Large archive from the estate of Academy Award-nominated actress Sylvia Sidney, including her personal sketchbooks, hundreds of photographs, and numerous signed photographs and pieces of correspondence. Among the highlights are a Christmas gift from Judy Garland and Vicente Minnelli, over 60 letters by Sidney to her second husband, photos inscribed to Sidney by Ronald and Nancy Reagan, eight letters from her cousin Albert Sabin, ten photographs signed by Sidney, and nearly one hundred original sketches by Sidney.
The archive comprises:
- a Dodge Inc. silver box, 9.5″ x 3.25″ x 1.75″, presented to Sylvia Sidney and her third husband, Carlton Alsop, by Judy Garland and Vicente Minnelli, engraved on the lid, "Sylvia and Carleton," and on the front, "Merry Christmas 1947, Judy and Vicente."
- two color satin-finish 8 x 10 official White House photos of Sidney meeting with Ronald and Nancy Reagan, each signed and inscribed in the lower border in black felt tip. Includes an official White House invitation card for May 12, 1986, the day that President Reagan honored Sidney's cousin, Dr. Albert Sabin, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, along with the luncheon menu, Miss Sidney's placecard, admission pass, event program, and White House matchbook.
- eight letters sent by her cousin, polio vaccine researcher Albert Sabin, dating from 1975 to 1991, including seven ALSs and one TLS. He comments on problems with his health, travels and family affairs, and other general matters. Several are affected by dampstaining, and one has a large tear through the center.
- ten letters by her second husband, Luther Adler, addressed to Sylvia Sidney or their son Jacob; plus over 60 letters from Sylvia Sidney to Adler.
- Sidney's personal sketchbooks, ranging in size from 9 x 5.75 to 18 x 12, with about 96 sketches, drawings, and paintings in various states of completion—from rough sketches to finished artistic pieces—including landscapes, portraits, animals, and still life works.
- an early vintage matte-finish 10.75 x 13.75 photo of Sidney by Otto Dyer, signed and inscribed in fountain pen to her father, "To Dad—from—your Sylvia."
- several other autograph items from Sylvia Sidney, including nine signed photos of various types and sizes, three signed contract documents, an Architectural Digest questionnaire about her Malibu home, a small print of a caricature by Al Hirschfeld (signed by Sidney and Hirschfeld), a felt tip signature, her at-a-glace planner for 1984 (filled out through April).
- over 30 oversized (mostly 11 x 14) vintage photographs of Sylvia Sidney, by photographers including Apeda Studio, Clarence Sinclair Bull, William Walling, and others.
- over 150 smaller (mostly 8 x 10 with some smaller) vintage promo photos of Sidney, including movie stills, studio portraits, glamour shots, and press photos.
- a large quantity of family photos and personal candid photographs, mostly from her later years.
- signed celebrity letters sent to Sidney, including Robert Wagner, Helen Hayes, Lillian Gish, Hal Prince, James Earl Jones, Trish Van Devere, and Leonard Shure.
- a file of publishing documents for the Sylvia Sidney Needlepoint Book published by Reinhold, including four signed contracts and a large number of royalty statements, a first edition copy of the book signed by Sidney, two samples of her needlepoint work, and numerous slides and negatives of her needlepoint work.
- a file of pedigree papers and numerous photographs of her beloved pug dogs, plus an assortment of pug pins and keychains.
- personal papers including divorce documents, two of her personal scrapbooks, and various programs and ephemera related to her career.
- curious legal documents regarding the misuse of her image on Japanese condom packaging (with a sample of the package).
- a group of Red Scare ephemera, including scarce copies of Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television (published by Counterattack, June 1950), Documentation of the Red Stars in Hollywood by Myron C. Fagan (published in 1950), and Treason on Broadway by Myron C. Fagan (published in 1954).
- the Motion Picture Bookers Club lifetime achievement award plaque presented to Sylvia Sidney on September 26, 1986.
- books signed and inscribed to her by Luther Adler, Norman Krasna, Bernard Sobel, J. U. Nicolson, V. C. Buckley, Barbara Cartland, Fletcher Martin, and George Jean Nathan.
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