Representative American Plays/General Bibliography

by Arthur Hobson Quinn

 

GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE AMERICAN DRAMA

⁠Bibliographies concerning the individual playwrights are given in the introductions, and except in cases of books of a general nature, the items are not repeated here.

HISTORY AND CRITICISM OF THE DRAMA AND STAGE

Andrews, Charlton, The Drama To-day. Philadelphia, 1913.

Blake, Charles, An Historical Account of the Providence Stage; being a paper read before the Rhode Island Historical Society, October 25th, 1860. (With Additions.) Providence, 1868.

Broadbent, R. J., A History of Pantomime. London, 1901. "Pantomime in America," pp. 214-216.

Brown, T. A., A History of the New York Stage. From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. 3 Vols. New York, 1903.

Burton, Richard, The New American Drama. New York, 1913.

Cheney, Sheldon, The New Movement in the Theatre. New York, 1914.

Clapp, W. W., A Record of the Boston Stage. Boston and Cambridge, 1853.

Clark, Barrett H., The British and American Drama of To-day. New. York, 1915.

Cooke, John Esten, The Virginia Comedians or Old Days in the Old Dominion, New York, 1854. [A novel, in which an interesting description of Hallam's Company is given.]

Crawford, M. C., The Romance of the American Theatre. Boston, 1913.

Daly, C. P., First Theater in America. Dunlap Society Publications, Ser. 2, Vol. 1. New York, 1896.

Dickinson, Thomas H., The Case of American Drama. Boston, 1915.

Dunlap, William, History of the American Theatre. New York, 1832. 2 Vols. London, 1833.

Durang, Charles, The Philadelphia Stage. From the year 1749 to the year 1855. Partly compiled from the papers of his father, the late John Durang; with notes by the editors [of the Philadelphia Sunday Dispatch.]. Published serially in the Philadelphia Dispatch as follows : First series, 1749-1821, beginning in the issue of May 7, 1854; Second series, 1822-1830, beginning June 29, 1856; Third series, 1830-1—1855, beginning July 8, 1860.

Eaton, W. P., The American Stage of To-day. Boston, 1908.

Eaton, W. P., At the New Theatre and Others. Boston, 1910.

Ford, P. L., Washington and the Theater. Dunlap Society Publications, Ser. 2, Vol. 8. New York, 1899.

Ford, P. L., Some Notes towards an Essay on The Beginnings of American Dramatic Literature, 1606-1789. Privately printed. Brooklyn, 1893. Also New England Mag., New Series Vol. IX, February, 1894, pp. 673-87, "The Beginnings of American Dramatic Literature."

Greenwood, Isaac J., The Circus, Its Origin and Growth Prior to 1835. Dunlap Society Publications, Ser. 2, Vol. 5. New York, 1898.

Hamilton, Clayton, Studies in Stagecraft. New York, 1914.

Hamilton, Clayton, The Theory of the Theatre. New York, 1910.

Hapgood, Norman, The Stage in America, 1897-1900. New York, 1901.

Henderson, Archibald, The Changing Drama. New York, 1914.

Hutton, Laurence, Curiosities of the American Stage. New York, 1891.

Ireland, J. N., Records of the New York Stage, from 1750 to 1860. 2 Vols. New York, 1866-67.

MacKaye, Percy, The Playhouse and the Play. New York, 1909.

MacKaye, Percy, The Civic Theatre. New York, 1912.

Matthews, Brander, Inquiries and Opinions. New York, 1907.

Matthews, Brander, The Historical Novel and Other Essays. New York, 1901.

Moderwell, Hiram K., The Theatre of To-day. New York and London, 1914.

Moses, M. J., The American Dramatist. Boston, 1911.

Phelps, H. P., Players of a Century. A Record of the Albany Stage. Including Notices of Prominent Actors who have appeared in America. Albany, 1880.

Rees, James, The Dramatic Authors of America. Philadelphia, 1845.

Ruhl, Arthur, Second Nights. New York, 1914.

Seilhamer, G. O., History of the American Theatre. 3 Vols. Philadelphia, 1888-91.

Sonneck, O. G., Early Opera in America. New York, London and Boston, 1915.

Strang, L. C., Players and Plays of the Last Quarter Century. 2 Vols. Boston, 1902.

Tompkins, E., and Kilby, Q., The History of the Boston Theatre, 1854-1901. Boston and New York, 1908.

Wemyss, F. C., Chronology of the American Stage from 1752 to 1852. New York, n.d. [1852].

Willard, G. O., History of the Providence Stage. Providence, 1891.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND LISTS OF PLAYS

Adams, W. Davenport, A Dictionary of the Drama. Philadelphia, 1904.

Bibliography of Dramatic Literature. Prepared by the World Drama Prompters. LaJolla, Cal., 1915.

Catalogue of the Library of George Brimley. Part 4, pp. 123-127. Hartford, 1886.

A Catalogue of a Collection of American Plays, 1756-1885. Dodd and Livingston. New York, n.d.

Catalogue of the Dramas and Dramatic Poems contained in the Public Library of Cincinnati. Cincinnati, 1879.

Clapp, J. B. and Edgett, E. F., Plays of the Present. Dunlap Society Publications, Ser. 2, extra vol. New York, 1902.

Clarence, Reginald, The Stage Cyclopedia. London, 1909. [English Performances of American Plays.]

Dramatic Compositions Copyrighted in the United States. 1870-1915. [Issued by the Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. This is most helpful and will be continued.]

Faxson, Frederick W., Editor, The Bulletin of Bibliography and Dramatic Index. Published quarterly. Boston.

Faxson, Frederick W., Editor, The Dramatic Index. Annually since 1909. [Invaluable.]

Haskell, Daniel C., A List of American Dramas in the New York Public Library. [Revised January, 1916, from Bulletin of October, 1915.]

Roden, R. F., Later American Plays, 1831-1900. Dunlap Society Publications, Ser. 2, Vol. 12. New York, 1900.

Stockbridge, J. C., A Catalogue of the Harris Collection of American Poetry. Providence, 1886.

Wegelin, Oscar, Early American Plays, 1714-1830. Dunlap Society Publications, Ser. 2, Vol. 10. New York, 1900, Revised ed. 1905.

ORIGINAL SOURCES

Dunlap's Diary, Manuscript Memoirs of Wm. Dunlap or Daily Occurrences. Vol. 14, from July 27, 1797, to Dec. 13, 1797; Vol. 15, from Dec. 14, 1797, to June 1, 1798; Vol. 24, from Oct. 15, 1819, to April 27, 1820; Vol. 30, from June 26, 1833, to Dec. 31, 1834. [In the Library of the New York Historical Society.]

Wood's Diary, A Manuscript Diary or Daily Account Book of W. B. Wood, in 9 volumes extending from 1810 to 1835. [In the Library of the University of Pennsylvania.]

COLLECTIONS

Dickinson, Thomas H., Chief Contemporary Dramatists. Boston, 1915. [Contains four American plays.]

Pierce, John Alexander, The Masterpieces of Modern Drama. Abridged in Narrative with Dialogue of the Great Scenes. Prefaced with a critical essay by Brander Matthews. [Vol. 2 contains selections from twelve American plays.] New York, 1915.

BIOGRAPHIES OF ACTORS AND MANAGERS, AND SIMILAR WORKS GIVING INFORMATION CONCERNING THE DRAMA

Alger, William R., Life of Edwin Forrest. 2 Vols. Philadelphia, 1877.

Barrett, Lawrence, Charlotte Cushman, a Lecture. Dunlap Society Publications, Ser. 1, Vol. 9. New York, 1889.

Barrett, Lawrence, Edwin Forrest. Boston, 1882.

Bernard, John, Retrospections of the Stage. 2 Vols. London, 1830. Reprinted with additions as Retrospections of America, 1797-1811. Ed. by Mrs. W. B. Bernard, with introduction by Laurence Hutton and Brander Matthews. New York, 1887.

Butler, Frances Anne Kemble, Records of a Girlhood. New York, 1879.

Clarke, Asia Booth, The Elder and the Younger Booth. Boston, 1882.

Clement, Mrs. Clara Erskine, Charlotte Cushman. Boston, 1882.

Creahan, John, Life of Laura Keene. Philadelphia, 1897.

Clapp, J. B. and E. F. Edgett, Players of the Present. Dunlap Society Publications, Ser. 2, Vols. 9, 11, 13. New York, 1899-1901.

Drew, Mrs. John, Autobiographical Sketch of. New York, 1899.

Edgett, E. F. Edward Loomis Davenport. Dunlap Society Publications, Ser. 2, Vol. 14. New York, 1901.

Eytinge, Rose, The Memories of. New York, 1905.

Field, Kate, Charles Albert Fechter. Boston, 1882.

Frohman, Daniel, and Marcosson, Isaac F., Charles Frohman. New York, 1916.

Frohman, Daniel, Memories of a Manager. New York, 1911.

Gilbert, Mrs. Anne H., Stage Reminiscences. Edited by C. M. Martin. New York, 1901.

Ireland, Joseph N., Mrs. Duff. Boston, 1882.

The Autobiography of Joseph Jefferson. New York, 1890.

Keese, William L., William E. Burton. Dunlap Society Publications, Ser. 1, Vol. 14. New York, 1891.

Leavitt, M. B., Fifty Years of Theatrical Management. New York, 1912.

Leman, Walter M., Memories of an Old Actor. San Francisco, 1886.

Ludlow, Noah M., Dramatic Life as I Found It. St. Louis, 1880.

Maeder, Clara Fisher, Autobiography. Ed. by Douglas Taylor. Dunlap Society Publications, Ser. 2, Vol. 3. New York, 1897.

Matthews, Brander, and Hutton, Laurence, Actors and Actresses of Great Britain and the United States from the Days of David Garrick to the Present Time. New York, 1886.

Modjeska, Helena, Memories and Impressions. New York, 1910.

Moses, M. J., Famous Actor-Families in America. New York, 1906.

Morris, Clara, Life on the Stage. My Personal Experiences and Recollections. New York, 1902.

Mowatt, Anna Cora (Mrs. Ritchie), The Autobiography of an Actress or Eight Years on the Stage. Boston, 1854.

Murdoch, James E., The Stage, or Recollections of Actors and Acting from an Experience of Fifty Years. Philadelphia, 1880.

Northall, William K., Life and Recollections of Yankee Hill. New York, 1850.

Peirce, James Harry, The Magazine and the Drama. Dunlap Society Publications, Series 2, Vol. 2. New York, 1896.

Rees, James, The Life of Edwin Forrest. Philadelphia, n.d. [1874].

Smith, Sol, Theatrical Management in the West and South for Thirty Years. New York, 1868.

Sothem, Edward H., The Melancholy Tale of Me. My Remembrances. New York, 1916.

Stoddart, J. H., Recollections of a Player. New York, 1902.

Strang, Lewis C., Famous Actors of To-day in America. Boston, 1900.

Wallack, Lester, Memories of Fifty Years. New York, 1889.

Walsh, Townsend, The Career of Dion Boucicault. Dunlap Society Publications, Ser. 3, Vol. 1. New York, 1915.

Wemyss, F. C., Theatrical Biography of Eminent Actors and Authors. New York, [185-].

Wemyss, Francis C., Twenty-six Years of the Life of an Actor Manager. 2 Vols. New York, 1847.

Wilstach, Paul, Richard Mansfield, the Man and the Actor. New York, 1909.

Winter, William, A Sketch of the Life of John Gilbert. Dunlap Society Publications, Series 1, Vol. 11. New York, 1890.

Winter, William, The Jeffersons. Boston, 1881.

Winter, William, Other Days; Being Chronicles and Memories of the Stage. New York, 1908.

Winter, William, The Wallet of Time, Containing Personal, Biographical, and Critical Reminiscence of the American Theatre, 2 Vols. New York, 1913.

Winter William, Brief Chronicles. Parts 1, 2, 3. Dunlap Society Publications, Series 1, Vols. 7, 8, 10. New York, 1889.

Wood, W. B., Personal Recollections of the Stage. . . . During a Period of Forty Years, Philadelphia, 1855.

Note to Revised Edition.

⁠Since the publication of the first edition, the most important works treating the American Drama and Stage have been as follows:

Baker, Louis C., The German Drama in English on the New York Stage to 1830, Philadelphia, 1917. (University of Pennsylvania Thesis.)

Belasco, David, The Theatre Through Its Stage Door, edited by L. V. Defoe, New York, 1919.

Brede, Charles F., The German Drama in English on the Philadelphia Stage From 1794 to 1830. 1918. (University of Pennsylvania Thesis.)

Coad, Oral S., William Dunlap, a Study of His Life and Works and of His Place in Contemporary Culture, Publications of the Dunlap Society, New York, 1917. (Columbia University Thesis.)

Daly, Joseph Francis, The Life of Augustin Daly, New York, 1917.

Hornblow, Arthur, History of the Theatre in America From Its Beginnings to the Present Time, 2 v. Philadelphia, 1919.

McCullough, Bruce W., The Life and Writings of Richard Penn Smith, With a Reprint of His Play, "The Deformed," 1830. Menasha, Wisconsin, 1917. (University of Pennsylvania Thesis.)

Reed, Perley I., The Realistic Presentation of American Characters in Native American Plays Prior to Eighteen Seventy. Columbus, Ohio, 1918. (Ohio State University Thesis.)

Towse, John R., Sixty Years of the Theater. New York, 1916.

Winter, William, The Life of David Belasco, 2 v. New York, 1918.

Among the Most Significant Articles Are:

Coad, Oral S., "The First American Play," Nation, Vol. 107, No. 2772,; August 17, 1918.

Coad, Oral S., "The American Theatre in the Eighteenth Century," South Atlantic Quarterly, Vol. XVII, No. 3, pp. 190-7. July, 1918.

Henderson, Archibald, "The American Drama, A Survey," Sewanee Review, Vol. 26, pp. 228-40, April, 1918

Quinn, Arthur Hobson, "The Early Drama, 1756-1860," in the Cambridge History of American Literature, Vol, I, pp. 215-232, N. Y., 1917.

Two Collections Have Been Published:

Mayorga, Margaret Gardner, Representative One-Act Plays By American Authors, Boston, 1919.

Moses, Montrose J., Representative Plays By American Dramatists, Vol. I, New York, 1918. (Ten plays.)