Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Gail Plummer papers, circa 1860-1980
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Plummer, Gail
- Title
- Gail Plummer papers
- Dates
- circa 1860-1980 (inclusive)18551985
- Quantity
- 17.75 linear feet
- Collection Number
- MS 0667
- Summary
- The Gail Plummer papers (circa 1960-1980) consist mainly of scrapbooks detailing productions at Kingsbury Hall, the University of Utah's summer festivals, and Babcock Theater. Other scrapbooks, theater programs, and family and personal materials are also included. These materials were collected by Gail Plummer, a speech and theater instructor at the University of Utah, and his wife, Elva Plummer.
- Repository
-
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860
Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Edmund Gail Plummer was born 14 May 1899 in Daniel, Washington County, Utah, the son of Walter and Josephine Plummer. He received his B.A. from Brigham Young University in 1927, and his M.A. from the University of Utah in 1935. He was a speech instructor at the University of Utah and the manager of Kingsbury Hall from 1933 to 1957. Kingsbury Hall was dedicated in 1930 following the closing of the Salt Lake Theater in 1928. Maud May Babcock recommended Plummer for the job of manager, and the University Dramatic Club had a home. The building was an independent department, serving the campus and the community. Each year a freshman play, a varsity play, and productions sponsored by Theta Alpha Phi were performed, as well as big musical productions for the summer festivals. Gail Plummer married Elva Swindle, who helped work for the theater, balancing books and selling tickets for ten years. They had two children, Bonnie and Tom. Plummer managed the Utah State Symphony as well, for two years starting in 1944. He worked closely during his career with symphony conductor Maurice Abravanel, dance instructor Willam Christensen, director C. Lowell Lees, and actor and stage designer Vern Adix. Through his success with the theater and his support for the public library, Gail Plummer earned respect in the community as a person bringing culture, art, and education to Utah. His book, The Business of Show Business (1961), gives a detailed account of his years of work with the theater. It is available in the Marriott Library's circulating collection. Gail Plummer died 23 October 1964, just before the new public library he inspired was ready to open.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Gail Plummer papers (circa 1960-1980) consist mainly of scrapbooks detailing productions at Kingsbury Hall, the University of Utah's summer festivals, and Babcock Theater. The scrapbooks are a comprehensive look at each of the shows Kingsbury Hall did in the 1940s and 1950s. There are scrapbooks for the regular season and for the summer festivals. Each one contains programs, letters, tickets, and news clippings about each show. The collection is arranged with Gail Plummer's scrapbooks first, for 10 boxes. Box eleven contains biographical material concerning Gail Plummer, as well as a scrapbook of history regarding Kingsbury Hall. Next are five scrapbooks compiled by Maud May Babcock, in boxes 16 through 18. Then, there are three volumes containing programs from Salt Lake Theater productions of 1901-1902, comprising boxes 19 and 20. These scrapbooks are an invaluable source of theater information, offering a comprehensive look at the end of the Salt Lake Theater and the beginning of Kingsbury Hall. They also illustrate how the summer festivals brought the arts together, merging theater with music and dance, and bringing together some of the great artistic organizers of their generation: C. Lowell Lees, Maurice Abravanel, Willam Christensen, Glade Peterson, and Gail Plummer. The 1996 addendum (boxes 21-24) contains scrapbooks and other documents regarding the career of Gail Plummer. Included are documents regarding University of Utah dramatic activities, including cast lists and production programs, and scrapbooks documenting the career of Maud May Babcock, a University of Utah speech and drama professor. As noted in the inventory, many of the materials in this addendum are photocopies of original documents. Boxes 25-27 consist mainly of Salt Lake Theater and Salt Lake Dramatic Association programs.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Preferred Citation
Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Boxes 1-20 were donated in 1982.
Boxes 21-24 were donated in 1996.
Boxes 25-27 were donated in 1999.
Boxes 28-30 were transferred from University of Utah Archives and Records Management in 2017.
Processing Note
Processed by Jennifer Breaden in 1993.
Addendum processed by Lisa DeMille in 1999.
Addendum processed by Betsey Welland in 2017.
Separated Materials
Photographs were transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections (P0138).
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
ScrapbooksReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
1 | Kingsbury Hall Scrapbooks |
1942-1943 |
2 | Kingsbury Hall Scrapbooks |
1947-1948 |
3 | Kingsbury Hall Scrapbooks |
1948-1950 |
4 | Kingsbury Hall Scrapbooks |
1950-1951 |
5 | Kingsbury Hall Scrapbooks |
1951-1952 |
6 | Kingsbury Hall Scrapbooks |
1952-1954 |
7 | Kingsbury Hall Scrapbooks |
1954-1955 |
8 | Kingsbury Hall Scrapbooks |
1956-1957 |
9 | Utah Theater and Utah Symphony |
1944-1945 |
10 | Utah State Symphony |
1944-1946 |
Information About Gail Plummer and Kingsbury HallReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | |
---|---|---|
Box | Folder | |
11 | 1 | Kingsbury Hall and the University Dramatic Club, Compiled by Elva Plummer |
11 | 2 | Salt Lake Public Library |
11 | 3 | Gail Plummer, "The Hospital Will Get You" |
11 | 4 | Gail Plummer, Biographical Information |
Volume | ||
11 | 1 | Kingsbury Hall Scrapbook Compiled by Elva Plummer
Contains the historical information found in folder one.
|
ScrapbooksReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
12 | Summer Festival Scrapbooks |
1949-1950 |
13 | Summer Festival Scrapbooks |
1951-1952 |
14 | Summer Festival Scrapbooks |
1953-1954 |
15 | Summer Festival Scrapbooks |
1955-1956 |
16 | Babcock Scrapbooks, Salt Lake Theater and Kingsbury Hall |
1915-1938 |
17 | Babcock Scrapbooks, Student Recitals, and Personal Items |
1920-1936 |
18 | Babcock Scrapbooks, Theater in Utah and Outside Utah |
ProgramsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
19 | Salt Lake Theater Programs |
1901-1902 |
20 | Salt Lake Theater Programs |
1901-1902 |
21 | Theater Scrapbook |
circa 1900-circa 1920 |
Scrapbooks, University of Utah Theater and Other MaterialsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
22 | 1-2 | Correspondence Scrapbook
Also contains other documents regarding Plummer's career in the theater. Photocopies.
|
1961-1968 |
22 | 3-14 | Plummer Family Scrapbook
Contains genealogical information, personal anecdotes, photographic images, correspondence, theater memorabilia, news clippings, and other documents. Photocopies.
|
circa 1903-1970 |
22 | 15 | University of Utah Theater, Production Programs |
1912-1937 |
22 | 16 | University of Utah Theater, Cast Lists
Typescript.
|
1902-1924 |
23 | 1-5 | Kingsbury Hall/Theater Scrapbook
Programs, news clippings, photographic images, handbills, correspondence, and other documents regarding Kingsbury Hall and other theaters. Photocopies.
|
circa 1940-1974 |
23 | 6-8 | "My Friend Maud May Babcock," Scrapbook
Programs, reminiscences, news clippings, correspondence, and other documents regarding Babcock's career at the University of Utah and in the theater. Photocopies.
|
circa 1860-1981 |
23 | 9 | "Maud May Babcock Celebration" |
1981 |
23 | 10-11 | University of Utah Radio Program Scripts
Presented on KSL radio.
|
1940-1941 |
23 | 12 | News Clippings
"A Freshman to His Mother" and "A Sophomore to His Dad," newspaper columns from the Daily Utah Chronicle. Photocopies.
|
1938-1942 |
23 | 13 | Miscellaneous
Performer Elaine Malbin's publicity brochure (original) and "Epistles of Homer," by Homer Buste (1948, photocopied typescript).
|
1940s |
Volume | |||
24 | 1 | New York Theater Scrapbook |
circa 1890-1930 |
24 | 2 | "Dramatic Clippings"
Labeled "Glen Miller," the scrapbook documents Salt Lake City theater activities.
|
1895-1900 |
25 | Programs |
1890-1892 | |
26 | Programs and Miscellaneous |
1893-1933 | |
27 | Oversize Programs |
1889-1890 | |
28-30 | Index Cards Listing Artists and Lectures Held at Kingbury Hall |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Dance--Utah--History--Sources
- Opera--Utah--History--Sources
- Symphony orchestras--Utah--Salt Lake City--History--Sources
- Theater--Utah--Salt Lake City--History--Sources
Personal Names
- Abravanel, Maurice, 1903-
- Babcock, Maud May, 1867-1954
- Christensen, William F. (William Farr)
- Lees, C. Lowell (Charles Lowell), 1904-
- Peterson, Glade
- Plummer, Gail
Corporate Names
- Kingsbury Hall (Salt Lake City, Utah)
- Salt Lake Theatre (Salt Lake City, Utah)
- Utah Symphony Orchestra
Form or Genre Terms
- Clippings
- Programs
- Scrapbooks