Gift of Richard Hoffman and purchase, December 2002 - January 2003.
The collection is open for research.
Use of materials from this collection beyond the
exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S.
Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is
required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections
Department, University of Delaware Library,
MSS 484, Richard Hoffman - Arthur Miller collection, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.
Processed by Gerald Cloud, February 2004. Encoded by Jillian Kuzma, January 2009. Updated by Maureen Cech, November 2010.
Brooklyn-based theater collector and book dealer Richard Hoffman built a number of literary collections around American playwrights over a period of many years.
American dramatist, writer, and essayist Arthur Miller (1915-2005) is considered a pioneer of expressionistic realism in post-World War II American theater.
Miller's play concerning the Salem witch trials,
As a socially conscientious writer, Miller has promoted human rights and artistic freedom; while serving as the president of International P.E.N. (1965-1969), Miller worked to open the organization to Soviet Bloc countries and to provide support for imprisoned and persecuted writers. He is credited with vitalizing the organization during his time as president.
Miller has received many honors for his writing, including an Obie Award, two New York Drama Critics' Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize (1949), the American Academy of Arts and Letters gold medal (1959), a John F. Kennedy Award for Lifetime Achievement (1984), the Jerusalem Prize (2003), and many other honors.
The Richard Hoffman - Arthur Miller Collection spans the dates between 1945 and 2000 and comprises 2.3 linear feet of play scripts, screenplays, photographs, correspondence, financial documents, posters, flyers, periodicals, journals, theater programs, news clippings, and ephemera related to the American playwright and author Arthur Miller.
Series I. is organized alphabetically according to the title of Miller's dramatic works and comprises the majority of the collection. The series includes a broad representation of twenty-one of Miller's plays, beginning with
Series II. comprises material related to Miller's career in general and includes journal issues, clippings, postcards, flyers, programs, photographs, and other ephemera.
MSS 485 Richard Hoffman - Neil Simon collection
MSS 490 Richard Hoffman - David Rabe collection
MSS 496 Richard Hoffman - David Mamet collection
MSS 505 Richard Hoffman - John Guare collection
MSS 508 Richard Hoffman - Lorraine Hansberry collection
MSS 510 Richard Hoffman - August Wilson collection
Series I. is organized alphabetically according to the title of Miller's dramatic works and comprises the majority of the collection. The series includes a broad representation of twenty-one of Miller's plays, beginning with
Cast member Stanley Beck's typescript copy bound in maroon wrappers and heavily annotated with changes and stage directions. Beck played the role of Mickey, a character based on Elia Kazan.
Typescript copy of a revised script bound in black wrappers with cast member Rose Arrick's annotations (Arrick played the character of the mother). Copyright 1964, Revised February 1983, August 1984. Property of: Roger Berlind & Ray Larsen, Alfie Productions, Inc., New York City.
Mercury Records, Original cast recording, four phonograph set. Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center; directed by Elia Kazan and starring Jason Robards.
Starring Frank Langella and Dianne Wiest.
Starring Charles Aidman and Judi West.
"Charting the Course: Inge Morath's Photographs of Arthur Miller's After the Fall," p. 32-5, from Lincoln Center Repertory Company's first season. Morath is an Austrian-born photojournalist who met Miller during the filming of
Includes the entire text of the play with photographs by Inge Morath and an essay by Miller commenting on the play.
Universal Pictures Company production starring Edward G. Robinson and Burt Lancaster.
Laura Pels Theatre, New York.
Staged by Elia Kazan, starring Beth Merrill, Arthur Kennedy, and Ed Begley.
Staged by Elia Kazan, starring Beth Merrill, Arthur Kennedy, and Ed Begley.
Staged by Elia Kazan, starring Beth Merrill, Arthur Kennedy, and Ed Begley.
Staged by Elia Kazan, starring Beth Merrill, Arthur Kennedy, and Ed Begley.
Directed by Barry Edelstein, starring John Cullum.
Typescript copy bound in blue wrappers, signed by Miller and numbered "68/200." Includes a program from the Harold Clurman Theatre production, Dock Street Theatre, Spoleto Festival, Charleston, South Carolina, May 21 – June 7, 1980.
Typescript copy bound in blue wrappers, inconsistent font size throughout.
Directed by James Houghton. (2 copies)
Opening night program, starring Joan Copeland, John Randolph, and William Atherton.
Typescript copy bound in a blue wrapper with a flyer from the World Premier at the Eisenhower Theater at Kennedy Center production laid-in.
Starring Ron Rifkin, Amy Irving and David Dukes.
Typescript copy bound in black wrappers, Dowling-Whitehead-Stevens, New York City. Pages 1.8 – 1.12 heavily annotated in an unknown hand.
Typescript copy bound in maroon wrappers. Bears the address label of Katherine Brown's at the International Famous Agency.
Typescript copy bound heavy off-white binder. Heavily annotated copy with the autograph note "Office Copy. | Act I, Act II, Act III…" on the binding cover.
Fireside Theatre, Garden City, New York.
Original hand-colored poster, Miller's last name is missing from the poster.
Program for the November 30, 1972, premiere performance.
An Opera in four acts, libretto by Bernard Stambler, music by Robert Ward; featuring Frances Bible, Chester Ludgin, and Patricia Brooks.
Costume illustration, designed by Lewis Brown, for the American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco, California, July 1967. Ink and gouache on board, signed and dated by the artist.
Costume illustration, designed by Lewis Brown, for the American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco, California, July 1967. Includes a letter from the artist to Richard Buck at the New York Library for the Performing Arts concerning the sales of Lewis's sketches for fund raising, dated 8 October 1991. Gouache on board, signed and dated by the artist.
The Belasco Theatre, New York City. (2 copies)
Sixteen 8x10 black and white photographs, cast and crew list, promotional brochure housed in a portfolio from Twentieth Century Fox, starring Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Ryder.
Starring Arthur Kennedy, E. G. Marshall, Walter Hampden, and Beatrice Straight. (2 copies)
Off-Broadway production starring Michael Higgins, Ford Rainey, Noah Keen, and Ann Wedgeworth.
Starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney.
Twentieth Century Fox, starring Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Ryder.
New York: Hart Stenographic Bureau, "Sept. 1948." Typescript copy, signed by Miller on the title page. The detached red paper binding bears the address sticker of Hart Stenographic Bureau, New York City. This copy bears many textual differences from the published version.
Typescript copy in red leather binding with "DEATH OF A SALESMAN | ARTHUR MILLER | [rule] | PRODUCED BY | KERMIT BLOOMGARDEN | and | WALTER FRIED" gold stamped on the front cover. This copy bears many textual differences from both the published version and the copy listed above. "Property of Bloomgarden and Fried… New York, NY."
New York: Hart Stenograph Bureau, "Copyright by the author, September 1948/Property of Bloomgarden & Fried, 1545 Broadway, New York, N.Y. Green paper covers with name "Lipson," for Paul Lipson, who played Willie Loman. Inside note "Play opened February 1949." This copy bears many penciled actor's notes for the character Willie.
Legal contract between Kermit Bloomgarden and Walter Fried for the production of
Pinto, Winokur, & Pagano Accountants and Auditors. Includes monthly reports for February 1949 and October 1952, and a group of financial statements addresses to Samuel Krebs dating from February 1951 – December 1967 documenting the statement of receipts, disbursements, expenses, and net profit for investors. 17 p.
Signed by Miller. Starring Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman.
Starring Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman.
Starring Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman.
Starring Thomas Mitchell as Willy Loman, with the new cast.
Cast includes Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman and John Malkovich as Biff. The program is autographed by the cast and crew of the production.
Starring Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman, plus Kate Reid, and John Malkovich. (3 copies)
Directed by Robert Falls and starring Brian Dennehy as Willy Loman.
Directed by Elia Kazan, with Thomas Mitchell in the role of Willy Loman. Includes Miller's essay "Tragedy and the Common Man." Cover mentions Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Award.
Reviews by John Mason Brown and Katherine S. Rosin.
Pencil sketch of cast members Lee J. Cobb, Mildred Dunnock, Arthur Kennedy, and Cameron Mitchell autographed by each cast member.
8x10 color photograph, Peter A Juley & Sons, photographers of fine arts, New York City.
Black and white photograph of Arthur Kennedy, Mildred Dunnock, Cameron Mitchell, and Gene Lockhart. Signed by Kennedy.
Nine posters, including six lobby cards.
For the production starring Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich.
11x14 board with cloth samples and staging directions.
Review in
Two 8x10 black and white publicity photographs from the Lopert Films production. Miller wrote the English language narrative for the Italian version,
Typescript copy in International Creative Management paper binding with an autograph note on ICM stationery from "Marilyn" to "Doris" laid in.
Typescript copy bound in maroon wrappers heavily annotated by cast member Esther Person.
Copy of
Directed by Gene Frankel. Includes ticket stub, February 10, 1959.
Directed by Jules Irving.
New York: Theatre Recording Society. Harold Clurman, director; starring David Wayne and Hal Holbrook. Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Typescript copy revised shooting final bound in a yellow Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation paper covers.
Laser-printed copy with green paper covers, title page signed by Arthur Miller and cast members from the Roundabout Theatre Company's production.
Typescript copy bound in brown wrappers, dated "Revision – March, 1960," and signed by Miller on the title page.
Typescript copy of the dialogue and cutting continuity for the finished film, with blue paper covers.
Directed by Garry Hynes and starring Peter Falk.
"A Linda Yellen Project," for the Sy Fischer Company, New York. Typescript copy, including the following note on p.[2], "a screenplay based on the facts in the Memoir by Fania Fenelon, member of the Women's Orchestra in the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp."
Typescript copy bound in red wrappers with revised carbon pages and cancelled passages. Includes Producer Robert Whitehead's address sticker on the title page.
Corrected typescript copy bound in red wrappers, front cover missing, also includes Miller's production note, p.[2]. "Property of: Robert Whitehead Productions… New York."
Directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Pat Hingle, Kate Reid, Harold Gary, and Arthur Kennedy.
Directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Pat Hingle, Kate Reid, Harold Gary, and Arthur Kennedy.
Directed by John Stix and starring Joseph Buloff, Mitchell Ryan, Fritz Weaver, and Scotty Bloch.
Includes the entire text of the play.
Photograph of Pat Hingle, Harold Gary and Arthur Kennedy in Arthur Miller's
Typescript copy bound in spiral plastic covers, including the autograph note "Working copy sent to publisher of limited edition, River Run."
Directed by David Esbjornson; signed by cast member Patrick Stewart.
Typescript copy heavily annotated with stage diagrams and directions, includes text, musical lyrics, and the director's stage directions. Also includes signed typed letter to Ran Avni, Jewish Repertory Theatre from Bridget Aschenberg, International Creative Management, dated March 7, 1984, and original mailing envelope.
Typescript copy in green plastic three-ring binder labeled "God" (cast member Len Cariou) with autograph corrections in multiple hands. Includes sheet music for the songs in the play.
Complete text of the play removed from the original magazine.
Starring Van Heflin and J. Carrol Naish.
Starring Van Heflin and J. Carrol Naish.
Directed by Martin Ritt and starring Van Heflin and J. Carrol Naish.
From the film; directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Raf Vallone and Maureen Stapleton
Directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Robert Duvall. Signed by Miller
Directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Richard Castellano.
Directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Robert Duvall.
Starring Tony Lo Bianco.
Directed by Michael Mayer and starring Anthony LaPaglia.
Directed by Michael Mayer and starring Tony Danza. Includes a handbill.
Continental Distributing. Film directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Raf Vallone and Jean Sorel.
Continental Distributing. Film directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Raf Vallone and Jean Sorel.
Directed by Arvin Brown and starring Tony LoBianco.
Directed by Michael Mayer and starring Anthony LaPaglia.
Signed by Richard Hoffman on the verso.
Series II. comprises material related to Miller's career in general and includes journal issues, clippings, postcards, flyers, programs, photographs, and other ephemera.
"The State of Theatre, Arthur Miller Interviewed by Henry Brandon."
"Arthur Miller Talks."
"The Role of P.E.N.," by Miller.
"Story of G.I. Joe, A Sequence from the film." Includes Miller's introductory note.
"An American Reaction," by Miller, including a portrait, text in French and English.
Article on Miller by Robert Hogan.
"Please Don't Kill Anything," by Miller.
"Glimpse at a Jockey," by Miller.
"The Art of Theatre II, Arthur Miller: an Interview."
"Poetry and the Film: a Symposium," group interview with Miller originally held October 28, 1953. Signed by Miller.
One 8x10 black and white photograph of Miller. One black and white photograph of Miller and one magazine still of Miller, both signed.
Liner notes from the compact disc recording of Beethoven: Symphonies 5 & 7, Philharmonia Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy. Miller discusses his thoughts on how Beethoven's Seventh Symphony helped Lee J. Cobb form his approach to the role of Willie Loman.
Honorees include Miller, Lena Horne, Danny Kaye, Gian Carlo Menotti, and Isaac Stern. Includes a black and white photograph of the honorees and a flyer from CBS television.
Includes the PEN American Center program "An Eightieth Birthday Celebration for Arthur Miller," October 30, 1995 (three copies).