The Gilbert mss. II, 1931-1954, consists primarily of the correspondence between Carroll Atwood Wilson, 1886-1947, lawyer and collector of Gilbert and Sullivan materials, and Townley Searle, Gilbert bibliographer of London, England, concerning the sale and collecting of items relating to Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

The correspondents are Peter Beilenson, John Waynflete Carter, Thomas Franklin Currier, Joseph Samuel Daltry, Austin Kayingham Gray, Lillian Arvilla Hall, Lewis Montefiroe Isaacs, Gertrude McKenna, Edward J. O'Brien, Dorothy Florence Raedler and Fremont Rider.

On April 25, 1937, Wilson's collection of Gilbert and Sullivan pieces was exhibited at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, and on that occasion Odell Shepard presented a lecture, later published in the Wesleyan Cardinal, June 1937. Letters and a copy of the speech in the collection attest to the occasion.

Notes and memos list magazine and book citations for Gilbert and Sullivan; with the notes are typed and holograph copies of Gilbert and Sullivan articles from several sources and copies of letters to the editor, all dating from 1879 to 1936.

Other materials in the collection include invitations to the Gilber and Sullivan memorial in 1936 by the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the American Gilbert and Sullivan Association's membership citation to Wilson, January 1, 1938.

Collection size: 36 items

Related manuscripts:Gilbert mss.