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Joseph Norton Ireland papers

 Collection
Call Number: YCAL MSS 621

Scope and Contents

The Joseph Norton Ireland papers contains material relating to Ireland's research and writing on American theater and personal papers. Forty-nine volumes in the collection contain clippings, printed ephemera, such as playbills, autograph manuscript material, letters, and other material, as well as lists of theatrical performances and lists and profiles of stage performers. Also included are drafts, proofs, and an extra-illustrated version of Ireland's major publication, Records of the New York Stage from 1750 to 1860.

Dates

  • 1770-1902

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Joseph Norton Ireland Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of William Ireland Starr in memory of Susan Ireland Starr, 1945.

Arrangement

Organized into three series: I. Bound Volumes, 1770-1885. II. Manuscripts, 1852-1880. III. Other Material, 1807-1902.

Extent

18.4 Linear Feet (68 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.ireland

Abstract

The collection contains material relating to Ireland's research and writings on American theater and personal papers. Forty-nine volumes in the collection contain clippings, printed ephemera, such as playbills, autograph manuscript material, letters, and other material, as well as lists of theatrical performances and lists and profiles of stage performers. The collection features drafts, proofs, and an extra-illustrated version of Ireland's major publication, Records of the New York Stage from 1750 to 1860.

Joseph Norton Ireland (1817-1898)

Joseph Norton Ireland, one of the major early historians of the American theater, entered his father's business after graduating from high school in his native New York. Leaving the company in 1855 and retiring to Bridgeport, Connecticut, Ireland devoted the rest of his life to studying and writing about the stage. His major work was Records of the New York Stage from 1750–1860 (1866–67), although he also wrote two biographies, Mrs. Duff (1882) and A Memoir of the Professional Life of Thomas Abthorpe Cooper (1888).

Biographical information taken from the Oxford Companion to American Theatre.

Processing Information

The collection received preliminary processing around the time of acquisition in 1945. Further organization, rehousing, and description were carried out in 2012.

Former call number: Za Ireland.

Title
Guide to the Joseph Norton Ireland Papers
Author
by Beinecke staff
Date
July 2012
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

Contact:
P. O. Box 208330
New Haven CT 06520-8330 US
(203) 432-2977

Location

121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours

Access Information

The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.