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Collection Data
- Description
- Papers of George Freedley, author, educator, theatre critic, librarian and founder of the Theatre Collection of the New York Public Library.
- Names
- Freedley, George, 1904-1967 (Creator)
- Avedon, Richard (Photographer)
- Dreyer, Carl Theodor, 1889-1968 (Correspondent)
- Flanagan, Hallie, 1890-1969 (Correspondent)
- Freedley, George, 1904-1967 (Correspondent)
- Gilder, Rosamond (Correspondent)
- Gish, Lillian, 1893-1993 (Correspondent)
- Hartnoll, Phyllis (Correspondent)
- Lissim, Simon, 1900-1981 (Correspondent)
- Norman, Gertrude (Associated name)
- Robson, Flora, 1902-1984 (Correspondent)
- Van Druten, John, 1901-1957 (Correspondent)
- ANTA (Organization) (Associated name)
- International Theatre Institute (Associated name)
- National Theatre Conference (Associated name)
- New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Billy Rose Theater Division (Associated name)
- Dates / Origin
- Date Created: 1861 - 1971
- Library locations
- Billy Rose Theatre Division
- Shelf locator: *T-Mss 2003-052
- Topics
- Kesslère, G. Maillard (George Maillard)
- Broadway (New York, N.Y.)
- Cats in literature
- Drama
- Dramatic criticism
- Librarians -- United States
- Theater -- United States
- Theater -- United States -- History
- Theater librarianship
- Genres
- administrative records
- Business correspondence
- Greeting cards
- Manuscripts
- Correspondence
- Photographs
- Ephemera
- Programs
- realia
- Scrapbooks
- Personal correspondence
- Clippings
- Notes
- Biographical/historical: George Reynolds Freedley, author, librarian, lecturer, educator, and theatre critic was born September 5, 1904 in Richmond, Virginia. He was the son of George Jacoby Freedley and Maude A. Reynolds. Freedley graduated from the University of Richmond in 1925. He studied at Yale University, where he was a student of George Pierce Baker from 1926 to 1928, and received his Master of Fine Arts in drama in 1936. After leaving Yale in 1926 Freedley worked in the theatre in various capacities, including three years as an assistant technical director and a stage manager of the New York Theatre Guild. As an actor, Freedley appeared in The Grey Fox (1928), The Camel Through the Needle's Eye (1929), and Everything's Jake (1930). Freedley began his career at the New York Public Library in the picture collection. When David Belasco's papers were donated to the library with the stipulation that they be made available to the public, Freedley was selected to organize them and the Theatre Collection was born. Beginning in 1931 as "librarian in charge", Freedley was appointed curator of the Theatre Collection in 1938. Except for a brief absence from 1948 to 1950 when he took a position as Chief Play Reader for A S Lyons, Freedley retained his curatorial post at the library until 1965 when poor health made it necessary for him to change his status to that of a consultant to the Collection.
During his tenure at the library Freedley also pursued his work on behalf of theatre history and theatre librarianship through numerous professional affiliations. He established the Theatre Library Association and served as its president from 1937 to 1963. He also served on the board of the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) from 1946 to 1964. Freedley gave his time and expertise to many organizations promoting international cultural exchange including the International Federation for Theatre Research and the Société Universelle du Théâtre. He was a delegate to the UNESCO Theatre Conference in Paris (1948) where the International Theatre Institute was established. Other organizational affiliations included: American Educational Theatre Association, Equity Library Theatre, National Theatre Conference, New York Drama Critics Circle, Pirandello Society, The Players, and the Shaw Society of America.
Freedley wrote frequently on the theatre, theatre education and theatre librarianship. He was a regular columnist for Playbill and the dramatic critic (1938-1947), book editor and drama feature writer (1947-1967) for the Morning Telegraph (New York). He was also a reviewer of theatrical books for Publisher's Weekly. Freedley's monographs include The Lunts: a Biography (1957), Simon Lissim: a Biography (1949), A History of Modern Drama(with Barrett H. Clark, 1947), and A History of the Theatre (with J.A. Reeves, 1941). In 1960 Freedley published a memoir of his cat titled Mr. Cat and the sequel More Mr. Cat in 1961. During his lifetime Freedley was honored many times, receiving the Kelcey Allen Award in 1956 and the Theta Alpha Phi Educational Award in 1957. He also accepted a Tony on behalf of the Theatre Collection in 1956. George Freedley died on September 7, 1967.
- Content: The George Freedley Papers span the years 1861 to 1971 with the bulk of the material ranging from 1935 to 1966. The papers consist of correspondence, writings, clippings, biographical material, research materials, photographs, scrapbooks and miscellaneous items and realia documenting Freedley's career as a librarian, lecturer and writer. The papers also include a collection of greeting cards from theatrical personalities.
George Freedley's involvement with the theatre began during his college days and continued as the focus of his work for the ensuing 40 years. This focus was evident in his endeavors including the Theatre Collection, his writings, reviews, speaking engagements and organizational affiliations, and is documented in this collection. Freedley was known and respected by a wide range of theatre professionals from Broadway to the academic community, both here and in England. The collection includes letters from actors, producers, designers, critics, and writers, including Carl Theodore Dreyer, Hallie Flanagan, Rosamond Gilder, Lillian Gish, Phyllis Hartnoll, Simon Lissim, Flora Robson and John Van Druten. It also contains material relating to Freedley's work in organizations such as ANTA, the International Theatre Institute and the National Theatre Conference to promote theatre scholarship and international cultural exchange. Freedley also worked on projects to identify and describe theatre collections throughout the world and to make that information available to researchers.
- Physical Description
- Extent: 33.5 linear feet (55 boxes and 2 oversize folders)
- Type of Resource
- Text
- Still image
- Identifiers
- Other local Identifier: *T-Mss 2003-052
- NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b15919510
- MSS Unit ID: 21717
- Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): fb8e93f0-2dad-013e-42c5-0242ac110002
