Vivian Tobin papers, 1915-1971

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
Tobin, Vivian, 1902-2002, Gerstenberg, Alice, and Georg, Victor
Abstract:
This collection contains photographs, correspondence, and ephemera related to Vivian Tobin's performance as Alice in the first American theatrical production of "Alice in Wonderland" in 1915.
Extent:
2.29 Linear Feet 2 boxes
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Vivian Tobin papers, Cassady Lewis Carroll Collection, Collection no. 6106, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains photographs, correspondence, and ephemera related to Vivian Tobin's performance as Alice in the first American theatrical production of "Alice in Wonderland" in 1915. The correspondence includes two letters from "Alice" playwright Alice Gerstenberg to Tobin and cards from fans. There is also a permission release for a 1952 amateur performance of the play. There are ten photographs including two photographs by photographer Victor Georg and a set by White, N.Y. from the 1915 production. Ephemera includes an advertisement for the play at the Fine Arts Theatre in 1915. There are also clippings from newspapers with reviews of the play.

Biographical / historical:

Vivian Tobin (1902-2002) was an American actress who starred as the first Alice in an American theatrical production of Alice in Wonderland in 1915. Tobin continued to perform in theater, vaudeville, and films through the 1930s. In 1935, Tobin married Karl von Hagen, later chair of the University of Southern California Department of Neurology, and they had one daughter, Vivian Thompson (USC Class of 1962), and a son.

In 1915, "Alice in Wonderland" by Alice Gerstenberg (1885-1972) was published as the first American dramatization of Lewis Carroll's novels "Alice in Wonderland" (1865) and "Through the Looking-Glass" (1871). Gerstenberg's play premiered on February 10, 1915, at the Fine Arts Theatre in Chicago, IL, before traveling to Broadway, to the Booth Theatre, on March 23, 1915. Vivian Tobin (1902-2002) became the first actress to perform the role of Alice in the United States.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Vivian Thompson, 2014.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Collections at specol@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections 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.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Vivian Tobin papers, Cassady Lewis Carroll Collection, Collection no. 6106, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Location of this collection:
Special Collections
Doheny Memorial Library, Room 209
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189, US
Contact:
(213) 740-5900
specol@usc.edu
Website