Finding aid for the Lee Freeson letters 2533
Sarah Jardini for History Associates Incorporated
USC Libraries Cinematic Arts Library
2022 June
Doheny Memorial Library G4
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0185
ctlibarc@usc.edu
Note
This collection is housed in the same box as collection #2530.
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Cinematic Arts Library
Title: Lee Freeson letters
Creator:
Freeson, Lee
Identifier/Call Number: 2533
Physical Description:
0.03 Linear Feet
1 folder
Date: 1913
Abstract: Collection consists of photocopied pages of two 1913 letters to English actress Ellen Terry from her son Gordon Craig about
the death of dancer Isadors Duncan's two children.
Language of Material:
English.
Container: 1
Collection consists of four photocopied pages of two 1913 letters to English actress Ellen Terry from her son Gordon Craig
about death of dancer Isadora Duncan's two children, Deirdre and Patrick, who drowned after the car they were riding in crashed
into the river Seine in Paris.
Originally part of the Ethel Barrymore Memorial Theatre Arts Collection at the University of Southern California Library
100 Series, and was labeled 100-17 .
Ellen Terry (1847-1928) was an English stage and film actress whose career spanned nearly 7 decades from the late 19th and
early 20th centuries.
Gordon Craig (1872-1966) was an English modernist theatre practitioner and the son of actress Ellen Terry. Craig asserted
that the director was "the true artist of the theatre" and suggested that actors were no more important than marionettes.
Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) was an American-born dancer known as "The Mother of Dance" for her distinctive style of movement
that ushered in the modern era of dance.
Lee Freeson (1902-1998) was a stage actor and rare books dealer based in Los Angeles. Freeson studied acting in New York City
and performed in small roles on Broadway. In 1929 he moved to Los Angeles and taught and performed at the Pasadena Community
Playhouse. As manager for his wife, dancer Carmelita Maracci, Freeson traveled extensively, collecting and studying books
wherever he went. He operated his rare books business without a storefront, instead he sold his finds from a series of catalogs.
Freeson's contributions helped to build and improve theatre libraries for universities across the country including UCLA and
Harvard. He also procured duplicate titles from universities to add to his rare books catalogs.
Advance notice required for access.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
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 Cinematic Arts Library
at ctlibarc@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Cinematic Arts Library 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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Lee Freeson.
[Box/folder no. or item name], Lee Freeson letters, Collection no. 2533, Cinematic Arts Library, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California.
Collection is unprocessed.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Correspondence
Letters
Freeson, Lee -- Archives
Terry, Ellen, Dame
Craig, Gordon, 1872-1966
Duncan, Isadora, 1877-1927