Inventory of the Squaring the Circle Collection
Sara Gunasekara
Department of Special Collections
General Library
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616-5292
Phone: (530) 752-1621
Fax: (530) 754-5758
Email: speccoll@ucdavis.edu
© 2009
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collector:
University of California, Davis. Dept. of Special Collections.
Title: Squaring the Circle Collection,
Date (inclusive): 1935-1961
Extent:
0.4 linear feet
Abstract: Squaring the Circle, a play written by Russian dramatist Valentin Katayev, was first
produced at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1928. The United States production, translated by Charles Malamuth and
Eugene Lyons, premiered at the Pasadena Community Playhouse in August 1935 and was later performed at the Broad
Street Theatre in Philadelphia and at the Lyceum and Adelphi Theatres in New York City. The collection contains
correspondence, photographs, and ephemera relating to the play's 1935 U.S. production. Also included are several
images of the cast that performed at the Moscow Art Theatre.
Physical location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many
are stored offsite.
Repository:
University of California, Davis. General Library. Dept. of Special
Collections.
Davis, California 95616-5292
Collection number: D-143
Language of Material: Collection materials in English.
History
Squaring the Circle, a play written by Russian dramatist Valentin Katayev, was first produced at the Moscow Art
Theatre in 1928. The United States production, translated by Charles Malamuth and Eugene Lyons, premiered at the
Pasadena Community Playhouse in August 1935 and was later performed at the Broad Street Theatre in Philadelphia
and at the Lyceum and Adelphi Theatres in New York City. The entire action of the play takes place in a
municipalized apartment building in Moscow under the Soviet regime.
Scope and Content
The collection contains correspondence, photographs, and ephemera relating to the play's 1935 U.S. production.
Also included are several images of the cast that performed at the Moscow Art Theatre.
Arrangement of the Collection
The collection is arranged in four series: Correspondence, Manuscripts, Ephemera, and Photographs.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public
access catalog.
Kataev, Valentin, 1897-1986--Kvadratura
kruga
Theater--New York (State)--New York
Access
Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Information
Acquired from Richard Stoddard in 1978.
Processing Information
Sara Gunasekara processed this collection and created and encoded this finding aid.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Squaring the Circle Collection, D-143, Department of Special Collections, General
Library, University of California, Davis.
Publication Rights
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17, of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to
publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of
California, Davis as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the
copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Series 1.
Correspondence
1935-1961
Physical Description:
20 letters
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Box 1:1
Barkentin, Marjorie to Cecil Reddick
1960 October 25
Box 1:2
Butchers Advocate & the Food Merchant to Marjorie Barkentin
1935 October 29
Box 1:3
Easley, Ralph M. to Edna Mae Harrison
1935 September 18
Box 1:4
Embassy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic to Oliver Sayler
1935 September 17
Box 1:5
Embassy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic to Oliver Sayler
1935 October 2
Box 1:6
Harrison, Edna Mae to Ralph Easley
1935 September 6
Box 1:7
Holmes, John Haynes to Oliver Sayler
1935 October 25
Box 1:8
Lyons, Eugene to Oliver Sayler
1935 October 10
Box 1:9
Lyons, Eugene to Oliver Sayler
1935
Box 1:10
McCarrens, John to Oliver Sayler
1935 September 23
Box 1:11
Mead, Mrs. Edward Sherwood to Edward Mendelsohn
1935 September 25
Box 1:12
Mendelsohn, Edward to Oliver Sayler
1935
Box 1:13
Mendelsohn, Edward to Oliver Sayler
1935
Box 1:14
Reddick, Cecil to Marjorie Barkentin
1961 March 3
Box 1:15
Reddick, Cecil to Marjorie Barkentin
1961 April 25
Box 1:16
Sayler, Oliver to Jean Arens
1935 September 18
Box 1:17
Sayler, Oliver to Mrs. Edward Sherwood Mead
1935 September 30
Box 1:18
Sayler, Oliver to Vanity Fair
1935 September 3
Box 1:19
Wise, Stephen to Oliver Sayler
1935 October 28
Box 1:20
Unidentified to Morris Gest
1935 August 16
Series 2.
Manuscripts
undated
Physical Description:
2 folders
Scope and Content Note
Contains a script for the play as well as an interview with the translators.
Box 1:21
Interview with Charles Malamuth and Eugene Lyons
undated
Box 1:22
Squaring the Circle Script
undated
Series 3.
Ephemera
1935
Physical Description:
5 folders
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically.
Series 4.
Photographs
1935
Physical Description:
23 prints
Scope and Content Note
Contains prints of the cast from the 1935 United States production. Also included are several images of the
cast that performed at the Moscow Art Theatre.
Arranged alphabetically.
Box 1:28
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0001
Bendina as Ludmilla at the Moscow Art Theatre
undated
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:29
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0002
Dressler, Eric as Abram
1935
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:30
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0003
Dressler, Eric as Abram
1935
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:31
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0004
Gribhov as Abram at the Moscow Art Theatre
undated
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:32
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0005
Kataev, Valentin
undated
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:33
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0006
Kataev, Valentin
undated
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:34
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0007
Morris, David
1935
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:35
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0008-UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0009
Morris, David as Vasya; de Neergaard, Beatrice as Ludmilla; Van Dekker, Albert as Emilian;
Gilbert, Fraye as Tonya; and Dressler, Eric as Abram
1935
Physical Description:
2 prints
Box 1:36
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0010
de Neergaard, Beatrice as Ludmilla
1935
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:37
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0011
de Neergaard, Beatrice as Ludmilla; Van Dekker, Albert as Emilian; Gilbert, Fraye as
Tonya
1935
Physical Description:
1 print
Box D Legal 1
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0012
Scene from the performance
1935
Physical Description:
1 print
Box D Legal 1
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0013
Scene from the performance
1935
Physical Description:
1 print
Box D Legal 1
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0014
Scenes from the performance
1935
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:38
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0015
Titushin as Novikoff at the Moscow Art Theatre
undated
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:39
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0016
Van Dekker, Albert as Emilian
1935
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:40
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0017
Yanshin as Vasya at the Moscow Art Theatre
undated
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:41
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0017
Yanshin as Vasya at the Moscow Art Theatre
undated
Physical Description:
1 print
Box 1:42-47
UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0018-UCD.PIC.D143.2009.0023
Unidentified
1935
Physical Description:
6 prints