KATHARINE CORNELL - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 12/12/1949 - HFSID 278322

KATHARINE CORNELL
This massive group of documents is an important addition to the collection of any fan or scholar of Katharine Cornell. It includes a typed letter, signed by Cornell in New York City in 1949, to thank a fan for his appreciation of the play That Lady - "especially with the newspaper critics so unsympathetic" - as well as a program from the Martin Beck Theatre for That Lady and several newspaper clippings panning the play and Cornell. Taken together, these are all fantastic documentation of a rough patch in Cornell's theatrical career.
Typed letter signed "Katharine Cornell". 1 page, 5x7¾, on Cornell's monogrammed stationery from the Dressing Room Theatre. December 12, 1949. Addressed to Mr. Noel Cortés of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In full: "Dear Mr. Cortés: Thank you for your charming letter after you saw our play. It is gratifying to learn that people in the audience share our feeling for the play, especially with the news-paper critics so unsympathetic. I, too, hope we may get a run here that will enable us to consider a spring tour, in which case most certainly Philadelphia would be included. Mean-while my sincerest thanks for your trouble and interest in writing me. Very sincerely yours,". Lightly toned, stained and creased. Folded once and unfolded. Mounting remnants on verso. Otherwise in fine condition. Accompanied by four items: 1) Originalmailingenvelope. Postmarked New York City, Dec. 13, 1949, with one 3¢ purple-and-white Thomas Jefferson stamp affixed. Addressed to Mr. Noel Cortes [sic], Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lightly toned, stained and creased. Envelope is torn open neatly at top. 2) Program unsigned. 52 pages, 6½x8¾, bound with staples. Playbill from the Martin Beck Theatre for That Lady, dated "Week beginning Monday, November 28 1949." With unsigned ticket stub dated Dec. 2, 1949 stapled to first page. Lightly toned and creased. Impression on cover from stapled ticket stub. Otherwise in fine condition. 3) Typed biography unsigned. 1 page biography, 2 pages total, 8¼x10¾, bound with staples. 4) Newspaper clippings, varying sizes, six leaves total, from the New York Herald-Tribune and New York Times among others, panning That Lady and, more often than not, Cornell's performance in the play. Lightly toned and creased. Folded once. Otherwise in fine condition. That Lady opened at the Martin Beck Theatre, now the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, in New York on Nov. 22, 1949 and closed on Jan. 28, 1950 after 79 performances. Cornell starred as Ana de Mendoza y de Gomez, Princess of Eboli. That Lady was one of 23 Broadway productions produced by Cornell and survived on the Great White Way about as long as the other plays that she produced. Cornell appeared in or produced a total of 41 Broadway productions between 1921 and 1960, an average of one per year. Stage and screen actress Cornell (1898-1974, born in Berlin, Germany), known as "The First Lady of the American Theater", won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Anthony and Cleopatra (1948). She also appeared in a number of feature films, including Stage Door Canteen (1943), and narrated The Unconquered (1954), the story of Helen Keller.