 Los Angeles Children's Theatre's first production of Wan o' the Wood; her costume designs for Bury Fair (1914); and correspondence related to her first marriage.
There are some writing files that include story development outlines, work diaries, drafts, correspondence, and research materials for Oh! Susanna, Sombra, and The Beckoning Fair One among others.
There are various autobiographical materials that detail their careers and personal lives such as Ryerson's "How Did You Land on Broadway?" and "I Look at My Life" narratives; a comprehensive list of their books and Ryerson's individual writing projects; and correspondence and notes about Ryerson's father's life and work.
The collection holds background information on Shadow Ranch before it became a California historic monument. There are clippings, personal photos, and correspondence about legal matters. There is also correspondence between Ryerson and the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission once the property was turned into a city park. Ryerson wrote several narratives about the ranch itself and her family's experience living on the property.
The Additions, dated 1934 to 1964, are mostly scripts which are rough drafts with editorial comments. These scripts were integrated into the Script files and include Cinderella; The Dark House (co-written with Alice D.G. Miller); Early American; and Spring Green. One script Oh! Susanna received a significant amount of new material including correspondence by Ryerson, and scripts for the New York and Pasadena tryouts.
The Notes files expand with information about Ryerson's creative process for developing scripts. The topics include detective stories, musical comedy ideas, plays, short stories and the work Strange Bedfellows.
There are also two files that hold autobiographical content. One file was named "auto notes" by Ryerson. These notes mostly describe her childhood and young adulthood. The file was filed with the Autobiographical Materials.
The second file "Circus Story, Work Diary," dated 1947, was written by Ryerson to describe her working relationship with Clements and their struggle to complete scripts. According to Ryerson, Clements proposed to write a circus story for high schools. This file was placed with the Work Diaries.
Materials in the collection were assigned catalog numbers before final processing, and those numbers are retained as notes in the container list.