Summary Information
Abstract
A large and important collection of the correspondence, memoirs, and plays of Tennessee Williams. The collection is especially strong in the later works.
At a Glance
| Bib ID: | 4079626 View CLIO record |
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| Creator(s): | Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983 |
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| Title: | Tennesse Williams Papers,
1920-1983
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| Physical description: | 27 linear ft. (in 63 boxes).
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| Language(s): | In English
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| Access: |
This collection has no restrictions on access.
This collection is located on-site.
More information » |
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Arrangement
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into 8 series:
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Description
Scope and Content
Correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, set designs, programs, playbills, and other printed materials and audio recordings. The manuscripts include: "Battle of Angels"; "A Streetcar Named Desire"; "The Glass Menagerie"; "Summer and Smoke"; "Now and at the Hour of Our Death"; "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"; "Portrait of a Girl in Glass"; "Hard Candy"; "Orpheus Descending"; "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone"; "You Touched Me"; "Desire and the Black Masseur"; "The Kingdom of Earth"; "The Rose Tattoo"; "The Eclipse of the Sun"; "A Balcony in Ferrara"; "Camino Real"; "The Gnadiges Fraulein"; "A Kind of Love"; "Broken Glass in the Morning"; "Suddenly Last Summer"; and "Tent Worms."
There is the typescript, with ms. corrections, of "Mes Cahiers Noirs," an unpublished diary ca. 1979.
Typewritten manuscript dating from the early 1940s of two unpublished sonnets; the mimeographed script of the David Frost interview, 21 Jan. 1970; letters to, by, or from: Herbert Machiz, Josephine Healy, Paul Bigelow, Audrey Wood (Williams' agent), Cheryl Crawford, David Diamond, James Laughlin, Glenway Wescott, Charles Feldman, Rose Williams, Edwina Williams, Edwin Dakin, Dakin Williams, and Carson McCullers; the manuscript of 9 poems, one of which "Poem for Paul" does not appear to have been published; set designs by Boris Aronson and Jo Mielziner; portrait of Williams by Leon Kroll; portrait of Rose Williams by Florence Van Steeg; portrait of Edwina Williams by Simon Branders.
Scripts for
Two Character Play
;
This Is
;
Vieux CarreĢ
;
A Lovely Sunday For Creve Coeur
;
A House Not Meant To Stand
;
Now The Cats With Jewelled Claws
;
The Youthfully Departed
;
A Cavalier For Milady
;
The Red Devil Battery Sign
. Also,
Tennessee Williams' "Grand"
: a teleplay by Trace Johnson.
Among the programs is one from
The Rose Tattoo's
first performance with signatures by Maureen Stapleton, Eli Wallach and others, and a
Starless Air
program, signed by Williams, Donald Windham, and Margaret Phillips
There is and extensive manuscript of his "Memoirs" (over 600 pages).
Director's archive for
Tigertail
There is one box of books by and about Williams with annotations by Jay Leo Colt.
Series I: Correspondence
1907-1983. 4 linear ft. The Correspondence series is divided into: Cataloged Correspondence; Dakin Williams Files; Letters from Agents and Publishers; and General Correspondence. The first two subseries are listed item by item. The series consists of letters from friends, family, and colleagues that often deal with Williams' writings and productions.
Subseries I.1: Cataloged Correspondence, 1920-1982
The letters are from friends, relatives, actors, directors, writers, and colleagues. They are arranged alphabetically by sender.
Subseries I.2: Daken Williams Files
1907-1959. In Box 1 of General Correspondence. A collection of correspondence to and from Williams and family purchased by Columbia Rare Book and Manuscript Library through an auction house. There are several letters from Williams' parents, from his Dakin grandparents, and a few from or about his sister Rose. The letters shed light on Williams early years including his MGM period and his trip to Mexico.
Subseries I.3: Letters Ffrom Agents & Publishers
Collection of letters from Williams succession of agents--Audrey Wood, Bill Barnes, Mitch Douglas and ICM--and his publishers. The letters are in chronological order.
Subseries I.4: General Correspondence, 1951-1983
Correspondents include Hermione Baddeley, Keith Baxter, Paul Bigelow. Robert Carroll, Walter E. Dakin, Henry Faulkner, Margaret Leighton, Anne Meacham, Frank Merlo, Jose Quintero, Jane Smith, Vassilis Vogilis, Edwina and Dakin Williams. Fan mail is also included.
Series II: Works, 1945-1982 11 linear ft.
The Works series is divided into the subseries: Plays and screenplays; Stories and poetry; Other works and related material; Works based on the writings of Tennessee Williams; Biography; Awards, Honors and Celebrations; and Works about Tennessee Williams. The files contain annotated manuscripts, draft pages, scripts, proofs, notes, flyers, programs, certificates and clippings, dating primarily from the 1960s and 1970s.
Subseries II.1: Plays and Screenplays, 1937-1982
This subseries contains script pages, scripts, notes, programs, clippings, reviews and essays. It is arranged alphabetically by title. See also production photographs in the Photography series.
Subseries II.2: Stories & Poetry
This subseries begins with an alphabetical listing of prose works, followed by poetry, articles, sketches and interviews. There are annotated pages, manuscripts, proofs, publications, book jackets, a videocassette, sketches, sketchpads and clippings.
Subseries II.3: Other Works & Related Material
Subseries II.4: Works Based on the Writings of Tennessee Williams
Subseries II.5: Journals, Memoirs, and Biography
Subseries II.6: Awards & Honors
Subseries II.7: Works About Tennessee Williams
Series III: Personal
1941-1983. 2.5 linear ft. This series contains journals, notebooks, address books, date books, messages, financial papers, medical records, post cards, memorabilia, ads, and clippings.
Series IV: Documents
Series V: Works by Others
1934-1982. 5 linear ft. This material has been arranged alphabetically by author. It includes manuscripts from friends, from aspiring writers, and those sent by agents. There is a collection of material by and about the writer and friend Carson McCullers, several manuscripts by Williams' companion Robert Carroll, short stories by Williams' brother Dakin, and the poetry of Williams' friend Marion Black Vaccaro.
Series VI: Photographs
This series contains snapshots as well as professional and news photographs of Tennessee Williams, his family, and friends. In particular, there are many pictures of Williams' longtime companion, Frank Merlo, and of his close friend, Maria Britneva St. Just. There are also photographs of productions and of celebratory events, as well as works by professional photographers and stills from 1950s MGM productions.
Subseries VI.1: Personal & Professional
Subseries V.2: Production Photographs
Subseries V.3: Film Stills
Series VIII: Printed Material and Photocopies of Playscripts
Miscellaneous Printed Items
Subseries VIII.2: Books
Subseries VIII.3: Photocopies of Playscripts
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Using the Collection
RBML
Access Restrictions
This collection has no restrictions on access.
This collection is located on-site.
Restrictions on Use
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Curator of Manuscripts/University Archivist, Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML). The RBML approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Permission to make any type of reproduction--photocopies, photographs, scans, digital--of Williams' play scripts must be obtained in writing from his estate. Please contact: George Borchardt, Inc. 136 East 57th St., NY, NY 10022. 212-753-5785.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Tennessee Williams Papers, Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
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About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries. Rare Book and Manuscript Library; machine readable finding aid created by Columbia University Libraries Digital Library Program Division
Processing Information
Papers Entered in AMC 12/05/1990
Annotated books Processed 05/19/1992 HR
Papers Processed 05/19/1992 HR
14 TW letters to Lobdell Cataloged 02/05/1996 HR
Machine readable finding aid generated from MARC-AMC source via XSLT conversion June 26, 2009
Finding aid written in English.
2010-04-05
Legacy finding aid created from Pro Cite.
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Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
All links open new windows.
Genre/Form
Subjects
| Heading | CUL Archives:
Portal | CUL Collections:
CLIO | Nat'l / Int'l Archives:
ArchiveGRID |
|---|
| American drama--20th century. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Aronson, Boris, 1900-1980. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Authors, American. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Bigelow, Paul, d. 1961. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Crawford, Cheryl, 1902-1986. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Diamond, David, 1915-2005. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Dramatists, American--20th century. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Dramatists. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Laughlin, James, 1914-1997. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Lobdell, David. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| McCullers, Carson, 1917-1967. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Mielziner, Jo, 1901-1976. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Short stories, American--20th century. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Stapleton, Maureen. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Wallach, Eli, 1915- | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Wescott, Glenway, 1901-1987. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Windham, Donald. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
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History / Biographical Note
Biographical Note:
Thomas Lanier Williams was born on March 26, 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi. His father, Cornelius, was a salesman who was largely absent and who had a bad relationship with Tennessee, the second of this three children. Consequently, Tennessee was raised predominantly by his mother, Edwina and maternal grandparents.
His often strained and disturbed family life became the fodder for many of his plays.
After moving to New Orleans in his late 20s, and adopting the name Tennessee, Williams began to write prolifically. His major break came when he won a writing contest and landed an agent, Audrey Wood.
Between 1945 to 1947 two plays by Williams establish his place as a major American playwright:
The Glass Menagerie
and
A Streetcar Named Desire
. The latter won him a Drama Critics' Award and a Pulitzer Prize. He was awarded a second Pulitzer Prize in 1955 for
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
.
Williams went on to produce such critical and popular hits as
Summer and Smoke
(1948),
The Rose Tattoo
(1951),
Camino Real
(1953),
Sweet Bird of Youth
(1959), and
The Night of the Iguana
(1961). In addition to his two Pulitzers, Williams was nominated four times for the Tony Award for Best Play. He won the Tony for
The Rose Tattoo
(1951).
In 1975 Williams produced an frank memoir in which he openly wrote of his homosexuality, alcoholism/drug addiction, and mental illness.
Williams died in New York City in 1983. His plays continue to be produced and enjoyed: A testament to his status as one of the greatest of American playwrights.
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