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Chamberlain and Lyman Brown Papers Descriptive Summary Title: Chamberlain and Lyman Brown Papers Collection ID: *T-Mss 1961-002 Creator: Brown, Chamberlain and Lyman Extent: 351 linear feet ( 850 boxes) Repository: Billy Rose Theatre Division. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Abstract: The Chamberlain and Lyman Brown Papers are 351 linear feet and contain business and personal correspondence, scrapbooks, autographs, legal and financial papers, scripts, photographs, clipping files, and production materials documenting their work as theatrical agents, managers, and producers. The papers provide a history of the entertainment industry from the end of the 19 th century through the middle of the 20 th century. A number of family and personal papers are also included. Administrative Information Access Collection is open to the public. Library policy on photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required. Publication Rights For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division. Preferred Citation Chamberlain and Lyman Brown Papers, *T-Mss 1961-002, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Custodial History The Chamberlain and Lyman Brown Papers were donated to the Billy Rose Theatre Division after Lyman Brown’s death in 1961. Processing Information The collection was processed and cataloged in 2006 and 2007. 1
Chamberlain and Lyman Brown Papers Biographical Note Theatrical casting agents, producers, and writers, brothers Chamberlain and Lyman Brown were born in Hartford, Connecticut to Delorious T. Chamberlain and George McDuffee Brown. Chamberlain Brown was born April 1, 1892; Lyman Chamberlain Brown was born July 7, 1897. Their father operated Brown Thompson & Company, a department store in Hartford, and also ran for governor of Connecticut. Both the Brown and Chamberlain families could claim a distinguished New England lineage. The Brown family is descended from two U.S. presidents: John Adams and John Quincy Adams. The Chamberlain family could claim Civil and Mexican War generals, including the maternal grandfather of the Brown brothers, General Samuel Emery Chamberlain. The brothers had two sisters who died: Frances, who was older than Chamberlain, and Anna, who was younger than Lyman. The family spent winters either in Florida or Pasadena, California, and summers mostly at Annisquam, Massachusetts. Always inseparable, the Brown brothers began their lifelong fascination with the theater in their childhood, with Lyman, as the younger, following Chamberlain’s strong-willed lead. According to an unpublished, incomplete autobiographical manuscript (in the collection) entitled The Brown brothers, Chamberlain began collecting posters as a young child and snuck away with Lyman to a performance at Parsons Theatre in Hartford, only to be collected by their mother, upon notification by Mrs. Parsons. Whenever a star was playing in Hartford, the brothers would put his or her poster in their window. At the age of eleven, Chamberlain Brown was enrolled at the Cloyne School in Newport, Rhode Island and Lyman soon followed. The Brown brothers also attended the Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, although the dates are unknown. The brothers were separated when Chamberlain attended St. Andrew’s and Lyman was enrolled at the Pomfret School in Pomfret, Connecticut. Chamberlain’s collecting habit escalated to autographs, photographs, and programs. He also subscribed to many theatrical periodicals such as the Theatre Magazine, and The New York Dramatic Mirror, thus forming the basis of his extensive collection. Many of these autographs of late 18 th and early 19 th century performers and much of their ephemera can be found in this collection. The brothers also attended many New York performances when visiting their aunt Emma Brown Lyman (Aunt Kittie) and her husband Jack every Christmas. These performances were documented in the Theatre Record diaries kept by the Brown brothers in their early teens. (A few of these volumes are in this collection; see also the Chamberlain and Lyman Brown Theater Diaries - *T-Mss 2002-010.) The Castle Square Opera Company in Boston became a favorite place for the Brown brothers to visit after Lyman’s dental appointments. While summering in Annisquam, Chamberlain Brown produced his first plays at the Village Hall: The Social Stew (1909) and The Chorus Boy (1910). 2
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