Gertrude Lawrence Papers, 1925-1986, bulk 1925-1952

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Series I: Correspondences, 1926-1952

This series contains over 150 individual letters, telegrams, and other forms of correspondence both to and from Gertrude Lawrence. Some letters include transcriptions created by the original collector, Doris Harris, which are arranged adjacent to the original documents. Most letters also have annotations from Harris of dates and correspondents' names, written in pencil on the original documents.

Subseries I.1: Correspondence between Lawrence and her husband Richard Aldrich, 1939-1948

This subseries of correspondences between Gertrude Lawrence and her husband, Richard Aldrich, consists of letters, postmarked envelopes, telegrams, and notes. The correspondences are arranged chronologically, if dated. Many of them date to the 1940s, while Aldrich was serving in World War II and Lawrence was traveling with the Entertainments National Service Association (E.N.S.A.). A majority of these correspondences are written by Lawrence to Aldrich, signed "Mrs. A.," and are penned on letterhead from hotels throughout the United States. Slips of paper with annotations from Doris Harris accompany some letters in this subseries.

Request Box 1

Box 1 Folder 1 Aldrich, Richard, 1939

Box 1 Folder 2 Aldrich, Richard, 1940 July

1940 July 31 letter includes transcription

Box 1 Folder 3 Aldrich, Richard, 1940 August

Box 1 Folder 4 Aldrich, Richard, 1940 September

Box 1 Folder 5 Aldrich, Richard, 1940 October-December

Box 1 Folder 6 Aldrich, Richard, 1942

1942 December 29 letter includes transcription

Box 1 Folder 7 Aldrich, Richard, 1943 January-August

1943 card includes transcription

Box 1 Folder 8 Aldrich, Richard, 1943 October-November

Series of 12 autograph notes on personal notepaper, called "Lawrence One-a-day vitamins" for Aldrich to open during a sea voyage.

Box 1 Folder 9 Aldrich, Richard, 1944

Includes a newspaper clipping from 1944 February 2 issue ofVariety about Lawrence

Box 1 Folder 10 Aldrich, Richard, 1945 February-March

Box 1 Folder 11 Aldrich, Richard, 1945 April-December

Box 1 Folder 12 Aldrich, Richard, 1946

Box 1 Folder 13 Aldrich, Richard, 1948

Telegram contains Lawrence's commentary on the Marshall Plan

Box 1 Folder 14 Aldrich, Richard, undated

Some letters include transcription

Subseries I.2: Letters from Lawrence to others, 1945-1952

This subseries includes several folders of letters from Gertrude Lawrence to others, which are arranged alphabetically by name of recipient. Some letters are accompanied by separate slips of paper with annotations from Doris Harris. Highlights of this subseries include two letters to Lawrence's agent Fanny Holtzmann, in which Lawrence comments on the ending of World War II, and two letters to the King of Thailand, in which Lawrence defends the portrayal of the Siamese monarchy inThe King and I.

Box 1 Folder 15 Corballis, Helen, 1951

Letter to Richard Aldrich's first wife. Includes transcription.

Box 1 Folder 16 Harris, Julie, 1952

Box 1 Folder 17 Holtzmann, David, 1946

Box 1 Folder 18 Holtzmann, Fanny, 1945

Letter to Lawrence's agent. Includes transcription for two letters

Box 1 Folder 19 King of Thailand and his Secretary, 1951

Includes typed and handwritten copies of letters to the King of Thailand about The King and I.

Box 1 Folder 20 Lodge, Francesca, 1952

Undated letter includes transcription

Box 1 Folder 21 MacArthur, Charles, 1928

Box 1 Folder 22 Miller, Gilbert, undated

Includes transcription

Subseries I.3: Letters to Lawrence, 1926-1946

This subseries includes approximately 150 letters addressed to Gertrude Lawrence from 133 identified correspondents, most of whom are involved in the British and American theatre industry as actors, producers, writers, or critics. The letters are arranged alphabetically by name of recipient. While the collection contains multiple letters from some correspondents, it only contains a single letter for most correspondents. Many letters are undated, although some include the month and day of the week that the letter was written. Most letters praise Lawrence on a recent performance. Other topics include thanking Lawrence for an invitation to a show, declining an invitation to a performance, offering her a role in an upcoming production, and sending Christmas and New Year's greetings. Notable correspondents include Brooks Atkinson, Jack Buchanan, Charles B. Cochran, Noël Coward and his secretary Lorn Loraine, James Laver, Jessie Matthews, Muriel du Maurier, Will Rogers, G.B. Stern, May Whitty, and P.G. Wodehouse.

Box 1 Folder 23 Madame Albanesi, 1934

Box 1 Folder 24 Allen, Adrianne, undated

Box 1 Folder 25 Andrews, Bobbie, undated

Box 1 Folder 26 Arlen, Michael, undated

Box 1 Folder 27 Arno, Peter, undated

Box 1 Folder 28 Atkinson, Brooks, undated

Includes transcription

Box 1 Folder 29 Bagnall, Stephen, undated

Letter written in the form of a poem about Lawrence

Box 1 Folder 30 Banks, Leslie, undated

Box 1 Folder 31 Barlow, Samuel, undated

Box 1 Folder 32 Barker, Eric, 1935

Box 1 Folder 33 Barnes, Kenneth, 1935

Box 1 Folder 34 Beaumont, Binkie, 1934

Box 1 Folder 35 Beltran-Masses, Federico, 1933

Letter is in French

Box 1 Folder 36 Bergner, Elizabeth, undated

Box 1 Folder 37 Bernstein, Sidney, 1931

Box 1 Folder 38 Bland, Roger, 1933

Box 1 Folder 39 Bolton, Guy, 1926

Box 1 Folder 40 Brent, Romney, 1933

Box 1 Folder 41 Bromasite, Harold Freeman, 1933

Box 1 Folder 42 Brown, W. Graham, 1936

Box 1 Folder 43 Bruce, Violet "Bunny", 1932

Box 1 Folder 44 Buchanan, Jack, undated

Box 1 Folder 45 Calthrop, Gladys, undated

Box 1 Folder 46 Carisbrooke, Irene, undated

Box 1 Folder 47 Cavendish, Charles & Adile, undated

Includes Christmas card with photograph of Lismore Castle

Box 1 Folder 48 Chevalier, Maurice, 1931

Box 1 Folder 49 Clare, Mary, 1935

Box 1 Folder 50 Clarkson, Willy, 1931

Box 1 Folder 51 Cochran, Chas. B., 1932-1935

Letters from Lawrence's producer discussing her casting in Nymph Errant and urging her to consider performing in Anything Goes.

Box 1 Folder 52 Cochran, Evelyn A., undated

Box 1 Folder 53 Colefax, Sybil, undated

Box 1 Folder 54 Coward, Noël, 1933

See Box 2 Folder 30 for related letters from Coward's secretary, Lorn Loraine.

Box 1 Folder 55 Cromer, Lord and Lady Ruby, 1932-1935

Box 1 Folder 56 Dane, Clemence, undated

Signed "Winifred"

Box 1 Folder 57 Dare, Zena, undated

Box 1 Folder 58 Dean, Basil, 1928

Letter offering Lawrence the role of "Helen" in The Private Life of Helen Troy.

Box 1 Folder 59 de Lissa, Arthur, 1932

Christmas card with four photographs of Notre Dame de la Mer

Box 1 Folder 60 Dell, Jeffrey, undated

Box 1 Folder 61 Delysia, Alice, 1933

Box 1 Folder 62 d'Erlanger, Robin, undated

Box 1 Folder 63 Dillingham, Charles, 1933

Box 1 Folder 64 Draper, Ruth, undated

Box 1 Folder 65 Duff, Juliet, undated

Box 1 Folder 66 du Maurier, Muriel, undated

Box 1 Folder 67 Ellis, Mary, undated

Box 1 Folder 68 Etting, Emlen, 1932

Box 1 Folder 69 Farjon, Herbert, 1932

Box 1 Folder 70 Fontaine, Lynn, 1934

Box 1 Folder 71 Foyle, Christine, 1933

Box 1 Folder 72 Franckenstein, George, 1935

Box 1 Folder 73 Freeman-Thomas, Freeman, undated

Box 1 Folder 74 Furber, Douglas, 1933-1934

Request Box 2

Box 2 Folder 1 Geddes, R. F., 1933

Box 2 Folder 2 Geraghty, Tom, 1934

Box 2 Folder 3 Glasnzer, Jules, undated

Box 2 Folder 4 Golding, Louis, 1935

Letter asking Lawrence to consider taking a role in his upcoming adaptation of a play called Ping Pong

Box 2 Folder 5 Green, Johnny, 1934

Box 2 Folder 6 Haddon, Peter, 1934

Box 2 Folder 7 Hammond, Aubrey, 1931

Box 2 Folder 8 Hampden, Walter, 1927

Box 2 Folder 9 Hannen, Nicholas, 1932

Box 2 Folder 10 Hargreaves, Reginald, 1931-1934

Includes a poetic ode to Lawrence written by Hargreaves

Box 2 Folder 11 Harris, Jed, 1933

Box 2 Folder 12 Hastings, Mary, 1933

Box 2 Folder 13 Hay Beith, Ian, 1934

Letter asking Lawrence to read A.P. Herbert's Holy Deadlock in the hopes of giving her the leading role in a play adaptation

Box 2 Folder 14 Hicks, Seymour, 1936

Box 2 Folder 15 Higham, Charles F., 1935

Box 2 Folder 16 Hume, Benita, undated

Box 2 Folder 17 Jeans, Isabel, 1933

Letter urging Lawrence to take the role of Dierdre in an unnamed play

Box 2 Folder 18 Jeans, Ronald, 1931

Box 2 Folder 19 Kupcinet, Irv, 1946

Box 2 Folder 20 Laver, James, 1932

Box 2 Folder 21 Lawton, Frank, undated

Box 2 Folder 22 Lee, Auriol, 1932

Memo asking Lawrence to read a play on behalf of Ernest Milton

Box 2 Folder 23 Lengyel, Melchior, 1933

Letter asking Lawrence to consider the title role in Lengyel's play Angel

Box 2 Folder 24 Leverton, William Henry (W.H.), 1931

Box 2 Folder 25 Levy, Benn, undated

Box 2 Folder 26 Liddell, Billy, 1931

Box 2 Folder 27 Linley, Margaret, 1933

Letter and telegram from casting director of the The Theatre Guild, Inc. discussing Lawrence's casting and salary

Box 2 Folder 28 Lockhart, Bruce, undated

Box 2 Folder 29 Lockhart, Freda, undated

Box 2 Folder 30 Loraine, Lorn, 1930-1934

See Box 1 Folder 54 for related letters from Noël Coward.

Box 2 Folder 31 Loring, Norman, 1932

Box 2 Folder 32 Losch, Tilly, undated

Box 2 Folder 33 Lynn, Olga "Oggie", undated

Praise for Lawrence in Nymph Errant

Box 2 Folder 34 Massey, Raymond, 1933

Box 2 Folder 35 Matthews, Jessie, 1935

See Box 2 Folder 30 for a letter from Lorn Loraine comparing Lawrence to Matthews

Box 2 Folder 36 Maugham, W. Somerset, 1932

Box 2 Folder 37 Mendl, Elsie, undated

Box 2 Folder 38 Menken, Helen, undated

Box 2 Folder 39 Messel, Oliver, 1933

Box 2 Folder 40 Middleton, Elizabeth, 1933

Box 2 Folder 41 Jah, Moazzam (of Hyderabad), undated

A poem titled "Ideas"

Box 2 Folder 42 Molyneux, Edward, undated

Box 2 Folder 43 Montefiore, Eade, 1932

Box 2 Folder 44 Moore, Eva, 1934

Box 2 Folder 45 Murray, Douglas, 1932

Letter asking Lawrence to consider taking the role of Muriel Morrison in Acquitted

Box 2 Folder 46 Nichols, Beverly, 1932-1933

Includes a letter from Nichols on behalf of Cyril Butcher, who wishes to write "a full-page study" of Lawrence

Box 2 Folder 47 Novello, Ivor, undated

Box 2 Folder 48 Phillipson, Hilton, 1933

Box 2 Folder 49 Pickford, Mary, 1931

Box 2 Folder 50 Ponsonby, Edward Gaspard, 1935

Box 2 Folder 51 Potter, Jack, 1931

Telegram asking Lawrence to consider a lead role in Haymarket Granville Barker comedy

Box 2 Folder 52 Rhys, Lady Anne, undated

Box 2 Folder 53 Roche, Arthur Somers, 1930

Box 2 Folder 54 Rogers, Will, 1927

Box 2 Folder 55 Rumsey, John, 1926

Letter from President of American Play Company, Inc. r/e a telegram from Flo Ziegfeld

Box 2 Folder 56 Seidl, Lea, undated

Box 2 Folder 57 Selwyn, Archibald, 1932

Box 2 Folder 58 Sevelode of Russia, 1929-1934

Box 2 Folder 59 Shipman, Samuel, 1928

Box 2 Folder 60 Stanley, Arthur, 1933

Letter from the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the British Red Cross Society thanking Lawrence for singing a song from Nymph Errant at the Red Cross Ball

Box 2 Folder 61 Stanson, John, 1935

Box 2 Folder 62 Stern, G.B., undated

Box 2 Folder 63 Stewart, Will, undated

Box 2 Folder 64 Stone, Christopher, undated

Box 2 Folder 65 Tatham, Edward, undated

Box 2 Folder 66 Tempest, Marie, 1934

Box 2 Folder 67 Thomas, Linda Lee, undated

Box 2 Folder 68 Thurston, E. Temple, undated

Box 2 Folder 69 Toye, Francis, undated

Box 2 Folder 70 Tree, Maud "Lady", undated

Box 2 Folder 71 Van Druten, John, 1932

Letter notifying Lawrence that van Druten plans to write a play for her, and another offering criticism on Lawrence's line delivery in a 1932 December performance

Box 2 Folder 72 von Major, Aranka, 1934

Letter telling Lawrence about a play performed in Budapest that von Major finds suitable for Lawrence and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Box 2 Folder 73 Walker, Betty Compton, undated

Letter offering congratultions on a performance of Nymph Errant

Box 2 Folder 74 Wakefield, Hugh, undated

Box 2 Folder 75 Ward, George, 1933

Box 2 Folder 76 Whitty, May, 1933-1934

Box 2 Folder 77 Wilson, Jack, undated

Box 2 Folder 78 Wimperis, Arthur, 1934

Box 2 Folder 79 Wodehouse, P.G., 1927

Letter of congratulations for a performance

Box 2 Folder 80 Wyndham, Howard, 1932

Box 2 Folder 81 Youmans, Vincent, undated

Box 2 Folder 82 Zinkeisen, Doris, 1933

Box 2 Folder 83 unidentified correspondents, 1930-1936

Several letters include annotations of from Doris Harris with the names of potential correspondents

Collection Overview

Collection Contents

Gertrude Lawrence Papers, 1925-1986, bulk 1925-1952

Series I: Correspondences, 1926-1952

Subseries I.1: Correspondence between Lawrence and her husband Richard Aldrich, 1939-1948

Subseries I.2: Letters from Lawrence to others, 1945-1952

Subseries I.3: Letters to Lawrence, 1926-1946