Inventory of the Augustus Thomas Papers, circa 1880-circa 1930

Collection Number 12000


Manuscripts Department, University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Collection Information
Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Online Catalog Headings
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
Contact Information:
Manuscripts Department
CB#3926, Wilson Library
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
Phone: 919/962-1345
Fax: 919/962-3594
Email: mss@email.unc.edu
URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
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Descriptive Summary

Repository
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. General Manuscripts.
Creator
Thomas, Augustus, 1857-1934.
Title
Augustus Thomas Papers, circa 1880-circa 1930.
Call Number
12000
Language of Materials
Materials in English
Extent
3,000 items (24.5 linear feet).
Abstract
Playwright. After early years as a journalist, Thomas wrote popular plays, such as "Alabama" and "Arizona," during the 1890s and the first fifteen years of the twentieth century. In all, he wrote or adapted more than one hundred plays. In addition, Thomas was a leader in dramatic organizations, was active in the Democratic Party, and participated in debates about political questions of his day. He was married to Lisle Colby, sister of Bainbridge Colby, United States secretary of state, 1920-1921. Manuscript versions of 75 of Thomas's plays, only some of which were published. Also included are miscellaneous writings, speeches, eulogies, essays, letters, clippings of Thomas's cartoons, articles about his career, numerous reviews of his plays, telegrams sent to Lisle Thomas on her husband's death, a typescript copy of Lisle Thomas's A Well-known Playwright's Wife, and An Annotated Calendar of the Augustus Thomas Collection in the University of North Carolina Library, by Jim Gayle Lewis. Correspondence consists mainly of letters from Augustus Thomas to his son Luke, September 1910-June 1914, chiefly concerning daily activities and the health of family members. Also included are a sketch book, including at least two sketches by Frederic Remington; the program from a 1909 Lambs Club fund-raising event; and a copy of the privately published honeymoon diary of Thomas's daughter, Glory Thomas Elliott, describing her trip to England and France in 1924.


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Administrative Information

Acquisitions Information
Purchase and gifts 1949-1979
Processing Information
Processed by: Manuscripts Department Staff
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Additional Descriptive Resources
A more complete finding aid for this collection is available at the Wilson Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Augustus Thomas Papers, #12000, General Manuscripts, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
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Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Authors' spouses--United States--Biography.
Authors, American--Social conditions.
Autobiography--Women authors.
Dramatists, American--Manuscripts.
Elliott, Glory Thomas.
Europe--Description and travel.
Honeymoons--Europe--History--20th century.
Lewis, Jim Gayle.
Remington, Frederic, 1861-1909.
Thomas, Augustus, 1857-1934.
Thomas, Lisle.
Thomas, Lisle.
Thomas, Luke.
Travelers--Europe--Diaries.
Voyages and travels--History--20th century.
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Biographical Note

Playwright. After early years as a journalist, Thomas wrote popular plays, such as Alabama and Arizona, during the 1890s and the first fifteen years of the twentieth century. In all, he wrote or adapted more than one hundred plays. In addition, Thomas was a leader in dramatic organizations, was active in the Democratic Party, and participated in debates about political questions of his day. He was married to Lisle Colby, sister of Bainbridge Colby, United States secretary of state, 1920-1921.

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Collection Overview

Manuscript versions of 75 of Thomas's plays, only some of which were published. Also included are miscellaneous writings, speeches, eulogies, essays, letters, clippings of Thomas's cartoons, articles about his career, numerous reviews of his plays, telegrams sent to Lisle Thomas on her husband's death, a typescript copy of Lisle Thomas's A Well-known Playwright's Wife, and An Annotated Calendar of the Augustus Thomas Collection in the University of North Carolina Library, by Jim Gayle Lewis. Correspondence consists mainly of letters from Augustus Thomas to his son Luke, September 1910-June 1914, chiefly concerning daily activities and the health of family members. Also included are a sketch book, including at least two sketches by Frederic Remington; the program from a 1909 "Lambs Club" fund-raising event; and a copy of the privately published honeymoon diary of Thomas's daughter, Glory Thomas Elliott, describing her trip to England and France in 1924.