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 3000 items) |
Abstract | Roland Holt (1867-1931) of New York, N.Y., was vice-president of Henry Holt & Company, publishers, 1903-1924, theater critic, and lecturer on drama, and his wife, Constance D'Arcy Mackay (1887?-1966), was an author of plays, pageants, books, and articles for and about non-professional theater. The collection contains correspondence, writings, clippings, photographs, and other materials of Roland Holt and Constance D'Arcy Mackay. Included are letters, late 1880s, from Roland Holt to his father about Holt's experiences as a student at Yale University; letters, 1910s-1920s, from actors and playwrights reviewed by Holt; published versions of articles by and about Holt; annual diary volumes, 1896-1920, of Holt, concerning social and theatrical activities; correspondence, 1906-1956. Mackay's papers include letters concerning theatrical business matters, including correspondence with Frederick Henry Koch (1877-1944); plays, poems, and articles by Mackay; and articles concerning MacKay's work, along with clippings, scrapbooks, and pictures. |
Creator | Holt, Roland, 1867-1931. |
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: Adam Fielding, Kate Stratton, and Jodi Berkowitz, January 2011
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.
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.
Roland Holt (1867-1931) of New York, N.Y., was vice-president of Henry Holt & Company, publishers, 1903-1924, theater critic, and lecturer on drama, and his wife, Constance D'Arcy Mackay (1887?-1966), was an author of plays, pageants, books, and articles for and about non-professional theater.
Roland Holt, son of publisher Henry Holt, Sr. of Henry Holt & Co., began his literary career as an editor of the Yale Courant and dramatic critic at the New Haven Palladium prior to his graduation from Yale in 1890. He began working for Henry Holt & Co. in 1890, and was vice president of the company from 1903-1924. From approximately 1923-1931, he wrote a weekly column, "The Living Stage," for numerous newspapers and periodicals, and he contributed articles on drama and the theater to various magazines including Social Progress, The Forum, and Theatre and Drama. He also lectured on theater-related topics around the country, and was the director of the Century Opera Company and the New York Drama League. In 1923 he married Constance D'Arby Mackay.
Constance D'Arby Mackay, a native of St. Paul, Minn., was an author who had numerous books published by Henry Holt & Co. She wrote plays and pageants, as well as books on amateur theatrics. Additionally, she directed numerous historical pageants throughout the United States, and contributed articles and poems to Woman's Home Companion, McCalls Magazine, Holland's Magazine, and other periodicals. She was the director of the Department of Pageantry and Drama of War Camp Community Service, 1918-1919, and a member of the Society of American Dramatists and Composers, American Pageant Society, Sulgrave Institution, and the P.E.N. Club.
Back to TopThe collection contains correspondence, writings, clippings, photographs, and other materials of Roland Holt (1867-1931) and Constance D'Arcy Mackay. Included are letters, late 1880s, from Roland Holt to his father about Holt's experiences as a student at Yale University; letters, 1910s-1920s, from actors and playwrights reviewed by Holt; published versions of articles by and about Holt; annual diary volumes, 1896-1920, of Holt, concerning social and theatrical activities; correspondence, 1906-1956. Mackay's papers include letters concerning theatrical business matters, including correspondence with Frederick Henry Koch (1877-1944); plays, poems, and articles by Mackay; and articles concerning MacKay's work, along with clippings, scrapbooks, and pictures. The Roland Holt Papers was originally labeled Series A, and the Constance D'Arby Mackay Papers was originally labeled Series B.
Back to TopThis series contains the correspondence, writings, clippings, and programs related to the career of Roland Holt. This series was originally labeled Series A.
Arrangement: chronological.
The correspondence includes letters from Roland Holt to his father, Henry Holt, while studying at Yale University, letters from playwrights and actors reviewed by Holt, and correspondence with various theater associations.
Folder 1a |
Original finding aid |
Folder 1 |
1883-1889 |
Folder 2 |
1890-1895 and undated |
Folder 3 |
1909-1925 |
Folder 4 |
1926-1928 |
Folder 5 |
1929-1931 and undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
These materials consist of articles by Roland Holt along with a small amount of student writings and drafts of lectures.
Folder 6 |
Student writings, 1884-1890 |
Folder 7 |
Articles by Roland Holt, 1902-1919 |
Folder 8 |
Articles by Roland Holt, 1920-1932 |
Folder 9 |
Articles by Roland Holt, 1923 |
Folder 10-11
Folder 10Folder 11 |
Articles by Roland Holt, 1924 |
Folder 12 |
Articles by Roland Holt, 1925 |
Folder 13 |
Articles by Roland Holt, 1926 |
Folder 14 |
Articles by Roland Holt, 1927 |
Folder 15 |
Articles by Roland Holt, 1928 |
Folder 16-17
Folder 16Folder 17 |
Articles by Roland Holt, 1929 |
Folder 18-19
Folder 18Folder 19 |
Articles by Roland Holt, 1930 |
Folder 20 |
Articles by Roland Holt, 1931 |
Folder 21-24
Folder 21Folder 22Folder 23Folder 24 |
Drafts of articles and talks by Roland Holt, 1916-1928 and undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
Materials in this subseries include clippings, programs, notes, and unidentified writings of Roland Holt.
Folder 25 |
1891-1920 |
Folder 26 |
1921-1923 |
Folder 27 |
1924-1930 and undated |
Folder 28 |
1931 |
Folder 29-30
Folder 29Folder 30 |
Programs, 1916-1926 |
Folder 31 |
Notes, programs and unidentifed writingsIncludes notes for a slide show and two articles by Henry Holt Senior. |
Folder 32 |
Notes and clippings |
This series contains the correspondence, writings, plays and pageants, clippings, and materials related to the career of Constance D'Arby Mackay. This series was originally labeled Series B.
Arrangement: chronological.
The correspondence includes letters from the University of North Carolina drama department, various theater and writers associations, the National Child Labor Committee, letters concerning publications by Mackay, and correspondence with Frederick Henry Koch.
Folder 33 |
1906-1913 |
Folder 34 |
1914-1917 |
Folder 35 |
1918-1921 |
Folder 36 |
1922-1927 |
Folder 37 |
1929-1930 |
Folder 38 |
1931-1935 |
Folder 39-40
Folder 39Folder 40 |
1936 |
Folder 41 |
1937-1944 |
Folder 42 |
1945-1956 and undated |
These materials consist of articles, printed plays, and poems written by Constance D'Arby Mackay. Also included are clippings, advertisements, and reviews related to her plays and books.
Folder 43-49
Folder 43Folder 44Folder 45Folder 46Folder 47Folder 48Folder 49 |
Articles by Constance D'Arcy Mackay, 1916-1929 and undated |
Folder 50 |
Printed plays by Constance D'Arcy Mackay |
Folder 51-52
Folder 51Folder 52 |
Poems by Constance D'Arcy Mackay |
Folder 53 |
Clippings and articles about Constance D'Arcy Mackay |
Folder 54-58
Folder 54Folder 55Folder 56Folder 57Folder 58 |
Clippings, advertisements, and reviews of Constance D'Arcy Mackay's books and plays |
Arrangement: alphabetical by play, then by pageant.
Items in this subseries include scripts, photographs, programs, and clippings related to Mackay's plays and pageants.
Materials included are chiefly clippings on the Educational Dramatic League, Archibald Henderson tributes to George Bernard Shaw, and clubs and associations. Also present are postcards and pictures.
Folder 81 |
Clippings: Educational Dramatic League |
Folder 82 |
Clippings: Archibald Henderson tributes to George Bernard Shaw |
Folder 83-84
Folder 83Folder 84 |
Clippings and Printed Material: Clubs and associations |
Folder 85-86
Folder 85Folder 86 |
Clippings |
Folder 87 |
Postcards |
Folder 88-89
Folder 88Folder 89 |
Pictures |
This series chiefly contains the diaries of Roland Holt and scrapbooks of Constance D'Arby Mackay. The diaries contain descriptions of social engagements, plays, and family affairs; and the scrapbooks chiefly contain short stories, plays, poems, clippings, and articles. Also included are a postcard book, slides, and an essay on Richard Wagner.
This subseries consists chiefly diaries of Roland Holt containing descriptions of social engagements, plays, and family affairs. Also includes a postcard book of actors and actresses, slides, and an essay on Richard Wagner.
Folder 90 |
Volumes 1-3: Diaries, 1896-1897 |
Folder 91 |
Volumes 4-6: Diaries, 1898-1900 |
Folder 92 |
Volumes 7-9: Diaries, 1901-1902, 1904 |
Folder 93 |
Volumes 10-12: Diaries, 1905-1906, 1908 |
Folder 94 |
Volumes 13-15: Diaries, 1910-1912 |
Folder 95 |
Volumes 16-18: Diaries, 1915-1917 |
Folder 96 |
Volumes 19-21: Diaries, 1918-1920 |
Folder 97 |
Volume 22: Postcard book of actors and actresses |
Folder 98 |
Volume 23: Essay on Richard Wagner, 1888; Volume 24: Notebook of poems and stories, 1887-1888 |
Folder 99 |
Volume 25: Slides from lectures |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4003/1 |
Yale diploma, 1890; photograph of Roland Holt |
Items in this subesries are scrapbooks of Constance D'Arby Mackay containing short stories, plays, poems, clippings, and articles.
Folder 100 |
Volume 26: Scrapbook, 1903-1907; Volume 27: Book of Work, 1904-1911Volume 26 contains Boston University Senior Play, 1904 and clippings; Volume 27 contains three short stories. |
Folder 101 |
Volume 28: Scrapbook, 1909-1910Notices and reviews of "The House of the Heart and Other Plays for Children." |
Folder 102 |
Volume 29: Scrapbook, 1904-1911Published stories and poems. |
Folder 103 |
Volume 30: Scrapbook, 1911-1913Clippings on pageants and plays. |
Folder 104 |
Volume 31: Scrapbook, 1920-1922Articles by Constance D'Arby Mackay. |
Folder 105 |
Volume 32: 1922Clippings on "Franklin." |
Folder 106 |
Volume 33: Scrapbook, 1941Articles by Constance D'Arby Mackay. |