Delving into the archives at J M Barrie’s Birthplace

Further documents allow us to see the contrast between James Barrie’s public and private life. In this letter to Robb, written in May 1932 shortly after Barrie’s 72nd birthday, he thanks him for his recent letter and birthday wishes and refers to a forthcoming Robb family wedding.

In the same letter Barrie refers to the fact that while the papers enquired about his own birthday, he had recently thrown a special party at his Adelphi Terrace flat to celebrate the 70th birthday of the statesman Lord Grey. This lunch was attended by various notables, including Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin, Winston Churchill and the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Lang. Churchill had proposed a toast to the health of Barrie. In his speech at the party, Barrie refers once again to his pet canary.

Photos and other images

As well as correspondence, there are many photos and postcards in the collection.

A series of four silver prints mounted on board show the production of Peter Pan at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London in February 1905. This image shows Peter Pan in Napoleonic costume and the Lost Boys after the defeat of Captain Hook. This and the other photographs came from the studio of Alfred Ellis & Walery, who were established as pre-eminent theatrical photographers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often photographing live performances. The Trust purchased these prints in 2004.

Numerous photographs and postcards document the 1930 ceremonies in Kirriemuir where Barrie was given the Freedom of the town and the opening of the cricket pavilion.

Other items

Barrie continued his correspondence with James Robb until the mid-1930s.In 1935, while Barrie was in Italy, he heard that Robb had passed away. This telegram and subsequent letter to Mrs Robb expresses Barrie’s deep sympathy for the loss of his ‘oldest and dearest friend writing’ and that Robb was ‘the man for whom I cared most of all’.

We also have Barrie’s passport, which was issued in September 1934 and due to expire on 1 September 1939 (the day World War Two broke out). The passport describes Barrie’s profession as author, his height at 5’ 3½” (possibly an exaggeration!) and includes stamps on the last page which confirms Barrie’s trip to Italy in May 1935.

Programmes and posters

Among the other documents in the collection are a series of theatre programmes for Barrie’s plays, dating from 1897 to the 2000s. This beautiful programme from 1905, from the Duke of York’s Theatre in London, highlights its production of The Admirable Crichton. Not only does it give details of the cast – including Gerald Du Maurier, son of George Du Maurier and sister of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies – it also affords us a fascinating insight into early 20th-century advertising.

Conclusion

Our archive collection relating to J M Barrie is a small but significant assemblage of various documents from a range of sources. The mixture of letters, photos, postcards and other documents help to paint a fuller picture of Barrie’s life, offering some invaluable insights into his personality and character.

The collection of letters and newspapers bequeathed by James Robb’s daughter is of particular interest. From them we get a unique perspective of Barrie’s later years, where he often describes to Robb their shared memories of Kirriemuir (where Robb was still living in the 1930s) and of mutual acquaintances.

The content of these letters may appear to be quite humdrum – general small talk, birthday and Christmas wishes, gifts and photos sent, etc – but they show Barrie looking back on his life with one of his oldest and dearest friends. He particularly referenced the place where he was born and the wash-house to the rear of the property where he wrote and performed childhood plays with his school friends.

His affection for Kirriemuir shines through his letters, as well as his desire to not only accept the Freedom of the burgh but to help fund the cricket pavilion and perform the opening ceremony.

The number of newspapers and articles which feature Barrie highlight just how well-known he was in Britain in the first third of the 20th century, and his death and funeral were matters of national concern. It’s quite clear that interest in J M Barrie will continue for many years to come, not least in 2020, the 160th anniversary of the great man’s birth.