Sherman Scripts Collection, 1909-1920 | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Title: Sherman Scripts Collection, 1909-1920

ID: 01/01/MSS00065

Primary Creator: Sherman, Robert Lowry

Extent: 3.0 Cubic Feet

Arrangement: This collection is divided into 10 series arranged by author. Series 1-8 contain scripts by recurring authors (those with more than three scripts in the collection), with author names as series titles. Series are arranged chronologically by year and alphabetized within each year. Authors with three or fewer scripts in the collection are organized in Series 9: Scripts by various authors, which is arranged alphabetically. Series 10: Scripts by unknown author, contains scripts without an identifiable author or publication date and is arranged alphabetically. Scripts with multiple authors are filed under the author first named on the script.

Subjects: Theater

Forms of Material: Scripts

Languages: English

Robert Lowry Sherman (1867-1952) was an American playwright who briefly wrote scripts for the Chicago Manuscript Company from 1915-1916 before entering the Navy during WWI. He then worked with tent theater companies around the United States, including George Roberson’s tent show.

The Chicago Manuscript Company (circa 1880-1922) was involved in the play piracy business of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in which paid stenographers attended popular plays and wrote down their scripts, ideally verbatim. They were then slightly modified, copyrighted, printed, and sold or rented to American theater companies. Alexander Byers and his Chicago Manuscript Company were quite lucrative in the play piracy business. After Byers’ death, Sherman bought a portion of the Chicago Manuscript Company’s scripts to sell to film studios and University libraries across the country. Many of the manuscripts are stamped with Byers’ name and the year of copyright.

Recurring playwrights in this collection include Charles Morton, who went on to start his own theatre company, Nelson Compston, Miron Leffingwell, and Clarence Black. Many of these plays were performed in tents and opera houses in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, Chicago Manuscript Company scripts are scattered across repositories due to Sherman’s efforts.

Theater

Repository: Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Access Restrictions: Open to researchers.

Use Restrictions:

The RBML reproductions policies can be found here:

http://www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/ReproductionServices.htm

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study scholarship or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would damage materials or involve violation of copyright law.

Acquisition Source: The collection was purchased from The Theatre Museum of Repertoire America in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

Processing Information: https://wiki.cites.uiuc.edu/wiki/display/librare/Home

Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: Clarence Black scripts

Box 1

Folder 1: “A Daughter of Erin”: a comedy drama in five acts, 1909

Folder 2: “A Soldier’s Honor”: a sensational drama in four acts, 1909

Folder 3: “Beyond the Law”: a society play of Washington life in four acts, 1909

Folder 4: “Father & Son”: a domestic drama in four acts, 1909

Folder 5: “Work and Wages”: a drama of modern life, 1909

Folder 6: “Jesse James”: a tabloid play in one act and three scenes, 1913

Folder 7: “Our Dorothy”: an original playlet in four acts, 1913

Folder 8: “A College Girl Out West”: musical farcical comedy in three acts, 1914

Folder 9: “Faust”: a sublime scenic and dramatic production of Goethe’s Immortal Drama in five acts, 1915

Series 2: Nelson Compston scripts

Box 1

Folder 10: “Lena Rivers”: a dramatization of Mrs. Mary Jane Holmes, popular novel in four acts, 1909

Folder 11: “Out on a Lark”: an original comedy, 1909

Folder 12: “Wanted a Wife”: a farce comedy in three acts, 1909

Folder 13: “Wife in Name Only”: a drama in four acts, 1909

Folder 14: “Under Arizona Skies”: a melodramatic comedy in four acts, 1910[?]

Folder 15: “The Hustler” by Nelson Compston, 1913

Folder 16: “Her Bitterest Foe”: a sensational drama of Western life in three acts, 1914

Folder 17: “In the Gloaming”: a rural comedy drama in four acts, 1914

Folder 18: “The Little Pardner,” a sensational drama of strong heart interest in one act three scenes, 1914

Folder 19: “The Pawnbroker”: an original tabloid melodrama in three acts, 1914

Folder 20: “The Ragged Heroine”: a tabloid drama of city life in three acts, 1914

Folder 21: “Run to Earth”: a comedy tabloid drama in three acts, 1914

Folder 22: “Shadows of the Past”: a high class melodramatic tabloid in three acts, 1914

Folder 23: “Uncle Josh Gordon”: a comedy drama in one act, 1914

Folder 24: “Under Fire”: an original semi military drama in four acts, 1914

Folder 25: “The World”: a sensational comedy tabloid drama in 3 acts, 1914

Folder 26: “For Her Husband’s Sake” or “A Brother’s Vengeance”: a strong dramatic tabloid in three acts, 1916

Folder 27: “Ten Nights in a Bar-Room”: tabloid drama in four acts and three scenes of the well-known Temperance drama of the same title, 1916

Folder 28: “Happy Jack” by Nelson Compston and Charles Morton, 1917

Series 3: W.C. Herman scripts

Box 1

Folder 29: “A Struggle for Life”: a drama in four acts, 1911

Folder 30: “A Convict’s Sweetheart”: a comedy drama in four acts by W.C. Herman and Nelson Compston, 1912. A re-written version of play of the same name by Langdale Williams, 1912

Folder 31: “Diane’s Atonement”: a domestic drama in four acts, 1912

Folder 32: “The Underworld”: a sensational drama dealing with city life in four acts, 1913

Folder 33: “Ishmael”: a drama in four acts, 1914

Dramatization from novel of the same name.

Folder 34: “Sweetest Girl in Arizona”: a romantic drama of Western life, 1915

Folder 35: Herman, W.C. “The Master of the Mine”: a comedy drama in four acts, 1917

Series 4: Miron Leffingwell scripts

Box 1

Folder 36: “The Chauffer”: a comedy of aspiration in three acts, 1909

Folder 37: “Our Alma Mater”: a play in four acts, 1909

Folder 38: “St. Elmo” or “The Saving Grace”: a drama in four acts by Myron (sic) Leffingwell, 1909

Folder 39: “Tempest and Sunshine” or “Blades o’ Blue Grass”: A romance of the New Kentucky in three acts, 1910

Folder 40: “Dolores”: a drama in four acts, 1911

Folder 41: “A Fight for Honor”: an idyllic romantic drama of the South-West in four acts, 1912

Folder 42: “A Fight for Honor”: an idyllic romantic drama of the South-West in four acts, 1912

Copy two.

Folder 43: “The Tenderfoot’s Turn”: a rewritten version of the original drama in four acts, 1914

Copyrighted in 1909 under the title of “On the Rio Grande” or “Gambler’s Romance.”

Folder 44: “Robinson Crusoe”: a play in four acts, 1914

An original adaptation founded on De Foe’s famous narrative.

Folder 45: “Laws of God and Man”: a sensational drama of police and underworld life in four acts, 1916

Folder 46: “The Roberts’ Case” or “On the Stroke of Twelve”: a mystery melodrama in three acts, 1919

Series 5: Charles/Chas Morton scripts

Box 1

Folder 47: “Hidden Hand”: dramatization of celebrated story of same name, 1912

Folder 48: “The Charity Girl”: a comedy drama of modern life in 4 acts, 1914

Folder 49: “The Girls Decide”: a comedy drama in three acts, 1914

Folder 50: “Irish Justice”: comedy sketch in one scene, 1914

Folder 51: “Kentucky Sue”: an original romantic comedy drama in four acts by Charles Morton and W.C. Herman, 1914

Folder 52: “The Man From Ireland”: a tabloid musical comedy in one act and three scenes, 1914

Folder 53: “The Perplexities of Peter”: a comedy drama in three acts, 1914

Folder 54: “Two Gentlemen from Kewanee”: a musical comedy tabloid in one scene, 1914

Folder 55: “Bess of the Hills”: a drama of life in old Kentucky, 1916

Folder 56: “For the Flag”: a romantic military drama in four acts, 1916

Folder 57: “Mollie Bawn”: a dramatization in four acts (of the well known novel of the same title), 1916

Box 2

Folder 1: “A Sin Against Society”: a society play with sensational situation and melodramatic action in four acts, 1916

Folder 2: “Sunbonnet Sue”: an up to date melodrama in four acts, 1916

Folder 3: “Her Purchase Price”: a domestic melodrama in four acts, 1917

Folder 4: “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”: a tabloid version of the famous play in three acts, 1917

Folder 5: “The Fate of the Transgressor”: a melodramatic comedy in four acts, 1919

Series 6: Charles/Chas Norton scripts

Box 2

Folder 6: Norton, Charles. “Bells of Shandon”: an original Irish comedy drama in four acts, 1914

Folder 7: Norton, Chas. “Castles in Corsica”: a picturesque musical comedy tabloid in one act and one scene, 1914

Folder 8: Norton, Chas. “The Hebrew Detective”: a sensational comedy tabloid drama in three acts, 1914

Folder 9: Norton, Charles. “A Mixed Mix-Up”: musical comedy in one act, 1915

Folder 10: Norton, Charles. “A Mixed Mix-Up”: musical comedy in one act, 1915

Copy two.

Series 7: Langdale Williams scripts

Box 2

Folder 11: “The Man of Her Choice”: a play in four acts, 1910

Folder 12: “Revelation” or “Woman of Mystery”: a drama in four acts, 1911

Folder 13: “Good as Gold”: story of Alaska, 1912

Folder 14: “Muldoon’s Picnic”: a farcical comedy drama in two acts, 1914

Series 8: John W. Wilson scripts

Box 2

Folder 15: “Twin Sisters”: a melodramatic tabloid in three acts, 1916

Folder 16: “Adrift in New York”: a comedy melodrama in four acts, 1917

Folder 17: “The Little Countess”: a tabloid melodrama in three acts, 1917

Folder 18: “The Day of Reckoning”: a comedy drama in four acts, 1919

Series 9: Scripts by various authors

Box 2

Folder 19: Cleveland, William. “The Good Ship Nancy Lee”: a musical comedy tabloid in one act, 1915

Folder 20: Goodhue, Willis. “Hello Bill”: in three acts, undated

Heavily edited. From Bennett’s Dramatic and Musical Exchange, Chicago, Illinois.

Folder 21: Griffith, Fred L. “The Counterfeiter Coon”: a dramatic tabloid with musical numbers, 1920

Folder 22: Griffiths, William L. “Enemies of the Police” or “Life’s Shadows”: a modern melodrama in four acts, 1920

Folder 23: Hart, Charles. “The Lady Detective”: a comedy tabloid drama in three acts, 1913

Folder 24: Hart, Langdale. “Stolen Heiress”: a sensational comedy drama in two acts, 1913

Folder 25: Hart, Timothy. “The Bread Winner”: a domestic drama in four acts, 1912

Folder 26: Hart, Timothy and Nelson Compston. “The Banker & The Tramp”: a comedy tabloid drama in three acts, 1913

Folder 27: Kannann, Annie. “The Old Folks at Home”: a rural comedy drama in four acts, 1911

Folder 28: Langdale, Marion. “The Peace-Maker”: a play of the present in four acts, 1912

Folder 29: Nelson, William. “Sapho”: an adaptation from Daudet’s famous novel, 1909

Folder 30: Richards, Nellie E. “Paying the Price”: a tabloid comedy drama in three acts, 1918

Folder 31: Rogers, W.C. “The Black Diamond”: a sensation comedy tabloid drama in one act three scenes, 1914

Folder 32: Sherman, Robert J. “A Mexican Romance”: a tabloid comedy drama in three acts, 1915

Copyrighted by The Chicago Manuscript Co.

Folder 33: Smithson, Miron L. [Leffingwell?] “Carmen”: a drama in four acts, 1909

Folder 34: Stanley, Burton. “The Professor’s Predicament”: a farcical comedy drama in four acts, 1909

Folder 35: Thomas, Brandon. “Charley’s Aunt”: a farcical comedy in 3 acts, undated

Folder 36: Williams, Langdale. “Panama”: an original four act comedy drama, 1911

Series 10: Scripts by unknown authors

Box 2

Folder 37: [Missing title page], undated

From Bennett’s Dramatic Exchange in Chicago, Illinois. Characters include: Henry “Squint” Adams, Jimmy Saunders, Jerrold Brandon, Cliff Harmon, Gerald “Gerry” Brandon, Mrs. Sarah Smart, Minnie Smart, and Molly Bayne. Author unknown.

Folder 38: “American European Minstrels”, undated

Folder 39: “Arizona Sweethearts”, undated

Folder 40: “Amy”: a comedy drama in four acts, undated

Possibly by Miron Leffingwell.

Folder 41: Assorted monologues, undated

Folder 42: “Beyond Pardon”, undated

Possibly by Miron Leffingwell.

Folder 43: “Blanche and the Orange Girl”, undated

Folder 44: “Brother for Brother”, undated

Folder 45: “Captain Impudence”, undated

Folder 46: “The Church Lady”, undated

Folder 47: “Convict’s Stripes”, undated

Folder 48: “The Counterfeiters”: a tabloid comedy drama in three acts, undated

Folder 49: “The Curse of Drink”, undated

Possibly by C.E. Blaney.

Folder 50: “The Danger Signal” or, “The Red Light”, undated

Possibly by Henry Demille.

Folder 51: “Dora Thorne”, undated

Folder 52: “Down on the Farm”, undated

Folder 53: “Dr. Bill”, undated

Folder 54: “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, undated

Stamped with “play exchange” on cover. Possibly by Nelson Compston.

Folder 55: “Du Barry”, undated

Handwritten on front cover, “Property of Whitney Collins.” Possibly by Miron Leffingwell.

Folder 56: “The Electric Doll”, undated

Possibly by Nelson Compston or Helen F. Bagg.

Folder 57: “The Enchanted Hat”: a Weber & Fields famous musical burlesque in one scene, undated

Folder 58: “Fabio Romani”, undated

Possibly by Charles W. Chase.

Folder 59: “For Fair Virginia”, undated

Folder 60: “The Fortune Hunter”, undated

Box 3

Folder 1: “The Georgia Minstrels”, undated

Folder 2: “The Ghost of Wilbur Jimson”, undated

Folder 3: “The Girl and the Game”, undated

Folder 4: “The Golden Giant Mine”, undated

Folder 5: “The Golden Rule”, undated

Folder 6: “Grit the Newsboy”, undated

Folder 7: “Grizzly Adams”, undated

Folder 8: “Guilty Without Crime”: a drama in five acts, undated

Folder 9: “Her Cowboy Visitor”, undated

Folder 10: “Her Lord and Master”, 1909

Possibly by Clarence Black.

Folder 11: “How D’Ye Like the Place?”, undated

Folder 12: “I.O.U.”, undated

Bottom of script is stamped “6 23 94.”

Folder 13: “Kerry Glow”, undated

Folder 14: “King Dodo”, undated

Folder 15: “La Belle Russe”, undated

Possibly by David Belasco.

Folder 16: “Land of Living”, undated

Folder 17: “Little Orphan Annie”, undated

Cover stamped with The Producers Play Company, Chicago, Illinois name and address.

Folder 18: “Little Red Riding Hood”, undated

Folder 19: “Maloney’s Wedding”, undated

Folder 20: “A Manager’s Troubles” or “Razor Jim”: absurdity in one scene, undated

Folder 21: “Monte Cristo”, undated

Folder 22: “Moonshiner’s Daughter”, undated

Folder 23: “My Lord Smith”, undated

Folder 24: “A New Year’s Dream”, undated

Handwritten “1906” on cover.

Folder 25: “Our Candidate”, undated

Folder 26: “Over the Hills to the Poor House”, undated

Possibly written by Robert Sherman. Stamped with Robert Sherman’s name and address. Also stamped with American Theatrical Agency name and address.

Folder 27: “Peck Bad Boy and His Pa”, undated

Folder 28: “Plain Molly”: a play in four acts, undated

Folder 29: “Primrose and West Minstrels”, undated

Folder 30: “The Princess of Patches”, undated

Folder 31: “The Private Secretary”, undated

Folder 32: “Professor Edwin Price’s Musical and Dramatic Entertainment”: arranged especially for the use of high class amateur societies, and adapted to parlor or stage, undated

Folder 33: “Putting it Over”, undated

Title only handwritten on cover.

Folder 34: “A Quiet Evening at Home”: a comedietta in one act, undated

Folder 35: “The Red Cross Nurse”, undated

Folder 36: “The Royal Mounted”, undated

Folder 37: “A Royal Slave”: a romance of Mexico in five acts, undated

Folder 38: “Sealed Lips”, undated

Folder 39: “Second Book of Gags for Comedians, Monologists, and Entertainers”, undated

Folder 40: “Shamus O’Brien”, undated

Folder 41: “The Signal of Liberty”: a melodrama in four acts, undated

Folder 42: “The Spoilers”, undated

Folder 43: “A Texas Ranger”: an atmospheric frontier drama, undated

Folder 44: “Thorns and Orange Blossoms”, undated

Folder 45: “A Touch of Nature”, undated

Folder 46: “True Irish Hearts”, undated

Folder 47: “Under Two Flags (Elsner version)”, undated

Folder 48: “Van Allen’s Wife”, undated

Folder 49: “Way Out West” or “The Favorite Son”, undated

Folder 50: “A Woman of Society”, undated