Scope and Content Note
The Paul Wilstach Collection of the papers of Richard Mansfield (1857-1907), the noted actor who introduced the works of George Bernard Shaw and Henrik Ibsen to American audiences, spans the years 1889-1918, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1898-1909. Major components of the collection include correspondence, writings, and scrapbooks. The correspondence contains holographs of Mansfield, mostly addressed to his friend, secretary, and biographer, Paul Wilstach; letters from celebrities, theater figures, and the general public to Mansfield complimenting him on performances or asking favors; and correspondence spanning 1907-08 between Wilstach and Beatrice Cameron Mansfield, Mansfield's widow and a prominent actress, relating to Wilstach's biography of her husband.
A holographic manuscript of Wilstach's biography of the actor, Richard Mansfield: The Actor and the Man, is included in the writings section of the papers. Creative expressions by Mansfield include two plays, As You Find It and Don Juan, a children's book, Blown Away, and miscellaneous poems, notes, and fragmentary works. Also prominent in the writings are acting versions of plays prepared specifically for Mansfield's productions.
A small scrapbook compiled by Wilstach, dated 1886, is mostly related to general theater topics and the Wilstach family. More extensive scrapbooks compiled by Wilstach, spanning 1898-1901 and 1902-1907, and by Sarah Lindsey Myers Pollard containing items from 1896, relate almost wholly to Mansfield's career and include newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and playbills.