This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; this finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.
Size | 4.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 4,500 items) |
Abstract | Edith Russell Harrington was a writer, producer, and director of civic pageants across the South, who professionally used the name Edith Russell. With her husband, Herschel R. Harrington, she founded Harrington-Russell Studios, Complete Pageant Service, in Asheville, N.C., in 1930, and operated the business for about fifteen years. Herschel Harrington did technical work, including lighting and set design, for the pageants his wife wrote and directed. The collection includes correspondence, plans, outlines, notes, and other papers of Edith Russell, primarily from the 1930s, relating to outdoor dramas, pageants, and festivals produced by Harrington-Russell Studios throughout the South; material relating to Van Horn's, a Philadelphia costume supplier for which Harrington-Russell acted as agent in Florida in the 1930s; and scripts Russell wrote for the Children's Civic Theater in Atlanta, Ga., in the 1960s and early 1970s. |
Creator | Russell, Edith, 1898-1967. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: SHC Staff
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, July 2009
This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.
Updated by: Laura Hart, January 2022
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Edith Russell Harrington was a writer, producer, and director of civic pageants across the South, who, professionally, used the name, Edith Russell. With her husband, Herschel R. Harrington, she founded Harrington-Russell Studios, Complete Pageant Service, in Asheville, N.C., in 1930, and operated the business for about fifteen years. Herschel Harrington did technical work, including lighting and set design, for the pageants his wife wrote and directed.
Back to TopThe collection includes correspondence, plans, outlines, notes, and other papers of Edith Russell, primarily from the 1930s, relating to outdoor dramas, pageants, and festivals produced by Harrington-Russell Studios throughout the South; material relating to Van Horn's, a Philadelphia costume supplier for which Harrington-Russell acted as agent in Florida in the 1930s; and scripts Russell wrote for the Children's Civic Theater in Atlanta, Ga., in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Back to TopIncludes incoming and copies of some outgoing correspondence with actual and perspective clients, suppliers, and staff. The most frequent correspondents were Rollin Weber VanHorn and the staff of his Philadelphia, Pa., costume company. Materials for 1937 include correspondence and notes, some autobiographical, related to Russell's application for a Guggenheim fellowship. Also included are miscellaneous scene, lighting and costume designs, shop notes, clippings, pamphlets, and photographs, and other items.
Folder 1a |
Original finding aid |
Folder 1-4
Folder 1Folder 2Folder 3Folder 4 |
1933-1934 |
Folder 5-7
Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7 |
1935 |
Folder 8-9
Folder 8Folder 9 |
1936 |
Folder 10-11
Folder 10Folder 11 |
1937-1938 |
Folder 12 |
1939 |
Folder 13-14
Folder 13Folder 14 |
1940, 1941, 1954 |
Folder 15 |
Research notes |
Folder 16-18
Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18 |
Miscellaneous |
Items include scripts, set, lighting, and costume designs; clippings; programs; and correspondence. Some or all of the correspondence related to each pageant may be in the correspondence files.
Proposals are outlines (and scattered drawings) creating by Harrington-Russell for pageants which were not performed. Most were written for specific events at the request of local pageant committees. Related correspondence may also be found in the correspondence files.
Scripts written for the Children's Civic Theater, Atlanta, Ga., by Russell who also directed most of them. Many have technical and lighting notations, probably done by Herschel Harrington. The 1973 program of "Alice" includes a synopsis of Edith Russell's association with the theater.
Folder 98 |
"Story of Paper" |
Folder 99 |
"Alladin and the Wonderful Lamp", 1964 |
Folder 100 |
"The Prince and the Pauper", 1965 |
Folder 101 |
"Little Women", 1965-1966 |
Folder 102 |
"Alice in Wonderland", 1966 |
Folder 103 |
"Rebecca of Stonybrook Farm", 1966 |
Folder 104 |
"Pinocchio", 1967 |
Folder 105 |
"Snow White and the Seven Drawfs", 1968 |
Folder 106 |
"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves", 1969 |
Folder 107 |
"Pied Piper of Hamelin", 1970 |
Folder 108 |
"Rip van Winkle", 1972 |
Folder 109 |
"The Wizard of Oz" |
Folder 110 |
Program for "Alice", 1973 |
Folder 111 |
"Home Came the Steed" |
Folder 112 |
"Oglethorpe's Colony" |
Audiodisc D-3821/1 |
"Home Came the Steed", parts 1 and 3"Home Came the Steed, A play in three acts" recorded 15 November 1944 from NBC during broadcast, parts 1 and 3. |
Audiodisc D-3821/2 |
"Home Came the Steed", parts 2 and 4"Home Came the Steed, A play in three acts" recorded 15 November 1944 from NBC during broadcast, parts 2 and 4. |
Audiocassette C-3821/1 |
Home Came the Steed, A play in three actsAudiocassette Contents of audiodisc transferred to tape Side A: "Home Came the Steed, A play in three acts" recorded 15 November 1944 from NBC during broadcast, parts 1, 2, and 3. Side B: "Home Came the Steed ", part 4. |
Audiocassette C-3821/2 |
Home Came the Steed, A play in three acts, copyAudiocassette Contents of audiodisc transferred to tape Side A: "Home Came the Steed, A play in three acts" recorded 15 November 1944 from NBC during broadcast, parts 1, 2, and 3. Side B: "Home Came the Steed ", part 4. |
Oversize Volume SV-3821/1-4
SV-3821/1SV-3821/2SV-3821/3SV-3821/4 |
Scrapbooks |