A collection of Danish plays from the 18th and 19th century has recently been cataloged. This collection of roughly 70 items includes translations of contemporary popular plays from France and Germany. The bulk of these items were found in the cataloging backlog section that our team is currently working through. The rest, which were in our off-site storage facility, were reunited through cataloging and applying subject headings. These plays were all purchased at the same time (29 May, 1948) from Herman H.J. Lynge & Son (Copenhagen) using funds from a donation by Professor Henning Larsen, professor of English (1939-57), Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences (1947-53), and provost (1953-57).
All of these plays were printed in Copenhagen, and many of them were translated from their original source by Niels Thoroup Bruun or Thomas Overskou. This collection provides some interesting insight into the popular drama culture in Denmark, and also into what was being imported from other countries. They are easily recognized by the use of marbled boards and the same, distinct handwriting found on paper labels attached to the front covers of each item. We have gathered this disparate collection together using two different headings: “Danish plays –18thcentury” and “Danish plays – 19th century”. DG
