Nora Nicholson Archive

This material is held atV&A Theatre and Performance Collections

  • Reference
    • GB 71 THM/398
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1879-Apr 25 1988
  • Name of Creator
  • Language of Material
    • English
  • Physical Description
    • 3 boxes

Scope and Content

The collection consists mostly of letters sent to Nora Nicholson by her close friends, Christopher Fry and John Gielgud, from the late 1930s until the time of her death. There are also letters, greetings cards and photocards/postcards sent by a variety of prominent theatrical figures of the period. In addition, there is a quantity of theatre related ephemera, including photocards of Ellen Terry and an autographed quotation by Henry Irving.

Administrative / Biographical History

Nora Nicholson was born on 7 December 1892 in Leamington, Warwickshire, the daughter of a Leamington vicar and a sister of the comedian, H.O Nicholson. Her stage career spanned the 1910s to 1960s. Nicholson made her Broadway debut in 1929, appearing there again in the 1950s, most notably with John Gielgud in Christopher Fry's The Lady's Not for Burning. Nicholson's acting career continued until shortly before her death in London on 18 September 1973.

Arrangement

This collection was arranged in the following series:

  • THM/398/1 - Correspondence sent to Nora Nicholson
  • THM/398/2 - Writing by Nora Nicholson
  • THM/398/3 - Playbills, Programmes and Reviews of Nora Nicholson and her stage career
  • THM/398/4 - Correspondence sent to Veronica Silver (nee Nicholson)
  • THM/398/5 - Other items

Access Information

This archive collection is available for consultation in the V&A Blythe House Archive and Library Study Room by appointment only. Full details of access arrangements may be found here: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/archives/.

Access to some of the material may be restricted. These are noted in the catalogue where relevant.

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Maggs Bros. Ltd in 2011

Conditions Governing Use

Information on copying and commercial reproduction may be found here: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/archives/.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.