Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1019

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.4 linear feet (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Edgar L. Potts dissertation and research on Philadelphia theater, 1932, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1932 (inclusive)

Creator:

Potts, Edgar L.

Form:

Research notes and Dissertations

Abstract:

Edgar L. Potts (1893-1970) was a professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania and a theater enthusiast. During his graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, he wrote his thesis, "History of Philadelphia Theatre, 1890-1900." This collection documents his research for and writing of his dissertation and contains two typed drafts of the dissertation and his research into the chronological listing of plays performed in Philadelphia in the year 1890.

Edgar Leroy Potts was born on August 23, 1893, the son of George E. and Anna C. Potts in Philadelphia. He obtained his education at Philadelphia's Central High School and Princeton University, where he majored in English and history, and graduated in 1916. Following his graduation, he entered law school at the University of Pennsylvania. At the start of World War I, he offered his services to the war effort, but "due to physical difficulties was rejected" (Princeton Alumni Weekly). Instead, he worked at a training camp at the YMCA until the war was over; at which point he returned to the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, graduating in 1920. He also earned his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, probably in 1932.

Potts never practiced law, but served as an instructor in the English Department of the University of Pennsylvania from 1925 to 1938, when he was appointed as an assistant professor. The Princeton Alumni Weekly stated that he had a "wide range of interests in literature, music, [and] the theater." He died on March 12, 1970.

Princeton Alumni Weekly, Volume 70, page 21.

This collection documents Edgar L. Potts' study of the theater which resulted in his dissertation for the Department of English in 1932. The collection consists of two typed drafts of the dissertation entitled, "The History of Philadelphia Theatre, 1890-1900." The collection also includes a handwritten document Potts called "Introduction to the 'Calendar,'" in which he describes his intention to create a chronological outline of the Philadelphia stage for the decade January 1, 1890 to December 31, 1899. The last four files in the collection were probably part of the calendar, although they record only the plays from the year 1890. It is unknown if the remaining years were completed as research for his dissertation and were not saved or if Potts never finished his work and submitted his thesis without the years 1891 to 1899.

This collection provides an important insight into Philadelphia's theater history in the late 19th century.