Summary Information
Watson Barratt Papers
1915-1961
- Barratt, Watson, 1884-1962
U.S. Mss 143AN; Micro 625
1.2 c.f. (3 archives boxes) and 3 reels of microfilm (35mm)
Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research Contact Information
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of Watson Barratt, an artist and theatrical set designer, consisting of reviews, playbills, and scripts of plays for which he designed the sets. Biographical clippings refer not only to Barratt's career, but also to that of his wife, writer Louise Rand Bascom Barratt.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0143an ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Watson Barratt was best known as a set designer, but he was also a talented cartoonist, painter, and interior decorator. He was born George Watson Barratt on June 27, 1884 in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he spent his childhood and graduated from East High School in 1903. After graduating, young Barratt traveled to New York City where he studied at the Chase School of Art for two years, and then began a ten-year career drawing cartoons and cover designs for such magazines as Life, Harper's Bazaar, Harper's Weekly, and The Saturday Evening Post. He also illustrated several stories that were published in various periodicals.
In 1912, Barratt tried his hand at designing sets for “little theater” groups, and by 1918 he had designed his first Broadway set for Al Jolson in Sinbad. At about the same time, he became art director for J. J. Shubert at the Winter Garden, where he designed every show for ten years, then slowed down to several shows a year.
At 36, Barratt married Louise Rand Bascom, an author whose stories he had illustrated. After marriage, he continued working in New York for such entertainers as Al Jolson, Ethel Barrymore, and Florenz Zeigfeld, and in 1924, he designed the set for the debut of Sigmund Romberg's new play, The Student Prince. In 1932, Barratt was appointed art director for the St. Louis Municipal Opera, but returned to New York in 1934, where he stayed for the next seven years doing such shows as The Lady Has a Heart, starring Vincent Price, and The Importance of Being Earnest, starring Clifton Webb.
A late shift in Barratt's career occurred in 1938 when he became co-producer of the Community Playhouse at Spring Lake, New Jersey. He worked there on summer shows until 1940, but the following year, he returned to St. Louis to resume his position as art director, where he remained until 1951.
During his 50-year career as a set designer, Barratt decorated over 1,000 shows, both on and off Broadway, as well as abroad. He also decorated the interiors of several restaurants, such as The Latin Quarter, the Cafe de Paris, the Lanai on Broadway, and Michael Todd's Theater Cafe in Chicago. In addition to designing sets and interiors, he designed concessions for both the New York and Brussels World Fairs in 1940 and 1958, respectively.
On September 3, 1951, Louise Bascom Barratt died after 30 years of marriage. Watson Barratt died nearly 12 years later on July 6, 1962 at the age of 78. They had no children.
Scope and Content Note
The Watson Barratt Papers, 1915-1961, are organized into five series: Correspondence, Newspaper Clippings, Playbills, Scripts, and Miscellaneous Lists. The collection is available both in original paper form and also on microfilm.
The CORRESPONDENCE file contains only five miscellaneous letters written to Barratt at various dates from 1929 to 1962.
A major portion of the Barratt collection is NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS (1918-1961). These are mainly reviews of plays for which Barratt designed the sets, but also include a variety of clippings regarding Barratt's career, as well as some reviews of short stories and a play written by Louise Bascom Barratt.
PLAYBILLS consists of several programs from plays with which Barratt was associated, either as a set designer or producer. These plays range in vintage from a 1915 amateur production to the 1955 production of Kiss Me Kate.
The SCRIPTS file, which makes up the bulk of the Barratt papers, is a collection of twenty-one play books arranged in alphabetical order according to title. Included also are two incomplete scripts. There is no production information for the plays not produced in New York or listed in The Biographical Encyclopaedia and Who's Who of the American Theater, edited by Walter Rigdon.
Filed under MISCELLANEOUS LISTS is a partial listing of stage productions designed by Barratt between 1918 and 1962, and a handwritten list of stage and screen companies.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Mrs. F. Hempe, Beechurst, New York, November 20, 1962.
Accession Number: MCHC 62-76
Processed by J. Rosser and Joanne Hohler, July 1974; and G. Strodthoff and Joanne Hohler, May 1977.
Contents List
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Series: Correspondence
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Reel-frame
1-1
Box-folder
1-1
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1929, November-1962, February
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Series: Newspaper Clippings
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Reel-frame
1-8
Box-folder
1-2
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Interviews with Barratt, 1921-1951
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-3
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Re: Louise Bascom Barratt, 1929-?
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Reviews
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-4
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1919-1929
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-5
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1930-1959
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-6
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Artists and Models, 1923-1930
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-7
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Kiss Me Kate, 1955-1956
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-8
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Undated
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Scrapbooks
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-9
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1918-1934
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-10
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1919-1939
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-11
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1928-1929
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-12
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Miscellaneous articles, 1921-1961; undated
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Series: Playbills
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Reel-frame
1-298
Box-folder
1-13
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The Stage Society of Philadelphia, Little Theatre, 1915-1916
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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Girl 0' Mine, 1928, January 28
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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Sinbad, starring Al Jolson, 1918, February 14
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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Monte Cristo, Jr., 1919, February 12
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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A Sleepless Night, 1919, February 18
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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Oh, What a Girl!, 1919, July 28
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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The Shubert Gaities of 1919, 1919
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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The Passing Show of 1919, 1919, October 14
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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Artists and Models of 1924, 1924, September 22
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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The Circus Princess, 1927, June 14
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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Hot Water (Lucille La Verne Theatre), 1929, February 4
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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Blossom Time, 1931, February 9
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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Rose Marie, 1936, February 16
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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Frederika, 1937, January 18
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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Kiss Me Kate, 1955
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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Yesterday's Magic, undated
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Reel
1
Box-folder
1-13
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List of performance order, no title, undated
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Series: Scripts
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Reel-frame
1-350
Box-folder
2-1
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American Ambassador, The, undated
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Reel
1
Box-folder
2-1
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Arizona, acts 2 and 3 (play)
: September 10, 1900, Herald Square Theatre, 140 performances; 1913, April 28, Lyric Theatre, 40 performances.
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Reel
1
Box-folder
2-2
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Bittersweet (musical)
: 1929, November 5, Ziegfeld Theatre, 159 performances; 1934, May 7, 44th Street Theatre, 16 performances.
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Reel
1
Box-folder
2-2
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Eligible Man, The, undated
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Reel
1
Box-folder
2-3
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Feminine Touch, undated
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Reel
1
Box-folder
2-3
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Fledermaus (musical)
: 1954, May 19, New York City Center, 15 performances.
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Reel-frame
2-1
Box-folder
2-4
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Honeymoon in Venice, undated
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Reel
2
Box-folder
2-4
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Irene (musical)
: 1919, November 1, Vanderbilt Theatre, 675 performances; 1923, April 2, Jolson Theatre, 16 performances.
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Reel
2
Box-folder
2-5
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Lady of Respectability, The, undated
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Reel
2
Box-folder
2-5
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Lo and Behold (play)
: 1951, December 12, Booth Theatre, 38 performances.
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Reel
2
Box-folder
2-6
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Manhattan Island, 1930
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Reel
2
Box-folder
2-6
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Nobody's Fool, act 3, undated
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Reel
2
Box-folder
2-6
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Robert and Marianne, undated
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Reel
2
Box-folder
3-1
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Say It With Flowers (play)
: 1962, December 3, Garrick Theatre, 15 performances.
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Reel-frame
3-1
Box-folder
3-2
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Silent Serenade, 1947
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Reel
3
Box-folder
3-2
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Sublet, 1927
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Reel
3
Box-folder
3-3
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Tomorrow is a Secret, 1949
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Reel
3
Box-folder
3-3
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Too Much Love, undated
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Reel
3
Box-folder
3-4
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Where The Lark Sings, undated
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Reel
3
Box-folder
3-4
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Wind in the Sails, undated
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Reel
3
Box-folder
3-4
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With a Silk Thread (play)
: Written 1949; produced N.Y., 1950, April 12, Lyceum Theatre, 15 performances.
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Series: Miscellaneous Lists
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Reel-frame
3-879
Box-folder
3-5
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Undated
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