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Aldridge Collection

Descriptive Summary

Repository
Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections
Title
Aldridge Collection
Creator
Scobie, Edward
Identifier
MS4
Size
8 Linear Feet 6 boxes, 1 half-file box, 1 oversize flat box, 1 oversize folder
Dates
1806-2017
Predominant Dates
1846-1959
Abstract
The Aldridge Collection consists of materials relating to 19th century African-American tragedian Ira Frederick Aldridge (1807-1867) and his children, mainly his daughter Amanda Christina Elizabeth Aldridge (known as Amanda Ira Aldridge, who composed under the pseudonym Montague Ring; 1866-1956). Included in the collection are correspondence, photographs and engravings, newspaper clippings, musical manuscripts and scores, personal and legal documents, articles, memorabilia, two portraits and a sculpture.
Language
English

Scope and Contents

The Aldridge Collection consists of materials relating to 19th century African-American tragedian Ira Frederick Aldridge (1807-1967) and his children, mainly his daughter Amanda Christina Elizabeth Aldridge (known as Amanda Ira Aldridge, who composed under the pseudonym Montague Ring; 1866-1956). Materials related to Ira Aldridge include transcriptions of letters, honors and citations, copies of legal documents, newspaper clippings, and photographic engravings or reproductions. Amanda Ira Aldridge materials include correspondence, musical manuscripts and scores, and an autobiographical statement. This collection also contains articles about Ira Aldridge and his theatrical career by Edward Scobie (born Vivian Edward George Dalrymple) and Owen Mortimer. Additional materials on Aldridge and 19th century theatre which were received include a portrait of Aldridge in the role of Mungo and a bust by Pietro Calvi (1833-1844): "Bust of Othello: the Moor of Venice."

Arrangement

The Aldridge Collection is organized into 6 series: Ira Aldridge materials (1817-1962, 1993-2012); Materials on Slavery (1806-1846, 1952-1963); Amanda Aldridge materials (1869-1956); Correspondence (1888-1991); Owen Mortimer materials (1949-2017); Artifacts (circa 1825-1870s, 2000).

Acquisition Information

Most of the original Aldridge materials were received from Edward Scobie. Photocopies of documents, articles, and correspondence were gifts of Aldridge scholars Owen Mortimer or Bernth Lindfors. Additional materials on Aldridge and 19th century theatre were acquired from Bernth Lindfors in 2017.

Conditions Governing Access

Available for research.

Processing Information

Processed by Sigrid Pohl Perry in September 1982; revised in February 1993, January 1999, September 2001, April 2004, January 2018; encoded version revised in March 2006; February 2010; February 2013; January 2018; August 2021.

Processing Information note

This collection was surveyed as part of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium's Survey Initiative on 2010 March 15 by Lisa Calahan and Lauren Kalal.

Preferred Citation

Aldridge Collection, Manuscript Series IV, Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections, Northwestern University Library

Biographical Information

Ira Frederick Aldridge was born in New York City on July 24, 1807, to Reverend Daniel and Luranah Aldridge. He received his education at New York's African Free School and the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Although he performed in amateur productions in New York, his performance did not receive notice until he debuted as the first black actor at Royal Coburg Theatre, London on October 10, 1825 in the role of Prince Oroonoko of Africa. He toured in the British Isles and the European continent, receiving special acclaim in Poland and Russia; one of his most frequent roles was Othello. In 1825 Aldridge married Margaret Gill of England; after her death in 1864 he married Countess Amanda von Brandt of Sweden. His grown children included Ira Daniel Aldridge, teacher of languages; Ira Frederick Olaff Aldridge, musician and composer; Irene Luranah Pauline Aldridge, opera singer; and Amanda Christina Elizabeth Aldridge, known as Amanda Ira Aldridge (1866-1956), teacher and composer under the name of Montague Ring. Aldridge became a naturalized British subject in 1863. He died August 7, 1867 while on a theatrical tour of Poland, and was buried in Lodz, Poland on August 9, 1867.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for materials resides with the literary executors of individual letters and documents. All users must comply with federal copyright regulations.

Indexed Terms

Indexed Terms

Inventory

Ira Aldridge materials
1817-1962, 1993-2012
Box 1
Folder 1
Title
Correspondence (15pp.)
Dates
1853-1866 and undated
Box 1
Folder 1
Item 1
Title
Ira Aldridge to Amalia, Halle [Germany] (2pp.)
Dates
1854 December 30
Scope and Contents

Amalia is an actress whose family lives in Vienna; Aldridge discusses his European tour and hope to take a German troupe to England.

Box 1
Folder 1
Item 2
Title
Ira Aldridge -- typescripts transcribed from letters (8pp.)
Box 1
Folder 1
Item 3
Title
Annie Binn to Aldridge
Dates
1866
Box 1
Folder 1
Item 4
Title
Mr. and Mrs. Dease (dinner invitation)
Box 1
Folder 1
Item 5
Title
Rosa Hennebert to Aldridge
Dates
1853
Box 1
Folder 1
Item 6
Title
R.H. Gibbons & Co. to Aldridge
Box 1
Folder 2
Title
Honors and citations (9pp.)
Dates
1853-1865
Box 1
Folder 2
Item 1
Title
Hapsburg Court, 1853. Kazan, 1865.
Dates
1853, 1865
Box 8
Folder 1
Item 2
Title
St. Petersburg. Czar Alexander Nikolayevich
Dates
1859-01-09
Box 1
Folder 3
Title
Documents (copies)
Dates
1817-1932
Box 1
Folder 3
Item 1
Title
Marriage certificates (2pp.): Aldridge & Margaret Gill, 1825; Aldridge & Countess Amanda Von Brandt, 1865
Dates
1825, 1865
Box 1
Folder 3
Item 2
Title
Verification of birth and death of Rachael Margaret Frederika Aldridge (1p.)
Dates
circa 1867, 1869
Box 1
Folder 3
Item 3
Title
Deaths of Ira Aldridge's parents: (4pp.) Lurana Aldridge, 1817; Daniel Aldridge, 1840
Dates
1817, 1840
Box 1
Folder 3
Item 4
Title
Death certificates (9pp.): Margaret Aldridge, 1864; Amanda Aldridge, 1915; Lurana Aldridge, 1932; Ira Aldridge (Polish and English), August 8, 1867.
Dates
1864, 1867, 1915, 1932
Box 1
Folder 3
Item 5
Title
Memorial by Ira Aldridge for certificate of naturalization in England, 1863 (4pp.)
Dates
1863
Box 1
Folder 4
Title
Performance place-list (1p. holograph)
Box 1
Folder 5
Title
Contemporary newspaper clippings (16pp.)
Box 1
Folder 6
Title
Typed transcriptions of articles re: Ira Aldridge's death in 1867 (7pp.)
Dates
1867
Box 1
Folder 7
Title
Posthumous newspaper clippings (31pp.)
Dates
1915-1929; 1932-1939; 1943-1955
Box 8
Folder 1
Item 1
Title
Posthumous newspaper clippings: The Era, "One Hundred Years of Negro Drama"
Dates
1933 November 22
Box 1
Folder 8
Title
Photographs of Ira Aldridge as himself (6); includes photographs inscribed by Amanda Aldridge to Vivian Dalrymple and a photograph by Abdullah Freres, Constantinople
Box 1
Folder 9
Title
Photographs of Ira Aldridge in various roles (18), including Othello, Shylock and King Lear. Photographers include Thomas Fall, London; Abdullah Freres, Constantinople
Box 1
Folder 10
Title
Ira Aldridge by various artists (6)
Dates
1848 and undated
Box 1
Folder 10
Item 1
Title
Russian lithograph of Aldridge as Othello
Box 1
Folder 10
Item 2
Title
Photograph of engraving in the "Theatrical Times" of Aldridge as Othello
Dates
1848-04-15
Box 1
Folder 10
Item 3
Title
Photograph of illustration by "G.D." of Aldridge as Zanga in "The Revenge"
Box 1
Folder 10
Item 4
Title
Photograph of bust of Aldridge as Othello by Pietro Calvi (2 copies, one inscribed by Amanda Aldridge)
Box 1
Folder 11
Title
Tintype photo of Ira Fredrick Aldridge and Ira Daniel Aldridge
Dates
undated
Box 1
Folder 12
Title
Constitution for Poland and Russia inscribed to Aldridge (29pp.)
Dates
1863
Folder 1
Item 4
Title
Property deed
Dates
1864 January 15
Folder 1
Item 5
Title
Property deed
Dates
1864 January 14
Box 1
Folder 14
Title
Personal estate materials
Dates
1867, 1870 and undated
Box 1
Folder 14
Item 1
Title
Will in Vivian Dalrymple's [Edward Scobie's] handwriting
Dates
undated
Box 1
Folder 14
Item 2
Title
Letter to Mrs. Aldridge from S. May (4pp.)
Dates
1867 December 16
Folder 1
Item 2
Title
Policy of Assurance for Amanda Aldridge from the Phoenix Assurance Company of London
Dates
1867 September 28
Folder 1
Item 3
Title
Policy of Assurance for Amanda Aldridge from the Phoenix Assurance Company of London
Dates
1870 January 6
Box 1
Folder 15
Title
Letters to Mrs. Aldridge (4pp.); A. Boeker, 1868; H. Reeck (?), 1869
Dates
1868-1869
Box 1
Folder 16
Title
Ira Aldridge misc. clippings and photo (19pp.)
Dates
undated
Box 8
Folder 1
Item 3
Title
Ira Aldridge misc. clippings: The World, "Your Negro Doctor"
Dates
1954 September
Box 1
Folder 17
Title
Facsimile score, Possum up a Gum Tree, possibly sung by Aldridge; published in US as A South Carolina Negro Air
Dates
undated
Box 1
Folder 18
Title
Copy of portrait of Henry Christophe, Haitian president, by Richard Evans, Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1818
Dates
1818
Box 1
Folder 19
Title
19th century engravings of Ira Aldridge in various roles including Zanga, Mungo, Aaron (7); photograph of portrait of Aldridge as Mungo
Dates
undated
Box 1
Folder 20
Title
Ira Aldridge in the role of Othello (6 engravings or copies).
Dates
undated
Box 1
Folder 21
Title
Ira Aldridge (copy of portrait engraving)
Dates
undated
Box 1
Folder 22
Title
The Theatrical Observer; and Daily Bills of the Play; no. 773, 24 May 1824; no. 1480 2 September 1826 (both issues have articles that reference a performance by Ira Aldridge)
Dates
1824-1826
Box 1
Folder 23
Title
Peter Davey [notes on Ira Aldridge with a list of performances in England, 1829-1860]
Dates
1934 October 4
Box 1
Folder 24
Title
Miscellaneous theatrical engravings depicting Othello, Oroonoko, Andronicus, and Edmund Edmund Kean as Coriolanus (7)
Dates
undated
Box 1
Folder 25
Title
Engravings of Surrey Theatre, Blackfriars Road, London, England (6)
Dates
undated
Box 1
Folder 26
Title
Engravings of miscellaneous theatres: Olympic Theatre, Wych St.; Royal Coburg Theatre; Haymarket Theatre; Lyceum Theatre, Sadlers Wells; St. George's Church, Bloomsbury; theatre in the palace of Versailles (11)
Dates
undated
Box 1
Folder 27
Title
Miscellaneous theatre engravings: "Mr. Mathews as Jonathan and Mr. Sloman as Agamemnon"
Dates
undated
Box 1
Folder 28
Title
Miscellaneous theatre ephemera: includes engraving of St. George's Church, Bloomsbury. From a drawing by Roy Hutchinson (with greeting card & negative of image). Miscellaneous modern postcards with photos of famous theaters.
Dates
undated
Box 2
Folder 1
Title
Amanda Aldridge's scrapbook with photographs, etc. re: Ira Aldridge (44pp.)
Dates
1830-1935
Box 2
Folder 2
Title
Cyril B. Andrews, "Black Ebony" manuscript (151pp.)
Dates
undated
Box 2
Folder 3
Title
Cyril B. Andrews, "Ira Aldridge: the African Roscius" notes and manuscript with Ida Shepley's Checkers magazine article (15pp.)
Dates
1949 January and undated
Box 2
Folder 4
Title
Ira Aldridge organizations; Charlotte Marshall "In Memorium" (3pp.)
Dates
1917, 1955 and undated
Box 2
Folder 5
Title
Owen Mortimer, "Mr. Aldridge of the Theatre. . .;" with notes (34pp.)
Dates
1954 December 2 and undated
Box 2
Folder 6
Title
Edward Scobie's notes from interviews with Aldridge family (171pp.)
Dates
1953 and undated
Box 2
Folder 7
Title
Aldridge articles (see box 5 for additional articles)
Dates
1947-1955
Box 2
Folder 7
Item 1
Title
Dr. McCune Smith, typescript of Anglo-African Magazine article (11pp.)
Box 2
Folder 7
Item 2
Title
Owen Mortimer, "Ira Aldridge, Shakespearean Actor," Crisis, April, 1955 (17pp.)
Dates
1955-04
Box 2
Folder 7
Item 3
Title
Stanislaw Dabrowski, "Othello on the Lodz Stage in the 19th Century," (excerpts, 1947-1948; 3pp.)
Dates
1947-1948
Box 2
Folder 7
Item 4
Title
Eugene Szwankowski, "Ira Aldridge in Poland," 1953 (2pp.)
Dates
1953
Box 2
Folder 7
Item 5
Title
Dr. Bernth Lindfors, "Ira Aldridge: Shakespearean Tragedian" (7pp.)
Box 2
Folder 7
Item 6
Title
Misc. brief articles and clippings re: Aldridge (4pp.)
Bernth Lindfors, miscellaneous articles on Aldridge
1993-2012
Box 5
Folder 4
Item 1
Title
"The Signifying Flunkey: Ira Aldridge as Mungo," from The Literary Griot (vol. 5 no.2), pp. 1-11.
Dates
1993 Fall
Box 5
Folder 4
Item 2
Title
"'Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice': New Biographical Information on Ira Aldridge," from African American Review (vol. 28 no. 3), pp. 457-472.
Dates
1994
Box 5
Folder 4
Item 3
Title
"Ira Aldridge, 'The African Roscius,'" from South African Theatre Journal: SATJ (v. 10 no. 1), pp.71-84.
Dates
1996 May
Box 5
Folder 4
Item 4
Title
"The Perils of Playing the Provinces," from Nordic Theatre Studies (v.10), pp.131-138
Dates
1997
Box 5
Folder 4
Item 5
Title
"Ira Aldridge's London Debut," from Theatre Notebook (vol. 60 no. 1), pp. 30-44
Dates
2006
Box 5
Folder 4
Item 6
Title
"Ira Aldridge's Life in New York City," from Afro-Americans in New York Life and History (vol. 32 no. 1), pp. 7-45.
Dates
2008
Box 5
Folder 4
Item 7
Title
"Ira Aldridge's Aaron," from Le Litteratures Africaines, pp. 49-64 (photocopy)
Dates
2011
Box 5
Folder 4
Item 8
Title
"The Lost Life of Ira Daniel Aldridge (part 1)," Text Matters (no. 2), pp. 194-208 (photocopy)
Dates
2012
Edward Scobie articles
circa 1954-1962 and undated
Box 5
Folder 5
Item 1
Title
"Ira Frederick Aldridge – Black Shakespearean Actor (1807-1867)," 7pp.
Dates
undated
Box 5
Folder 5
Item 2
Title
"Amanda Ira Aldridge – She Taught the Great to Sing," 5pp.
Dates
circa 1962
Box 5
Folder 5
Item 3
Title
"Jenny Lind Taught Me Singing" [interview with Amanda Aldridge], 5pp.
Dates
circa 1954
Box 5
Folder 6
Title
Edward Scobie, "Some Interesting Items and Artifacts in My Ira Aldridge Collection", 8pp.
Dates
undated
Materials on Slavery
1806-1846, 1952-1963
Box 2
Folder 8
Title
Bills (2) on the registry and manumission of slaves (20pp.)
Dates
1819, 1825
Box 2
Folder 9
Item 1
Title
George III. Act to prevent slave importation (2pp.)
Dates
1806 May 23
Box 8
Folder 2
Item 1
Title
Page from The Pictorial Times, 1846 (1p.)
Dates
1846
Box 2
Folder 10
Title
The Anti-Slavery Reporter (9 issues, 64pp.)
Dates
1827, 1830, 1952-1963
Amanda Aldridge materials
1869-1956
Box 3
Folder 1
Title
Portrait of Amanda Aldridge by Nellie M.H. Edmunds (1p.)
Dates
undated
Box 3
Folder 2
Title
Photographs of Aldridge family and friends (21), including Margaret Gill Aldridge and Amanda Pauline Ericksson Brandt Aldridge (wives of Ira Aldridge), Frederick Olaff Aldridge and Luranah Aldridge (children), gravesites of Ira Aldridge and Luranah Aldridge; Marian Anderson by Lotte Meitner-Graf, photographer; photograph of letter by Jenny Lind Goldschmidt re: Amanda Aldridge
Dates
circa 1915 and undated
Box 3
Folder 3
Title
Amanda Aldridge photographs (20)
Dates
circa 1883, 1900, 1950s
Box 3
Folder 4
Title
Amanda Aldridge photographs (20)
Dates
circa 1883, 1900, 1950s
Scope and Contents

Includes photographers "Julian", Dr. Heinz Zinram, and S. Marsden Evans. Views include Amanda Aldridge in her home, with Ida Shepley or Muriel Smith, in the BBC studios with Muriel Smith and Eric Robinson.

Box 3
Folder 5
Title
Duplicate photographs (16); 2 contact sheets of same Amanda Aldridge photographs
Dates
circa 1883, 1900, 1950s
Box 3
Folder 6
Item 1
Title
Materials related to Amanda Aldridge's death on 9 March 1956: posthumous articles: The Evening News
Dates
1956 August 27
Box 8
Folder 3
Item 1
Title
Materials related to Amanda Aldridge's death on 9 March 1956: posthumous articles: The Star paper
Dates
1956 August 27
Folder 1
Item 1
Title
Materials related to Amanda Aldridge's death on 9 March 1956: Obituary in The Daily Telegraph
Dates
1956 March 13
Box 3
Folder 6
Item 2
Title
Prayerbook used at Amanda's burial on 16 March 1956 (13pp.) [Burial Service for the Use of the New Church (London, 1932) 2 copies
Dates
1932
Box 3
Folder 7
Item 1
Title
Advertisement for Amanda's teaching with list of her pupils (26pp.)
Dates
undated
Box 3
Folder 7
Item 2
Title
Clippings, reviews by her students: Marian Anderson, Marian Asquith, Lawrence Brown, Alyce Fraser, Roland Hayes, Ida Sheply
Dates
undated
Box 8
Folder 3
Item 2
Title
Clippings, reviews by her students: Radio Times, "Midland Regional"
Dates
1933 May 19
Box 8
Folder 3
Item 3
Title
Clippings, reviews by her students: Lawrence Brown: New York Amsterdam News
Dates
undated
Box 8
Folder 3
Item 4
Title
Clippings, reviews by her students: Ida Sheply: "Jimmy O'Dea at Opera House"
Dates
undated
Box 8
Folder 3
Item 5
Title
Clippings, reviews by her students: Marian Anderson: "Women with Golden Voices"
Dates
undated
Box 3
Folder 8
Title
Jenny Lind materials
Dates
1887-1894
Scope and Contents

Includes presentation copy of Jenny Lind by Otto Goldschmidt (1894), 4 photographs, news clipping, and a letter by Jenny Lind Goldschmidt certifying that Amanda Ira Aldridge was her student (25 June 1887, 3pp.)

Box 3
Folder 9
Title
Articles on the death of Dr. Jonathan Phillips (1869-1935), 2pp.
Dates
1935
Box 3
Folder 10
Title
Amanda Aldridge's Schumann Album of Songs (104pp.)
Dates
undated
Box 3
Folder 11
Title
S. De Mensenkamp: Signed photo (1p.)
Dates
undated
Box 3
Folder 12
Title
Fred Aldridge programs, 1880, 1882; piano certificate, 11 February 1885; copy of score for Luranah by Ira F. Aldridge
Dates
1880-1885
Box 3
Folder 13
Item 1
Title
Luranah Aldridge material (74pp.): Programs for vocal recitals (7)
Dates
1893-1913
Box 8
Folder 3
Item 6
Title
Luranah Aldridge material: Programs for vocal recitals: "Paris Dieppe"
Dates
undated
Box 8
Folder 3
Item 7
Title
Luranah Aldridge material: Programs for vocal recitals: "Theater Royal Covent Garden, Promenade Concerts"
Dates
1893 September 10
Box 3
Folder 13
Item 2
Title
Immigration document, 1894; miscellaneous clippings, reviews of performances
Dates
1894
Box 3
Folder 14
Item 1
Title
Montague Ring (Amanda Aldridge's pseudonym) piano-vocal scores, programs
Dates
1910-1934
Box 3
Folder 14
Item 2
Title
Composition list (4 copies); programs for Antar of Araby and Chappell Ballad Concerts
Dates
1910 November 12, 1925 December 14 and undated
Box 3
Folder 14
Item 3
Title
Musical scores (copies)
Dates
1910-1934
Scope and Contents

The following musical scores are copies; for originals, see oversize folder 2: At Cupid's Ball (1923; incomplete score); Blue Days of June (1915); The Bride (1910); Little Rose in My Hair (1917); Mirette Serenade (1934); Summah Is De Lovin' Time (1925); Supplication (1914)

Box 8
Folder 4
Title
Musical scores (originals)
Dates
1910-1934 and undated
Box 8
Folder 4
Item 1
Title
Carl Henschel, "Lullaby", holograph mss. (4pp.), signed by "Ira [Amanda] Aldridge"
Dates
undated
Box 8
Folder 4
Item 2
Title
M.B. Bridgetower, "Diatonica Harmonica" mss. (5pp.)
Dates
undated
Box 8
Folder 4
Item 3
Title
At Cupid's Ball (incomplete score)
Dates
1923
Scope and Contents

Amanda Aldridge, aka Montague Ring

Box 8
Folder 4
Item 4
Title
Blue Days of June
Dates
1915
Scope and Contents

Amanda Aldridge, aka Montague Ring

Box 8
Folder 4
Item 5
Title
The Bride
Dates
1910
Scope and Contents

Amanda Aldridge, aka Montague Ring

Box 8
Folder 4
Item 6
Title
Little Rose in My Hair
Dates
1917
Scope and Contents

Amanda Aldridge, aka Montague Ring

Box 8
Folder 4
Item 7
Title
Mirette Serenade
Dates
1934
Scope and Contents

Amanda Aldridge, aka Montague Ring

Box 8
Folder 4
Item 8
Title
Summah Is De Lovin' Time
Dates
1925
Scope and Contents

Amanda Aldridge, aka Montague Ring

Box 8
Folder 4
Item 9
Title
Supplication
Dates
1914
Scope and Contents

Amanda Aldridge, aka Montague Ring

Box 3
Folder 15
Item 1
Title
Carl Henschel, "Lullaby", holograph mss. (4pp.), signed by "Ira [Amanda] Aldridge"
Dates
undated
Box 3
Folder 15
Item 2
Title
M.B. Bridgetower, "Diatonica Harmonica" mss. (5pp.) [copies only; originals in oversize Folder 2]
Dates
undated
Box 3
Folder 16
Title
Programs, reviews, clippings; autobiographical statement in Amanda's hand (34pp.)
Dates
1898-1954
Box 8
Folder 3
Item 8
Title
Clippings
Dates
1952
Correspondence
1888-1991
Box 4
Folder 1
Title
Amanda Aldridge to Cyril B. Andrews (5pp.)
Dates
1940
Box 4
Folder 2
Title
Amanda Aldridge with Vivian Dalrymple (6pp.)
Dates
1950-1952
Box 4
Folder 3
Title
Amanda Aldridge with Vivian Dalrymple (20pp.)
Dates
1953
Box 4
Folder 4
Title
Amanda Aldridge with Vivian Dalrymple (47pp.)
Dates
1954 January-June
Box 8
Folder 5
Title
Amanda Aldridge with Vivian Dalrymple: "Prize Winner" news clipping
Dates
circa 1954
Box 4
Folder 5
Title
Amanda Aldridge with Vivian Dalrymple, (37pp.)
Dates
1954 July-December
Box 4
Folder 6
Title
Amanda Aldridge with Vivian Dalrymple (20pp.)
Dates
1955
Box 4
Folder 7
Title
Amanda Aldridge correspondence from music publishers and admirers (17pp.)
Dates
1901-1955
Box 4
Folder 8
Title
Marian Anderson to A. Aldridge (11pp.)
Dates
1928-1931
Box 4
Folder 9
Title
Cyril B. Andrews correspondence (35pp.)
Dates
1934-1949
Box 4
Folder 10
Item 1
Title
Vivian Dalrymple to A. Aldridge (8pp.)
Dates
1954
Box 4
Folder 10
Item 2
Title
Vivian Dalrymple with Gregory, Rowcliffe & Co. (3pp.)
Dates
1954
Box 4
Folder 11
Item 1
Title
Vincent D'Indy to A. Aldridge (1p.)
Dates
undated
Box 4
Folder 11
Item 2
Title
Charlotte Marshall poem to "Miss Ira Aldridge" (1p.)
Dates
undated
Box 4
Folder 12
Title
Roland Hayes to A. Aldridge (38pp.)
Dates
1919-1922
Box 4
Folder 13
Item 1
Title
Michel Kovatchevitch correspondence (8pp.)
Dates
1939-1945
Box 4
Folder 13
Item 2
Title
Letter to M.K. from A.A. (?) re: photograph sent by father at her birth (2pp.)
Dates
undated
Box 4
Folder 14
Title
Michel Kovatchevitch and Vivian Dalrymple correspondence (39pp.)
Dates
1956-1957
Box 4
Folder 15
Title
Owen Mortimer correspondence
Dates
1953-1955
Box 4
Folder 15
Item 1
Title
to A. Aldridge (3pp.)
Dates
1953
Box 4
Folder 15
Item 2
Title
to Vivian Dalrymple (2pp.)
Dates
1953
Box 4
Folder 15
Item 3
Title
to Edward Scobie (2pp.)
Dates
1954
Box 4
Folder 15
Item 4
Title
with A. Aldridge, 1953 - 1955 (48pp. copies only)
Dates
1953-1955
Box 2
Folder 11
Title
Owen Mortimer correspondence re: Ira Aldridge and Amanda Aldridge (copies, 5pp.)
Dates
1955, 1965, 1991
Box 4
Folder 16
Title
Paul Robeson correspondence with A. Aldridge (2pp.)
Dates
circa 1920s
Box 4
Folder 17
Title
Arthur Schomberg correspondence (17pp.)
Dates
1935-1938
Box 4
Folder 18
Title
Edward Scobie correspondence (18pp.)
Dates
1951-1956
Box 4
Folder 19
Item 1
Title
Mildred Stock correspondence to A. Aldridge (2pp.)
Dates
1953-1955
Box 4
Folder 19
Item 2
Title
Mildred Stock to Edward Scobie (18pp.)
Dates
1953-1956
Box 4
Folder 19
Item 3
Title
Mildred Stock to Owen Mortimer (14pp. copies)
Dates
1955-1959
Box 4
Folder 20
Title
R.H. Thomas correspondence re: Ira Aldridge (1p.)
Dates
1934
Box 4
Folder 21
Title
Eva Wagner correspondence & photos sent to A. A. (7pp.)
Dates
1896-1897
Box 4
Folder 22
Title
Correspondence to Amanda Aldridge (various authors, 34pp.)
Dates
1888-1955
Owen Mortimer materials
1949-2017
Box 5
Folder 1
Title
Owen Mortimer biography of Ira Aldridge
Dates
circa 1989-1996
Box 5
Folder 1
Item 1
Title
"Speak of me as I Am: the Story of Ira Aldridge" press release
Dates
circa 1992
Box 5
Folder 1
Item 2
Title
Notes re: Aldridge research
Dates
1989-1991
Box 5
Folder 1
Item 3
Title
Prospectus of Aldridge biography by Mortimer
Dates
circa 1992
Box 5
Folder 1
Item 4
Title
Barry Smith, "Black Man on a White Stage," review of Mortimer's biography, published in Our Alma Mater; appended with notes by Mortimer (11pp.)
Dates
1996 Christmas
Box 5
Folder 2
Title
Owen Mortimer articles (copies with signed presentations by Mortimer)
Dates
1958-1959, 1991-1997
Box 5
Folder 2
Item 1
Title
Owen Mortimer, "The Soviet Union Honors Ira Aldridge," 1958, with note and copies of correspondence by O.M., 1958, 1993 (11pp.)
Dates
1958
Box 5
Folder 2
Item 2
Title
Owen Mortimer, "Research on Ira Aldridge: A Journey of Discovery in Theatre History," 1959, 27pp.
Dates
1959
Box 5
Folder 2
Item 3
Title
Owen Mortimer, "Now Join Our Hands: Ira Aldridge's Entreaty," 1995 (16pp.; 2 copies)
Dates
1995
Box 5
Folder 2
Item 4
Title
Owen Mortimer, trans., Uta Sadji, "Ira Aldridge - African Actor on German Stages," Etudes Germano-Africaines, no. 91, 1991, pp. 91 - 95. (9pp. - 2 copies)
Dates
1991
Box 5
Folder 2
Item 5
Title
Owen Mortimer, "Journey's End: Ira Aldridge and Poland," 1996 (7pp.)
Dates
1996
Box 5
Folder 2
Item 6
Title
Owen Mortimer, "Ira Aldridge, Knight of Saxony, 1807-1867," 1996 (7pp.)
Dates
1996
Box 5
Folder 2
Item 7
Title
Owen Mortimer, "Theophile Gautier on Ira Aldridge, 1858," 1997 (8pp.)
Dates
1997
Box 5
Folder 3
Title
Owen Mortimer correspondence re: Aldridge articles
Dates
1950-1954, 1994-2000
Box 5
Folder 3
Item 1
Title
Fountain Peyton to O.M. (1p.) with Fountain Peyton, "Ira Frederick Aldridge," 1917 (13pp. copy)
Dates
1950
Box 5
Folder 3
Item 2
Title
Marie Trommer to O.M. (4pp.) with Marie Trommer, "Ira Aldridge, American Negro Tragedian and Taras Shevchenko, Poet of the Ukraine -Story of a Friendship," 1939 (9pp. copy)
Dates
1952
Box 5
Folder 3
Item 3
Title
Owen Mortimer miscellaneous correspondence, copies
Dates
1953-1954, 1994-2000
Miscellaneous maps and photographs
undated
Box 6
Folder 1
Item 1
Title
Map with Aldridge tours marked; map of Russian Empire
Dates
undated
Box 6
Folder 1
Item 2
Title
19 photographic reproductions of Aldridge, family members
Dates
undated
Box 6
Folder 1
Item 3
Title
1 photographic reproduction of King Leopold of Belgium
Dates
undated
Box 6
Folder 2
Item 1
Title
Owen Mortimer, Queen Victoria's African Actor. Wangaratta, Victoria (82pp.)
Dates
1999
Box 6
Folder 2
Item 2
Title
Dr. Gregory Haines, Book review of Queen Victoria's African Actor by Owen Mortimer, 3pp. (2 copies), with two letters from O.M. to R. Maylone, December (4pp.)
Dates
1999
Box 6
Folder 3
Title
Owen Mortimer, Six talks on Ira Aldridge in the U.S.A.
Dates
1949-1959, 1999
Box 6
Folder 3
Item 1
Title
Letter to R. Russell Maylone, The Curator of the Ira Aldridge Collection, Northwestern University
Dates
1999 March 15
Box 6
Folder 3
Item 2
Title
Press clippings, publicity cards and notices
Dates
1949-1959
Box 6
Folder 3
Item 3
Title
O.M., "Research on Ira Aldridge: A Journey of Discovery in Theatre History," Typescript photocopy, 1959 (18pp.); includes copies of correspondence between O.M. and Mildred Stock, erratum by O.M., and prospectus of O.M.'s biography of Aldridge.
Dates
1959
Box 6
Folder 4
Title
Owen Mortimer miscellaneous
Dates
1992-1999
Box 6
Folder 4
Item 1
Title
Fact sheet on Ira Daniel Aldridge (2pp.)
Dates
circa 1997
Box 6
Folder 4
Item 2
Title
Printout from O.M. website on Ira Aldridge (4pp.)
Dates
1996 June 27
Box 6
Folder 4
Item 3
Title
Owen Mortimer resume
Dates
circa 1992
Box 6
Folder 4
Item 4
Title
List of photocopies given to Northwestern University Library
Dates
1992
Box 6
Folder 4
Item 5
Title
Last will and testament of O.M., photocopy
Dates
1999 January 1
Box 6
Folder 4
Item 6
Title
O.M., "Regarding Owen Mortimer's biography: Speak of Me as I Am: The Story of Ira Aldridge"
Dates
undated
Box 6
Folder 5
Item 1
Title
Robin Scott Peters, "The African Tragedian" dramatic montage, with letter and clippings
Dates
2000
Scope and Contents

Performed October 7, 2000, University of Hawaii at Manoa. (18pp. copy) With correspondence to and From Owen Mortimer (5pp. copies); publicity photograph, program, and Copies of Peters' correspondence and reviews (3pp.)

Box 6
Folder 6
Item 1
Title
Barry Smith, "Black Man on a White Stage," review of Owen Mortimer's Biography, Speak of Me as I Am (12pp.)
Dates
1996 Christmas
Box 6
Folder 6
Item 2
Title
Owen Mortimer's correspondence with Barry Smith (3pp.)
Dates
1996 April 23
Box 6
Folder 6
Item 3
Title
Copy of correspondence with Krystyna Kujawinska Courtney (3pp. copy)
Dates
2003 August 3
Box 6
Folder 7
Item 1
Title
Ira Aldridge exhibit, Wangaratta City Library, Victoria, Australia
Dates
2000 July
Box 6
Folder 7
Item 2
Title
Photographs of exhibit (2) and photocopies of publicity (3pp.)
Dates
circa 2000
Box 6
Folder 8
Title
Information about framed portrait of Ira Aldridge by Lara Reginato, Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia
Dates
2000
Box 6
Folder 9
Title
Invitation to "Ira Aldridge (1807-1867): An International Symposium Celebrating the Bicentennial Anniversary of his Birth," University of Lodz, Poland
Dates
2007 July 23-25
Scope and Contents

includes correspondence with Sigrid P. Perry, McCormick Library of Special Collections (see also catalog of symposium in McCormick Library)

Box 6
Folder 10
Title
DVD copy of "Ira Aldridge: The Black Tragedian," documentary written and directed by Joseph Mydell (library use only)
Dates
circa 2006
Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Dr. Tracie Morris.

Box 6
Folder 11
Title
Commemorations of Ira Aldridge, Lodz, Poland
Dates
2005-2014
Box 6
Folder 11
Item 1
Title
Note from Hugh McLean with photocopy of a photograph of Ira Aldridge's gravesite, Cmentarz Enwangelicko-Augsburski, Lodz, Poland (8 February 2005).
Dates
2005
Box 6
Folder 11
Item 2
Title
Interview and comments about Ira Aldridge at his gravesite by Barbara J. Williams and Dr. Krystyna Kujawinska-Courtney, University of Lodz (15 September 2012, DVD, 18min.).
Dates
2012
Box 6
Folder 11
Item 3
Title
Correspondence from Barbara J. Williams re: commemorative plaque for Ira Aldridge (24 February 2014).
Dates
2014
Box 6
Folder 11
Item 4
Title
Copy of article about Ira Aldridge and ceremony to lay plaque at site where Aldridge died (posted by the International Shakespeare Study Center, University of Lodz).
Box 6
Folder 12
Item 1
Title
Lolita Chakrabarti, Red Velvet
Dates
2016
Box 6
Folder 12
Item 2
Title
Advertisement for 2016 production of Red Velvet at Garrick Theatre With note to Bernth Lindfors about the 2012 opening of the play
Dates
2016
Box 6
Folder 13
Title
Commemorations of Ira Aldridge, Lodz, Poland
Dates
2016-2017
Box 6
Folder 13
Item 1
Title
Copy of European Studies blog post about the Aldridge memorial plaque
Dates
2016 September 20
Box 6
Folder 13
Item 2
Title
Copy of letter by Sigrid Pohl Perry, PhD, Northwestern University Library to Dr. Krystyna Kujawinska-Courtney, on the occasion of an Ira Aldridge exhibit at the University of Lodz to open on 6 November
Dates
2017 October 17
Box 6
Folder 13
Item 3
Title
Copies of posts and articles from Lodz, Poland about the activities commemorating Ira Aldridge on the 150th anniversary of his death
Dates
2017 August 8-November 17
Artifacts
circa 1825-1870s, 2000
Box 7
Item 1
Title
Belt worn by Ira Aldridge performing Othello in some productions
Dates
circa 1825-1867
Portrait of Ira Aldridge as Mungo by an unknown artist
undated
"Bust of Othello: The Moor of Venice" by Pietro Calvi (1833-1884) said to be based on the features of Ira Aldridge
circa 1870s
Box 8
Folder 6
Title
Framed portrait of Ira Aldridge by Lara Reginato, Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia
Dates
2000