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Collection Data
- Description
- Paul Kester (1870-1933) was an American dramatist and author. He wrote popular novels and also plays which were produced on Broadway with well-known American and British actors. His older brother, Vaughan Kester (1869-1911) was a journalist and novelist who wrote short stories and assisted Paul with his plays. Harriet Watkins Kester was their mother and Jessie Jennings Kester was married to Vaughan Kester. Collection consists of correspondence, literary manuscripts and personal papers of Paul Kester and his brother Vaughan covering their work as dramatists and their correspondence with people in the performing arts. Harriet Watkins Kester's and Jessie Jennings Kester's personal papers are included in the collection. The bulk of Paul Kester's papers is correspondence with actors, actresses, playwrights, producers, publishers, and script writers. His personal letters, 1888-1924, are mainly to his mother, brother and sister-in-law and many of the letters refer to his daily activities as a playwright. Writings contain his working notes and drafts of some of his plays and novels. Miscellaneous papers include photographs of the Kester family and small collections of other individuals' papers. Vaughan Kester's papers contain incoming letters from colleagues; outgoing letters, 1891-1907, to his mother and to Paul Wilstach; writings; and miscellaneous papers. Papers of Harriet Watkins Kester consist of correspondence, 1874-1926, with her sons Paul and Vaughan about their careers and with her daughter-in-law Jessie; and writings, diaries and other materials. Jessie Jennings Kester's correspondence, 1899-1914, is with friends, her brother-in-law and mother-in-law, and with various members of the Kester and Watkins families. Also includes scrapbooks with press notices of Paul Kester's novels and plays.
- Names
- Kester, Paul, 1870-1933 (Creator)
- Kester, Paul, 1870-1933 (Author)
- Anglin, Margaret, 1876-1958 (Contributor)
- Belasco, David, 1853-1931 (Contributor)
- Chambers, David Laurance, 1879-1963 (Contributor)
- Dillingham, C. B. (Charles Bancroft), 1868-1934 (Contributor)
- Farmer, Warren (Contributor)
- Fiske, Harrison Grey, 1861-1942 (Contributor)
- Fiske, Minnie Maddern, 1865-1932 (Contributor)
- Frohman, Charles, 1860-1915 (Contributor)
- Galland, Bertha, 1876-1932 (Contributor)
- Gardener, Helen H. (Helen Hamilton), 1853-1925 (Contributor)
- Gay, Frederick P. (Frederick Parker), 1874-1939 (Contributor)
- Hewes, Laurence I. (Laurence Ilsley), Sr., 1876-1950 (Contributor)
- Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920 (Contributor)
- Howland, Hewitt H. (Hewitt Hanson), 1863-1944 (Contributor)
- Jennings, H. S. (Herbert Spencer), 1868-1947 (Contributor)
- Kester, Harriet Watkins (Contributor)
- Kester, Jessie Jennings (Contributor)
- Kester, Vaughan, 1869-1911 (Contributor)
- Langtry, Lillie, 1853-1929 (Contributor)
- MacMillan, Grant (Contributor)
- Marbury, Elizabeth, 1856- (Contributor)
- Marlowe, Julia, 1865-1950 (Contributor)
- Megrue, Roi Cooper, 1883-1927 (Contributor)
- Moore, R. Walton (Robert Walton), 1859-1941 (Contributor)
- Rogers, Henry G. (Contributor)
- Salvini, Alessandro, 1861-1896 (Contributor)
- Sargent, Margaret Winthrop (Contributor)
- Sothern, E. H. (Edward Hugh), 1859-1933 (Contributor)
- Thorpe, Courtnay (Contributor)
- Wilstach, Paul, 1870-1952 (Contributor)
- Kester family (Contributor)
- Watkins family (Contributor)
- American Play Company (Contributor)
- Bobbs-Merrill Company (Contributor)
- Samuel French, Inc. (Contributor)
- Dates / Origin
- Date Created: 1880 - 1933
- Library locations
- Manuscripts and Archives Division
- Shelf locator: MssCol 1641
- Topics
- Actors -- Great Britain
- Actors -- United States
- Drama -- 20th century
- Performing arts
- Romanies
- Theater -- New York (State) -- New York
- Authors
- Dramatists
- novelists
- New York (N.Y.) -- History -- 1898-1951
- New York (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs
- Kester, Paul, 1870-1933
- Cavell, Edith, 1865-1915
- Genres
- Photographs
- Scrapbooks
- Correspondence
- Notes
- Biographical/historical: Paul Kester (June 20, 1870 - November 2, 1933), author and playright, the son of Franklin Cooley Kester and Harriet (Watkins) Kester; the younger brother of Vaughan Kester. Kester was educated by tutors and private schools as was his brother Vaughan. Kester was a success in the Dramatic Arts; at the age of 22, his first play appeared on Broadway titled "Countess Roudino" (1892). This intial start was followed by approximately 25 plays which include "Eugene Aram" (1896), "The Cavalier" (1902), and "Friend Hannah", produced by Annie Russell (1906). Many well known American and British actors and actresses appeared in his plays including Margaret Anglin and Lynn Fontaine.
When Kester was not writing plays, he penned novels including "The Course of True Love" and "His Own Country". A shy and diffident man, he remained most of the time in his Virginia home "Gunston Hall", while his plays were produced in New York.
Kester died at the age of 63 from an attack of thrombosis (1933), in his Mohegan Lake, New York home. Unmarried, he was survived by a cousin Mrs. Eberhard Lueders (Florence Wickham).
His Books:
The Course of True Love Conservative Democracy
Diana Dauntless
His Own Country (1917)
"Sambo"
"Tales of the Real Gypsy
His Plays:
The Countess Roudine (w/ Minnie Maddern Fiske) [prod, by Modjeska] (1892)
Zamar [produced by Alexander Salvini] (1893)
The Student of Salamanca [produced by Alexander Salvini]
Eugene Aram [produced by Walter Whiteside] (1896)
Guy Mannering [produced by Janauschek] (1898)
The Musketeers (1898)
What Dreams May Come [produced by Janauschek] (1898)
Sweet Nell of Old Drury [produced in England by Julia Neilson and Fred Terry; in America by Rhea and Ada Rehan; in Australia by Nellie Stewart; in Orient by Matheson Lang]
When Knighthood Was in Flower [produced in America by Julia Marlowe; in London by Marlowe Sothern; in Australia by Nellie Stewart] (1901)
The Cavalier (w/ George Middleton) [produced by Julia Marlowe] (1902)
Queen Fiametta (w/ Mildred Aldrich from the French Catule Mendes) [produced by Julia Marlowe] (1902)
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall [produced by Bertha Gallahd in America; in England Julia Neilson and Fred Terry] (1903)
Mademoiselle Mars [produced by Mrs. Langtry] (1903)
Friend Hannah [produced by Annie Russell; revived under the title of The Love of a King] (1906)
Don Quixote [produced by E. H. Sothern] (1908)
Lily, the Bill Topper [produced by Marie Tempest] (1910)
The Lady in the Case [produced by Annie Russell] (1914)
Beverly's Balance [produced by Margaret Anglin] (1915)
The Love of a King (1917)
The Woman of Bronze [produced by Margaret Anglin] (1920)
Lady Dedlock [produced by Margaret Anglin] (1923)
Tom Sawyer [produced 1931]
Rachel Vour [produced in England by Maud May]
The Cousin of the King (w/ Vaughan Kester) [produced by Walter Whiteside]
The Head of the Family (w/ C. Haddon Chambers)
La Zulma
Vaughan Kester (September 12,1869 - July 4, 1911), journalist and novelist, the son of Franklin Cooley Kester and Harriet (Watkins) Kester; the elder brother of Paul Kester (1870-1933). Kester spent his young adulthood travelling throughout the South and West; these early experiences were later captured in his works. Kester was also influenced to write by his mother's cousin William Dean Howell, an association maintained through his literary career. On August 31, 1898, Kester married Jessie B. Jennings of Mount Vernon, New York. There were no children.
During his residence in New York City, Kester was on the staff of Cosmopolitan Magazine and the International Literary News Syndicates. He also assisted his brother Paul with his plays. Kester's works include short stories for magazines and novels. One of his finest, works is considered to be "The Prodigal Judge" (1911).
Was member of staff of Cosmopolitain Magazine and the International Literary and News Syndicates, Irvington-on-Hudson
His Books:
The Fortunes of the Landrays (1905)
John O' Jamestown (1907)
The Prodigal Judge (1911)
The Hand of the Mighty (1913)
- Content: The papers, 1880-1933, are the personal papers of Paul Kester (1870-1933), and to a lesser extent his brother Vaughan (1869-1911), their mother Harriet (Watkins) Kester and, sister-in-law Jessie (Jennings) Kester; illustrating the careers of the Kester brothers and the strong inter-personal relationship between family members.
The bulk of Paul Kester's papers are from individuals in the performing arts, such as actors and actresses, mainly American and British, playrights, producers, publishing companies and script writers. The correspondents include: American Play Company, Margeret Mary Anglin, David Belasco, Carl Bernhardt, Laucelot M. Blackford, John Blair, William Conrad Bobbs, Bobbs-Merrill Co., Susan Maria Breeks, George Platt Brett, Glenn Brown, W. Graham Browne, William Jennings Bryan, Witter Bynner, George Washington Cable, Charles Creighton Carlin, Andre Castaigne, Egerton Castle, Edith Louisa Cavell, David Laurance Chambers, Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain), Edward Henry Clement, Constance Collier, Augustin Daly, Walter Johanne Damrosch, Charles Bancroft Dillingham, John J. Donnelly, Doubleday McClure Co., Robert L. Downing, Theodore Dreiser, Douglas Fairbanks, Warren Farmer, William Faversham, Harrison Grey Fiske, Minnie Maddern Fiske, Carroll Hamilton Fitzhugh, John Tainto Foate Foate, Charles Frohman.
Other correspondents are: Clara (Clemens) Gabrilowtsch, Bertha Galland, Helen Hamilton Gardener, Arthur Garrett, Frederick Parker Gay, Grace George, Jeannette Leonard Gilder, Charlotte Anna Perkins Stetson Gilman, Harper Brothers Co., William Surrey Hart, Walter J. Helm, James A. Herne, Agnes (Denfort) Hewes, Laurence Ilsley Hewes, Hillary Hill Co., William Dean Howells, John Albert Tifin Hull, Fanny Janauschek, Henry Spencer Jennings, Mary Johnston, Mitchell Kennerly, Jane King, Arnold Kruckman, Oliver Hazard Perry LaFarge, Lilly Lantry, Harry Miller Lydenberg, Grant MacMillan, Macmillan Publishing Co., Elizabeth Marbury, Helen Mason, Everard Meade, Roi Cooper Megrue, Charles Henry Meltzer, Henry Louis Mencken, Robert Walton Moore, John Sanburn Phillips, Mary Pickford, Augustus Pitou, Harold John Pohl, Ada Rehan, Paul Robeson, May Robson, Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Root, Annie Russell, Maud Dixon Salvini, Alessandro, Margaret Winthrop Sargent, Herbert Livingston Satterlee, Elizabeth Montgomery Sharpe, Edward Hugh Sothern, Julia Marlowe Sothern, Booth Tarkington, William Taft, Courtnay Thorpe, Charles Hanson Towne, Kate Nichols Trask, Ernest Truex, George Crouse Tyler, Edith Wharton, Gordon A. Wilkins, Paul Wilstach, Eugenia Woodward and Olive Wyndham.
Kester's personal letters, 1888-1924, are mainly to his mother, brother and sister-in-law. Many of the letters refer to his daily activities as a playwright such as scripts, reviews, actors, etc. These letters indicates that Kester maintained daily correspondence with his family. The writings contain Kester's working notes and drafts of his works including "Diane Dauntless", "His Own Country" and, "Why is Art? ".
- Physical Description
- Extent: 43 linear feet (42 boxes)
- Type of Resource
- Text
- Identifiers
- NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b11635608
- MSS Unit ID: 1641
- Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): ae291b00-a449-013d-4be1-0242ac110003
