Clayton Meeker Hamilton papers
Hamilton, Clayton Meeker, 1881-1946
5.4 linear feet (13 boxes)
Clayton Meeker Hamilton papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library
Clayton Meeker Hamilton (1881-1946) was an American drama critic, lecturer and playwright. He wrote dramatic criticism for various New York publications, wrote popular plays, and worked at several movie studios in the 1920s. Collection consists of Hamilton's personal and professional correspondence; writings such as diaries, lectures, speeches, plays, poetry, and reviews; contracts; and miscellaneous papers.
Clayton Meeker Hamilton, drama critic, lecturer and playwright, was born in Brooklyn on November 14, 1881 to George and Susie Amelia (Corey) Hamilton. He received his B. A. from Polytechnic Institute in 1900 and his M. A. from Columbia University one year later. He was a dramatic critic as well as the associate editor of Forum magazine, 1907-09. He also served as the dramatic editor of The Bookman, 1910-18; Everyone's Magazine, 1911-13; and Vogue, 1912-1920. Among his more successful plays were The Love that Blinds (1906), The Better Understanding (1917), The Stranger at the Inn (1913), The Big idea (1914) and Thirty Days (1916). He was an associate editor at Goldwyn Studios, 1920-1922; director of education at Palmer Photoplay Corp., 1922-1925; president of Palmer Institute of Authorship, 1925-1929. He was a member of both Phi Kappa Psi and the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1932, he was awarded a University medal at Columbia and in 1936 was made an honorary Fellow for drama at Union College. He belonged to both the Players and Authors Clubs in New York City, as well as to the Writers Club in Hollywood.
On May 24, 1913, Hamilton married Gladys Coates of New York, with whom he had two sons; Donald and Gordon. He died in 1946.
16 November 1881 born, Brooklyn, N. Y., son of George Alexander and Susie Amelia (Corey) Hamilton
1900 BA Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn
1901 M. A. Columbia University Awarded University Medal, Columbia Univ., 1932, Honorary Fellow for Drama, Union College (since 1936)
1901-1904 Tutor in English at Columbia University and at Barnard College Extension lecturer at Columbia, 1903
1907-1909 Dramatic critic and associate editor of Forum
1910-1918 Dramatic editor of The Bookman
1911-1913 Dramatic editor of Everybody's Magazine
1912-1920 Dramatic editor of Vogue
1913 May 24 M. Gladys Coates of N. Y. C. Children: Donald, Gordon
1920-1922 Associate editor, Goldwyn Studios
1922-1925 Director of education, Palmer Photoplay Corp.
1925-1929 President, Palmer Institute of Authorship
1924-1926, 1932-1933 Lecture tours of U. S.
Associated in theatrical productions with: George C. Tyler, Mrs. Fiske, William Gillette, Norman Bel Geddes and Walter Hampden
Member: National Institute of Arts and Letters Phi Kappa Psi
Clubs: Players, Authors (N. Y. C.) Writers (Hollywood)
Lecturer: Classical School for Girls, 1900-1920
New York Dept, of Education, 1903-1906
Gardner School, 1904-1920
Finch School, 1906-1908
Miss Spence's School, 1908-1920
Jacobil School, 1918-1919
Chautauqua Summer Assembly, 1911
Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1913-1919
Dartmouth College, 1916-1917
Utah Agricultural College, 1927
Lecturer: Pennsylvania State College, 1927
Breadloaf Summer Conference, 1931-1933
Leland Powers Foundation, Boston, 1934-1935
Mohawk Drama Festival, 1935-1936, 1938
Author (books): Materials and Methods of Fiction, 1908
The Theory of the Theatre, 1910
Studies in Stagecraft, 1914
On the Trail of Stevenson, 1915
Problems of the Playwright, 1917
The Big Idea, 1917
A Manual of the Art of Fiction, 1918
Seen on the Stage, 1920
Thirty Days, 1923
The Better Understanding, 1924
Conversations on Contemporary Drama, 1924
Wanderings, 1925
Friend Indeed, 1926
So You're writing a Play! 1935
The Theory of the Theatre (Consolidated Edition), 1939
The Art of Fiction, 1939
Author (plays): Heart of Punchinello, 1906
It'll All Come Out in the Wash (w/ Gilbert Emery), 1906
The Love That Blinds (w/ Grace Isabel Colbron), for Mary Shaw 1906
The Stranger at the Inn, for Tyrone Power, 1913
The Big Idea (w/ A. E. Thomas) for Cohan and Harris, 1914
The Morning Star (w/ Bernard Voight), 1915
Thirty Days (w/ A. E. Thomas), for A. H. Woods, 1916
The Better Understanding (w/ A. E. Thomas), for Henry Miller, 1917
Friend Indeed (w/ B. H. Voight), 1926
Editor: Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, 1910
Kenyon's Kindling, 1914
Mackaye's A Thousand Years Ago, 1914
H. A. Jones' Hary Goes First, 1914
Clark's Three Modern Plays from the French, 1914
Pinero's Robert Louis Stevenson as a Dramatist, 1914
The Social Plays of Arthur Wing Pinero (4 vols.), 1917-1922
Calvert's Problems of the Actor, 1918
Yvette Guilbert's How to Sing a Song, 1918
Hooker's translation of Cyrano de Bergerac, 1923
Representative Plays by Henry Arthur Jones (4 vols.), 1925
Editor: Goodrich's Caponsacchi, 1927
Hugo'a Notre Dame de Paris, 1928
Stevenson's Medieval Tales, 1929
Goodrich's Richelieu, 1929
Hooker's translation of Ruy Blas, 1930
Contributor: Encyclopedia Americana
New International Yearbook
Nelson's Encyclopedia
Numerous magazines
See: "Who's Who in America", 1940-1941, v. 21; "Who's Who in the Theatre", Seventh Edition, 1933
The collection consists of his correspondence (personal and professional), diaries, lectures, plays, poetry, speeches, contracts and miscellaneous papers from 1899-1946. The significantly larger groups of correspondence are to Hamilton from Doris Thorne, Arthur Wing, Brander Matthews, G. H. Jessop, Yvette Guilbert, William Gillette and William Archer. Also included are letters between Hamilton and Walter Lippman, Henry Miller, Upton Sinclair, Rudyard Kipling, and Booth Tarkington.
The Clayton Meeker Hamilton papers are arranged in thirteen series:
Writings of Clayton Hamilton
Introductions by Clayton Hamilton
Reviews by Clayton Hamilton
Poetry by Clayton Hamilton
Lectures by Clayton Hamilton - "Conversations On Contemporary Drama"
[Delivered at Columbia Univ. 11 February - 7 April 1924. Published 1925].
Speeches by Clayton Hamilton
Diaries, Account Books, & Notebooks
Plays by Clayton Hamilton
Royalty Records
Miscellaneous Papers
1955, Received from Mrs. Hamilton, 1955
Archer, William H.
Gillette, William, 1853-1937
Guilbert, Yvette, 1865-1944
Jessop, George Henry, -1915
Matthews, Brander, 1852-1929
Thorne, Doris
Wing, Arthur
American drama -- History and criticism
Dramatic criticism -- United States
Theater -- United States -- History
Theater critics