The collection comprises:
Subscription book containing an alphabetical index of members in the front and a record of payments and subscriptions made to the club by members at the back, 1833-1836 (MS 265/1).
Receipt book recording payments and subscriptions made to the club, 1833-1843 (MS 265/2).
In 1830, a drama society known as 'The Shakespeare Club' was established in Cambridge, England by Mr W.H. Smith. Early disagreements resulted in some members leaving to set up the rival 'Cambridge Garrick Club' in about 1833. The club was named after David Garrick (1716-1779), actor, writer, and theatre owner, and the theatrical club founded in London in 1831 that bore his name.
From the account books described here and The Album of the Cambridge Garrick Club, published in 1836, it is possible to piece together a little of the Club's activities. In 1836, the Club had 25 honorary members (including dramatist, James Sheridan Knowles, and theatrical managers, William Charles Macready and Charles Kemble), 15 patronesses, 9 life members, and 134 quarterly and annual subscribers. Members performed plays at theatres in Cambridge and other towns in East Anglia including Newmarket and Barnwell. It is not known where in Cambridge the club met to rehearse and to perform or when the club ceased its activities.
The volumes have been arranged chronologically.
ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers.
REPROGRAPHIC: Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.
This description is the only finding aid available for the collection. Copyright in the description belongs to The University of Nottingham.
COPYRIGHT: Permission to make published use of any material from this collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but this can be difficult and the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the person wishing to publish.
LANGUAGE: English
The Club's comprehensive reference library of books about theatre and drama were given to Cambridge City Libraries in the late nineteenth century by Henry Thomas Hall, together with the printed books constituting the Cambridge Shakespeare Collection. Both of these collections, with additional materials on the same subjects, were presented by Cambridge City Libraries to the University of Nottingham in 1960. They now form named collections in the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections. The subscription book volumes are separately managed within the Department's manuscript collections.
