Collectors
In this section we've listed a selection of our larger 'artificial' collections, largely amassed by individuals with wide-ranging interests in collecting theatre documentation and ephemera, for example: enthusiasts who collected material related to a specific actor or theatrical genre.
More can be found by exploring our catalogue via the advanced search option.
| Collector | Description |
|---|---|
| Croall, Jonathan | The archive of theatre journalist Jonathan Croall, including a small collection of material related to the careers of his parents, the actor John Stuart (1898 - 1979) and actress and voice coach Barbara Francis (1910 - 1983). |
| Core Theatre Collections | This is a grouping of artificial collections, organised by format (design, programme, costume etc), historically used to catalogue small groups of archival and reference material donated to the Theatre Collection via various channels. |
| Hallett, Terry | Archive of the theatre enthusiast and writer Terry Hallett (c.1938 - 2009). Contains research material related to his book Bristol's Forgotten Empire - The History of The Empire Theatre. |
| Jones Evans, Eric | The Eric Jones Evans (1899 - 1989) collection includes his collections from the careers of actors Henry Irving (1838 - 1905), Bransby Williams (1870 - 1961) and Sir John Martin Harvey (1863 - 1944). |
| Mander & Mitchenson | Raymond Mander and Joe Mitchenson started collecting theatrical material in the 1930s. They later established a trust and became an independent charity, which continued to care for and add to the collection even after their deaths. The M&M collection was one of the three largest theatre history archives in the country when it was legally transferred in its entirety to the University of Bristol Theatre Collection in December 2010. |
| Purver, Richard | A collection gathered by Richard Purver of the Southgate District Civic Trust during the course of his research into the actress Dame Flora Robson (1902 - 1984). |
| Southern, Richard | Richard Southern (1903 - 1989) was a theatre designer, academic, researcher and prolific collector. His collection is an important visual resource, particularly strong in the areas of theatre architecture and backstage information. |
| Varcoe, Adrian | Adrian Varcoe (1944 – 2005) was a Bristol based actor and drag artist who amassed a collection of papers spanning British theatre activity during the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. Particularly related to James Macready Chute and other members of the Chute family, and to Ethel & Murray Carrington at the Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon- Avon. |
| Women's Theatre Collection | These records and archives were initially gathered together as part of a project run by Professor Lynda Fitzsimmons at the University of Bristol in the 1990s, on the theme of representing the contribution of women within UK Theatre. The collection has since been added to. |
‘Artificial collection’ means that the items in the collection were not all acquired from the same place and owner (the provenance of the items throughout the collection is not the same). Instead, several accessions have been grouped together.