Charles S. Mitchell Collection
Scope and Contents
The materials in the Collection are arranged, whenever the date was known, in chronological order by year and in alphabetical order. Some abbreviated notation gives the city for places other than those coded.
Some notable materials in the Collection are programs from vocal and instrumental concerts and performances at Theatre Vendome as well as Little Theatre productions in Nashville. Of particular interest to the Fugitive/Agrarian Collection are two programs from two plays by Andrew Lytle: The Lost Sheep is in Box 2, 1932; The Gold Tooth, a Calumet Players' Presentation (Vanderbilt Theatrical Group), is in Box 4, undated. Other interesting productions include performances starring Maude Adams, Sarah Bernhardt, Paul Robeson in Othello (1944). Programs include Lillian Hellman's The Searching Wind (1944), Song of Norway (1945) choreography by George Balanchine, the first American engagement of Old Vic, and various items on Shakespearean productions. The Charles S. Mitchell Collection also contains some miscellaneous English productions.
Box 1 includes correspondence and playbills from 1866-1921
Box 2 includes correspondence and playbills from 1922-1934
Box 3 includes correspondence and playbills from 1936-1947
Box 4 includes includes correspondence and playbills from 1948-1952; playbills from 1952-1963 donated by Mitchell's friend Herschel Gower, faculty member of the Vanderbilt English Department; and programs with no date.
Box 5 includes newspaper clippings, librettos, pamphlets, playbills, miscellaneous. Some of the playbills in Box 5 were also donated by Herschel Gower. Theatre Vendome programs (ca. 1913-1916), which were printed on newsprint paper and thus are extremely fragile, are included in this Box.
Box 6 includes photographs of theatrical performers.
General Contents:
Playbills - Programs - 1876-1963 ca. 450 items - (45 N.D.)
Librettos - 6 items
Miscellaneous pamphlets - 20 items
Photographs of actors, actresses and musicians
Newspaper clippings
Correspondence, incoming:
- Cheatham, Frances B. (no date) - 1 letter
- Milne, A. C. - 1929, July 24 - 1 letter
- Robinson, Francis - 1949, Sept. 24 - 1 letter
- "Buddy" - no date - 1 letter
- No signature - no date
- 4 letters - 1 card
The Old Vic Company, 1914-1963 - Issued to commemorate the final performance saturday - 15th June, 1963
The Old Vic Company, 1914-1963 is located with the English Dept.'s materials
Dates
- Creation: 1866 - 1965
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
The physical materials from this collection may be viewed only in the reading room of Vanderbilt’s Special Collections and University Archives. Materials should be requested two to three days in advance to facilitate easier access. Contact specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu to schedule an appointment.
Biographical / Historical
"The love of my life has always been the theatre. I suppose this is inherited both from my father and from my grandmother. I began to go to the. theatre at the age of five, accompanied by my nurse."
Charles S. Mitchell's recollections in 1951 help explain the diversity and chronological span of theatrical and music playbills in the Collection. Since the playbills antedate Charles S. Mitchell's birthdate of 1873, the earlier ones were presumably collected by his father or grandmother. The programs which postdate Mitchell were contributed by Herschel Gower, Department of English, Vanderbilt University. For more reflections by Mitchell, see William Waller's Nashville in the 1890's, pp. 164-74. In this volume Mitchell recollects visiting the roof of Poole's Gallery where E. E. Barnard "with his small telescope showed us the wonders of the skies" (pp. 168-9). Special Collections houses the papers of E. E. Barnard.
In another part of this volume Mrs. George A. Frazer remembers Mitchell's Candies:
Then, there was Mitchell's on Union Street, where the excellence of the candy and the hospitality of the proprieters were known, not only in Nashville, but in other cities. Mr. Mitchell Sr. was a nice-looking gentleman, with gray hair and gray mustache. He was always there, gracious, courtly, never perturbed. His son Charles became the host of the store, and George, the other son, stayed where the candies were made. We met our friends at Mitchell's, bought and enjoyed the candy, and sent it to our friends in Nashville and in other cities.
Special Collections retains a bookmark from Mitchell's Candies.
Full Extent
2.52 Linear Feet (6 letter Hollingers)
- Title
- Finding Aid for the Charles S. Mitchell Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- June, 1966
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives Repository
Special Collections Library
1101 19th Ave. S.
Nashville TN 37212 United States
specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu
About this Site
This site contains collection guides, or finding aids, to the archival collections held by Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives, the History of Medicine Collection, and the Scarritt Bennett Center. Finding aids describe the context, arrangement, and structure of archival materials, allowing users to identify and request materials relevant to their research.
Requesting Materials
Each finding aid contains a link to request materials from the collections. Collections can also be requested by emailing the repository directly through the library website. Each repository has its own location, hours, and contact information. Please consult the repository with questions about using the materials. Collections are non-circulating and must be used in the repository’s reading room. In many cases, the collections are stored off-site and require advance notice for retrieval.