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Finding Aid for the Silver Creek Shakespeare Club Records, 1889-1990

MS 53

State University of New York at Buffalo. University Archives


420 Capen Hall
Buffalo, New York 14260
United States
Phone: 716-645-2916
Fax: 716-645-3714
Email: lib-archives@buffalo.edu
URI: http://library.buffalo.edu/archives

Finding aid prepared by Archives staff.
Finding aid encoded in EAD by Dan Conley, October 2006.
Finding aid written in English.
Finding aid prepared using local best practices.

Please use the following URL when citing this document:
http://purl.org/net/findingaids/view?docId=ead/archives/ubar_ms0053.xml

© 2006. State University of New York at Buffalo. All rights reserved.


Collection Overview

Title: Silver Creek Shakespeare Club Records, 1889-1990
Creator: Shakespeare Club (Silver Creek, N.Y.)
Extent: 3 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes (3.09 linear feet)
Language of Material: Collection material in English.
Repository: State University of New York at Buffalo. University Archives
Abstract: Record books, 1890-1902, 1912-1913, containing lists of members and officers, and minutes of meetings; annual programs, 1891-1987, containing the year's events, plays read and the constitution of the club; photographs, circa 1904-1987; scrapbooks commemorating the 75th and 100th anniversaries of the club; papers, circa 1903-1970, written by members on plays and other literary topics, read at the annual Shakespeare nights; clippings and correspondence concerning the club, and a history of the club compiled at the time of its 75th anniversary. Also included are memorabilia and clippings about Shakespeare collected by the club and a set of critical editions of Shakespeare's plays by Henry N. Hudson, purchased by the club in 1890.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Description and dates], Box/folder number, MS 53, Silver Creek Shakespeare Club Records, 1889-1990, University Archives, The State University of New York at Buffalo.

See the Archives' preferred citations instructions for additional information.

Acquisition Information

The records of the Silver Creek Shakespeare Club were donated to the University Archives, The State University of New York at Buffalo, by the Shakespeare Club in 1991.

Terms of Access

Silver Creek Shakespeare Club Records, 1889-1990, are open for research.

Copyright

Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Archives staff in the early 1990s.

Accruals and Additions

No further accruals are expected to this collection.


Historical Note

The Silver Creek Shakespeare Club of Silver Creek, New York, was founded by Rev. Robert Newton Stubbs in 1889. Its goal was to broaden the culture of Silver Creek, and "to give what pleasure we can get what benefit we may." After 1895, the club was made up entirely of women, many college educated, with membership limited to twenty five. They focused on interpretative readings of Shakespeare and other subjects of general literature, studying three or four plays a year. In order to join, applications had to be presented to the current President of the Club, and then submitted to an anonymous committee of three. If approved, the application was then voted on by members' written ballots; three "no's" excluding it for that year. The club met about twenty times a year, with an annual Shakespeare Night in March that included food, entertainment and papers read on historical background and characters of plays. Other holidays observed were Twelfth Night (first meeting in January), Shakespeare's Birthday, and the annual picnic on the Tuesday after July 4th. The club also aided the Red Cross, Crippled Children's Protestant Home and the Lee Library in Silver Creek. The Shakespeare club was also a social club, surviving through the stock market crash, the Depression and two World Wars. The Club is still active in Silver Creek.


Scope and Content Note

Record books (1890-1902, 1912-1913) containing the roll, lists of members and officers, and minutes of meetings; annual programs (1891-1987) containing the year's events, plays read and the constitution of the club; photographs (ca. 1904-1987); scrapbooks commemorating the 75th (1964) and 100th (1989) anniversaries of the Club; papers (ca. 1903-1970) written by members on plays and other literary topics, read on the Annual Shakespeare Nights; some clippings and correspondence concerning the club, and a history of the club compiled at the time of its 75th anniversary. Also included are memorabilia and clippings about Shakespeare collected by the Club and a set of critical editions of Shakespeare's plays by Henry N. Hudson, purchased by the Club in 1890.


Arrangement

This collection is divided by genre.


Container List

Box-folder Contents
1.1 Record books, 1890-1894 , 1894-1898
1.2 Record books, 1898-1902, 1912-1913, 1935-1942; includes drafts of letters and celebration of organization nights in 1935-1942 record book.
1.3 Annual programs, 1891-1893, 1895-1898, 1902-1918
1.4 Annual programs, 1920-1938
1.5 Annual programs, 1938-1951, 1952-1959
1.6 Annual programs, 1959-1987
2.1 Photo album contents, 1890-1980
2.2 Twenty fifth Anniversary letter from Reverend Stubbs, 1914
2.3 Agreement with Lee Library Association, 1929
2.4 Constitution, 1930-1961
2.5 Club correspondence, 1927-1987
2.6 Fiftieth Anniversary article, 1939
2.7 Seventy Fifth Anniversary scrapbook, 1964
2.8a Throughout the Years [75th Anniversary History], 1964
2.8b One Hundredth Anniversary scrapbook, 1989
2.9 Newspaper clippings, 1964-1987
Box-folder Contents
2.10 "All's Well" -- "Coriolanus"
2.11 "Court Intrigues" -- "Great Shakespearian Actors"
2.12 "Hamlet's Insanity" -- "Much Ado About Nothing"
2.13 "Myths" -- "The Younger School of Dramatists"
2.14 Club study sheets, songs, rough drafts of programs, 1926-1989
Box Contents
3 Printed study editions of Shakespeare plays, 1888; includes set of critical editions of plays edited by Henry Norman Hudson (1814-1886), ordered by the Club in 1890; also A Compendium of Parliamentary Law by Mrs. John F. Lewis (Buffalo, 1912).
4 Shakespeare memorabilia, undated; includes prints, postcards, theater programs, articles from magazine and other materials.
5 Shakespeare clippings, circa 1900-1980

Organized by name of play.


Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog.

Contributors

Hudson, Henry Norman, 1814-1886
State University of New York at Buffalo. University Archives
Stubbs, Robert Newton

Subject Terms

Clubs--New York (State)--Silver Creek
Shakespeare Club (Silver Creek, N.Y.)--Anniversaries, etc.
Shakespeare Club (Silver Creek, N.Y.)--Archives
Shakespeare Club (Silver Creek, N.Y.)--History
Shakespeare Club (Silver Creek, N.Y.)--Miscellanea
Shakespeare Club (Silver Creek, N.Y.)--Records and correspondence
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Criticism and interpretation
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Societies, etc.
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Stage history--New York (State)--Silver Creek
Silver Creek (N.Y.)--Intellectual life
Silver Creek (N.Y.)--Social life and customs
State University of New York at Buffalo--Archives
Women--New York (State)--Silver Creek--Societies and clubs--History
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