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.
