Appointment Book (Gertrude Breen), 1991 - 1992

As documentation of Robert and Gertrude Breen's careers are interwoven and, in many places, indistinguishable within this second addition, the Robert and Gertrude Breen Papers conflate documents relating to both dramatic artists. Filling nine and one half archival boxes, files span the years 1909 to 1992 and include biographical, correspondence, research, and performance files, as well as files pertaining to the Breen's speeches, publications, and financial matters.

Biographical materials date from 1945 to 1992 and comprise typescript biographical sketches of Robert and Gertrude Breen; a manuscript obituary for Gertrude Breen; Robert Breen's military discharge certificate; and materials relating to Gertrude Breen's residence at The Georgian (422 Davis Street), an Evanston retirement community, from 1991 to 1992.

Dating from 1983 to 1984, merit certificates pertain to Gertrude Breen's activities with the Northwestern Alumni Association and Communications fraternity Zeta Phi Eta.

Personal documents date from 1909 to 1985 and consist of Robert and Gertrude Breen's birth certificates and passports.

Gertrude Bader's diary for the year 1930 details her experience as an undergraduate student at Northwestern University's School of Speech. Gertrude Breen's journal chronicles a trip to Mexico in December 1973. Her appointment book documents her actual and projected activities at The Georgian, an Evanston nursing facility, for the years 1991 and 1992.

Newspaper clippings span from 1932 to 1990 and document Robert and Gertrude Breen's theatre productions; performances of Gertrude's script Indian Captive, published in 1961; and the Alumni Merit Awards presented to Robert in 1981 and 1984.

Graduate recital files document Gertrude Breen's 1934 and 1935 performances as a graduate student in the Northwestern University School of Speech.

Chronologically arranged, Robert and Gertrude Breen's general correspondence files date from 1935 to 1992 and include incoming letters from family members, personal friends, and professional colleagues.

Dating from 1959 to 1990, correspondence subject files are arranged alphabetically by topic and chronologically within each folder, and include incoming and outgoing correspondence. Subjects include the Breens' financial contributions to the Northwestern Alumni Association from 1981 to 1986; Gertrude's organization of Class of 1934 reunions in 1984 and 1989; Robert's participation in the Central States Speech Association between 1983 and 1988; Gertrude's communication with author E.B. White (Charlotte's Web) and Random House publishers regarding possible children's theatre adaptations; Robert's personal and professional contact with former student John Edwards, a dramatics professor at the University of New Hampshire; Gertrude's winnings from the game show Number Please in December 1961; the organization of Robert's retirement celebration in 1978; and Summer Theatre Conferences in 1959 and 1976.

Restricted financial documents consist of the Breens' income tax and W2 forms extending from 1972 to 1980.

Dating from 1975 to 1980, the restricted Hershberger inheritance documents include correspondence concerning Gertrude Hershberger's legacy to Gertrude Breen, as well as a copy of Hershberger's Last Will and Testament.

Student papers comprise three compositions by Robert Breen's students Diane Sherer (1968), Thomas Drolet (1969), and Frances Freeman Paden (undated).

Spanning from 1954 to 1986, Robert Breen's research files consist of notes and clippings pertaining to a variety of literary theory topics, primarily the relationship of images to identity. The arrangement of research files is alphabetical by subject.

Undated speech files comprise typescripts of dramatic readings probably relating to Gertrude's audio recordings for the American Foundation for the Blind and Scott, Foresman, and Company; notes for a presentation on King Lear; and typescripts of Gertrude's tributes to colleagues Hazel Easton and Winifred Ward.

Ranging from 1952 to 1986, publication files include correspondence and contracts pertaining to Prentice-Hall's publication of Robert's book Chamber Theatre (1978), as well as a typescript of his article “Montage and the Interpretation of Literature” (1952).

Arranged alphabetically, the largely undated production files consist of drama scripts, marked with the Breens' stage directions, as well as correspondence and notes related to each production. Summer fiction scripts consist of undated, untitled dramatic sketches. One undated, untitled script on New Testament themes likely pertains to Gertrude's activity in Evanston's First United Methodist Church.