Sold by Stellar Books & Ephemera, ABAA, Carlsborg, WA, U.S.A.
Association Member:
AbeBooks Seller since 14 June 2022
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Archive of Broadway Set Designer James S. Russell, circa 1951-1955 A small archive (about 3 inches) of sketches, photographs and scripts belonging to James S. Russell, whose set designs appeared in Broadway plays and television for over fifty years. A bit of wear and tear, sketches lightly soiled, but generally in Very Good condition. James Spencer Russell (1915-2000) was born and died in Indiana but lived most of his life in New York City. He received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of New Mexico and a master of fine arts degree from Yale in 1947. He served in the United States Army in World War II. Russell's fine art work has been exhibited in galleries across the nation, and his set designs appeared on Broadway and national television for over 50 years. He was considered a pioneer of set design during the conversion to color television and worked for NBC, designing sets for the Philco and Hallmark Television Playhouses. His theater set design included "The Happiest Years" (1949), "The Bat" (1953) and Thornton Wilder's prize-winning "Skin of Our Teeth." From 1961 to 1990 Russell put on one-man shows of watercolors and drawings, and his art has appeared in the films "Midnight Cowboy" and "John and Mary." He was also known to be an avid jazz fan, and his work graces the cover of Chico Freeman's album "Chico." This collection spans a short but important time in Russell's career and holds a sweet bite of theater and entertainment history. There are 32 pages of set design sketches and notes on graph paper. Some of these are labeled "Ned McCobb's Daughter." The critically acclaimed writer Sidney Coe Howard, who wrote the screenplay for "Gone with the Wind," wrote the crime drama "Ned McCobb's Daughter." It premiered on Broadway in 1926 at the John Golden Theater and was adapted into a movie in 1929 starring Irene Rich and Carole Lombard. There are also six 8" x 10" black and white photos. Two of the photos show Russell at work, including one of Russell and another artist reviewing one of the very sketches included in this collection. On the table in the photo is a script for "The Bat," a mystery drama written by Mary Roberts Rinehart that ran on Broadway from 1920 to 1922. When the play closed it was the second longest running play in Broadway history. It was revived on Broadway in 1953, consistent with the time frame of Russell's career. There are also four interior shots of exquisitely decorated rooms, and a 3 ½" x 5" snapshot showing a playhouse crew of six men and two women. The collection includes a 12 pp. NBC press release dated April 5, 1954: "General Sarnoff Announces Retirement of Maestro Toscanini." This includes copies of Toscanini's and Sarnoff's signed letters as well as a bio of Toscanini by Leonard Meyers. All of the documents are on NBC or RCA letterheads, and the top page includes what we believe to be Russell's handwritten notes. There is also Russell's typewritten working copy of a 45 pp. script for "Amahl and the Night Visitors," dated for NBC Opera Theatre, December 24, 1951, as well as a finished "Amahl" glossy booklet for the Hallmark presentation on NBC. Toscanini was the symphony conductor on this presentation. There is also a "Master script," about 35 pp. typed and extensively notated with handwriting and sketches. While the play is untitled, it appears to be set in a small town in Mexico, with characters including Mrs. Pettibone, an Inspector General, and a Mayor Franklin, later revised to Mayor Beasley. A watercolor set of Russell's designs for "Ned McCobb's Daughter" was sold at auction in 2006. The Indiana State Museum has holdings of Russell's fine art; they've said, "he may be the greatest artist that you've never heard of." No holdings of archival materials relating to Russell were found in OCLC or online.
Seller Inventory # 526
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