Finding Aid for the Mary Servoss Papers, 1910-1968

Processed by Tina Brouwer; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
© 2003
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Finding Aid for the Mary Servoss Papers, 1910-1968

Collection number: 543

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Manuscripts Division



Los Angeles, CA
Processed by:
Tina Brouwer, June 1971
Encoded by:
Caroline Cubé
Online finding aid edited by:
Josh Fiala, October 2003
© 2003 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Mary Servoss Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1910-1968
Collection number: 543
Creator: Servoss, Mary, 1881-1968
Extent: 5 boxes (2.5 linear ft.)
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Dept. of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Mary Servoss (1881-1968) was a actress. She appeared on stage in Chicago, New York and London. The collection consists of correspondence, photographs, books, scrapbooks, and printed materials related to Servoss' life and career.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Mary Servoss Papers (Collection 543). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 2976830 

Biography

Servoss was born in Chicago, Illinois; her first stage appearance was at the Grand Opera House in Chicago playing a small part in Lorna Doone, 1905; her first appearance on the New York stage was the following year at the Fourteeth Street Theatre as Alice in Bedford's hope; she appeared as Portia in Shakespeare's The merchant of Venice with David Warfield at the Lyceum, 1922; her first appearance on the London stage was at the Duke of York's Theatre as the title character in De luxe Annie, 1925; managed summer stock companies in Michigan and Ohio playing Ophelia, Juliet, Beatrice, and Rosalind, 1911-16; died in 1968.

Scope and Content

Collection consists of correspondence, photographs, books, scrapbooks, and printed materials related to the life and career of actress Mary Servoss. Includes correspondence and approximately 100 telegrams (1922-24) from David Belasco. Also includes 81 personal photographs, 111 professional photographs, 3 scrapbooks, and an annotated script for Servoss' role as Portia in The merchant of Venice.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Servoss, Mary, 1881-1968--Archives.
Belasco, David, 1853-1931--Correspondence.
Actresses--United States--Archival resources.
Photographs.


Box 1

Letters from various persons to Mary Servoss. v.p., v.d.

Scope and Content Note

Includes letters from:
  • Belasco, David, 1859-1931. 23 items.
  • Browne, Maurice, 1881-1955. 1 item.
Box 1

2 contracts between David Belasco and Mary Servos, 1921.

Box 1

Photographs, personal.

Physical Description: 81 items.
Box 1

Photographs, professional.

Physical Description: 111 items.
Box 1

Assorted periodicals and pamphlets.

Box 1

Scrapbook containing clippings on the play Tobacco Road, ca. 1936.

Box 1

Newspaper clippings. v.d.

Box 2

Theatre programs of various plays in which Mary Servoss appeared.

Physical Description: 10 items.
Box 2

Engraved copper plate for calling card: Miss Mary Servoss.

Box 2

Script for Mary Servoss's part as Portia in the Merchant of Venice.

Physical Description: Typescript with holograph notes. 40 leaves.
Box 3

Telegrams from David Belasco to Mary Servoss, 1922-1924.

Physical Description: ca. 100 items.
Box 3

Scrapbook of newspaper clippings, telegrams, and Christmas cards. ca. 1914-1924.

Box 3

Scrapbook of newspaper clippings and theatre programs on Leslie Howard's Hamlet, 1936-1937.

Box 3

Scrapbook of newspaper clippings about Mary Servoss's Street Scene. 1929-1930.

 

Books (Dedication Copies):

Box 2

Imperial city. New York: Coward-McCann Incorporated, 1937.

Creator/Collector: Ride, Elmer
Box 2

The show must go on. New York: Viking Press, 1949.

Creator/Collector: Rice, Elmer.
Box 2

Plays produced under the stage direction of David Belasco. New York, 1925.

Creator/Collector: Belasco, David
Box 2

The hypocrites, a play in four acts. London: Chiswick Press, 1906.

Creator/Collector: Jones, Henry Arthur.
Box 2

Mary goes first, a comedy in three acts and an epilogue. London: G. Bell and Sons, Limited, 1913.

Creator/Collector: Jones, Henry Arthur
Box 2

Comedies all. London, New York, Toronto: Longmans, Green and Company, 1930.

Creator/Collector: Gerstenberg, Alice
Box 2

Young Woodley. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1926.

Creator/Collector: Van Druten, John
Box 2

The Ben Greet Shakespeare for young readers and amateur players; As you like it. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page and Company, 1912.

Creator/Collector: Shakespeare, William.
Box 4

Three plays: Awake and sing, Waiting for lefty, Till the day I die. New York: Random House, 1935.

Creator/Collector: Odets, Clifford
Box 4

Elizabeth of England. Kamin: New York, 1936.

Creator/Collector: Hammond, Natalie Hays
Box 4

Jason and Medea. Philadelphia: George Barrie and Son, 1902.

Creator/Collector: Appollonius
Box 4

The theatre through its stage door. New York and London: Harper and Brothers, 1919.

Creator/Collector: Belasco, David
Box 4

The merchant of Venice, “a comedy by William Shakespeare, as arranged for the contemporary stage by David Belasco, and acted under his direction at the Lyceum Theatre, New York with David Warfield ...” New York: privately printed, 1922.

Creator/Collector: Shakespeare, William
Box 5

A pictorial history of the American theatre, 1900-1950. New York: Greenberg, 1950.

Creator/Collector: Blum, Daniel
Box 5

The life of David Belasco. New York: Moffat, Yard, and Company, 1918.

Creator/Collector: Winter, William.
Physical Description: 2 vol.