ARCHIVE OF CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE PRODUCER OF “HARVEY.” 11 Autograph Letters Signed and 6 Typed Letters Signed (“Brock” and “B”), totaling 26 pp, 4to and 8vo, various places including Detroit, Abington, VA, Hope Sound, FL, San Francisco, and New York, [1946-1948], to actress Edith Meiser, on various letterheads, reporting on the touring productions of Harvey, some creasing and toning throughout, many original transmittal envelopes present. Together with 22 8 by 10 inch silver gelatin prints of the various actors (James Stewart Joe E. Brown, Frank Fey) who portrayed Elwood P. Dowd on stage, plus miscellaneous ephemera. Broadway producer Brock Pemberton staged productions of Preston Sturges' first hit play, Strictly Dishonorable, as well as the first US adaptation of Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author; he is best remembered, however, for having produced the classic comedy Harvey, by playwright Mary Chase. Harvey tells the story of the lovable drunk Elwood P. Dowd who is visited by a pooka, a spirit who appears in the form of a giant rabbit. Pemberton writes these letters to his lover, Edith Meiser, gossiping about cast members (including the tyrannical Frank Fey), and reporting on the reception the play receives in different venues. In part: “my state manager says they liked Joe E [Brown] better than Frank [Fay]. All we have to do is to keep them split into camps! It was 107 in KC Saturday and they sold out all three performances for 16,887. Fay’s take was over 4000! Wait till I tell his agent. I’m not sure about next season. The advance here is grand, the weather has turned coolish and the house is practically clean for tonight.”
ARCHIVE OF CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE PRODUCER OF “HARVEY.” 11 Autograph Letters Signed and 6 Typed Letters Signed (“Brock” and “B”), totaling 26 pp, 4to and 8vo, various places including Detroit, Abington, VA, Hope Sound, FL, San Francisco, and New York, [1946-1948], to actress Edith Meiser, on various letterheads, reporting on the touring productions of Harvey, some creasing and toning throughout, many original transmittal envelopes present. Together with 22 8 by 10 inch silver gelatin prints of the various actors (James Stewart Joe E. Brown, Frank Fey) who portrayed Elwood P. Dowd on stage, plus miscellaneous ephemera. Broadway producer Brock Pemberton staged productions of Preston Sturges' first hit play, Strictly Dishonorable, as well as the first US adaptation of Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author; he is best remembered, however, for having produced the classic comedy Harvey, by playwright Mary Chase. Harvey tells the story of the lovable drunk Elwood P. Dowd who is visited by a pooka, a spirit who appears in the form of a giant rabbit. Pemberton writes these letters to his lover, Edith Meiser, gossiping about cast members (including the tyrannical Frank Fey), and reporting on the reception the play receives in different venues. In part: “my state manager says they liked Joe E [Brown] better than Frank [Fay]. All we have to do is to keep them split into camps! It was 107 in KC Saturday and they sold out all three performances for 16,887. Fay’s take was over 4000! Wait till I tell his agent. I’m not sure about next season. The advance here is grand, the weather has turned coolish and the house is practically clean for tonight.”
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
