Samson Raphaelson papers, 1916-1982
Summary Information
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#1050
- Bib ID:
- 4078548 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Raphaelson, Samson, 1896-1983
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 19.5 linear feet (41 boxes)
- Language(s):
- English .
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
-
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Description
Scope and Content
Correspondence, playscripts, screenplays, scenarios, short stories, and other manuscripts, drafts, photocopies, contracts and other documents, tearsheets, clippings, and other materials relating to his career as a screenwriter, playwright, and author of short stories. Correspondence with friends, students, admirers, and professional colleagues concern his teaching, playwriting, films, articles, photography, and literary topics. There are also two groups of letters from students and readers about his textbook, "The Human Nature of Playwriting" (1949). Among the cataloged correspondence are William Gibson, MacKinlay Kantor, Anna Louise Strong, Louis Untermeyer, and Carl Van Doren. Included are manuscripts, drafts, or photocopies of almost all his films, plays, and short stories, such as playscripts and drafts of his plays, "The Jazz Singer" (1922), "Skylark" (1939), "Jason" (1942), and others; screenplays and scenarios, many in photocopy, of "Trouble in Paradise" (1932), "The Merry Widow" (1934), "The Shop Aroung the Corner" (1940), "Suspicion" (1941), "Heaven Can Wait" (1943), and many other films; and manuscripts, drafts, tearsheets, and printed copies of his short stories and articles of film and television criticism. There are also many clippings and reviews, programs, and other printed materials about his plays and films.
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Original handwritten inventory of the collection and the envelopes which contained the manuscripts, with many notes added by Samson and Dorothy Raphaelson.
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Series VII: Arranged Correspondence
1990 Gift
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Series VIII: Manuscripts and Documents
Mostly contracts
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into 10 series.
- Series I: Cataloged Correspondence
- Series II: Arranged Correspondence
- Series III: Manuscripts by Raphaelson
- Series IV: Miscellaneous Papers
- Series V: Oversize Material
- Series VI: Original Inventory
- Series VII: Arranged Correspondence
- Series VIII: Manuscripts and Documents
- Series IX: Miscellaneous Papers
- Series X: 1992 Gift
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Samson Raphaelson papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Ownership and Custodial History
Gift of Joel Raphaelson, 1987, 1990& 1992.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Source of acquisition--Raphaelson, Joel. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--10/06/87. Accession number--M-87-10-06.
Papers: Source of acquisition--Raphaelson, Joel. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--06/25/92. Accession number--M-92-06-25.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Processed HR 06/20/88.
Processed by HR- 10/6/87; HR-2/12/91; Papers Processed HR 08/14/92.
Revision Description
2010-02-24 Legacy finding aid created from Pro Cite.
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Biographical sketch
Samson Raphaelson, playwright, screenwriter, and teacher, wrote scenarios for many of the films directed by Ernst Lubitsch from 1931 until 1947. Raphaelson taught screenwriting at Columbia from 1976 until 1982, and also taught at the University of Illinois in 1920/21 and in 1948.
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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