Library Gets Theatre Rooms

Harvard is getting move theatre-conscious. Houghton Library is planning three special rooms one on the 20th century theatre, another on ballot and the final one to exhibit its Theatre Collection.

The Sheldon Room, promised for completion by Commencement, will display the works of Edward Sheldon '03, after whom the room is named, along with other material on this century's drama. Works by Harvard graduates will be emphasized, while original costumes or scene designs form important productions will decorate the place.

One of the first well-known American dramatists, Sheldon studied under George Pierce Baker '87 at Harvard and helped to found the Dramatic Club. As an undergraduate, Sheldon wrote his first play, "Salvation Nell," which was produced with Mrs. Fiske in the lead. Arthritis prevented him from entirely fulfilling his early promise.

The George Chaffee Room will house the University's collection on the history of the ballot--"one of the finest in the country," according to William E. Van Lennep '29, curator of the Theatre Collection. Drawings and prints will illustrate the ballot from the 16th century to the present, while four glass vitrines will house figurines of ballot dancers.

All three new rooms are on the ground floor of the library, replacing some of the stacks. The middle room of the triad will exhibit various parts of the Theatre Collection in rotation. They will be shown in cases, indirectly lighted, and giving the illusion of looking through the proscenium arch of a theatre.

The purpose of the room, Van Lennep said, "is not just to show theatrical material, but to show it theatrically."