Scope and Content Note
The Gatewood W. Dunston Collection Relating to William Surrey Hart material was collected by Gatewood W. Dunston, of Norfolk, Virginia, over a period of nearly twenty years. It includes correspondence, 1929-1955, synopses of Hart’s stories and movie scripts, 1914-1918, publicity material, notes on films, and clippings. The material relates chiefly to Hart’s career as a pioneer star in silent western films.
The correspondence includes letters from Hart to Dunston discussing Hart’s films and movie career and letters about Hart written by others. There are also clippings regarding the law suit which Hart won against United Artists in the New York Supreme Court in 1940, and material concerning the efforts of Hart’s son to contest his father’s will, 1946-1950.