Coward Archives

Birmingham University Special Collections • Noël Coward

A wide range of fascinating documents and photographs exist relating to Noel Cowards life and work. The main collection is housed at The University of Birmingham's Special Collections where it was donated by the late Graham Payne in 1999, the year when Noel Coward's centenary was celebrated.
The collection, which is open to the public, is large and extremely rich and varied and provides a vivid insight into Noel Cowards life and work. Highlights include Noel Cowards diaries from 1934 to 67, photograph albums of his many foreign visits, correspondence and original manuscript scripts of his plays, films, short stories and other publication including manuscript song and instrumental music. Details regarding how to consult the collection can be found on The University of Birmingham's Special Collections website More... The collection has been catalogued on to the Special Collections archive and manuscript catalogue More... where complete details of its contents can be found.

The University of Sussex

The University of Sussex holds the manuscript of Quadrille together with a selection of books which were donated by Sir Noel Coward on the occasion of being awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Sussex, 11 July 1972. Details of the collection can be found on The University of Sussex’s website at Link... The collection has been catalogued and can be found on the ArchivesHub website Link...

The New York Public Library

Link... also holds a collection of papers relating to Noel Coward including manuscripts, correspondence, and legal documents.

These collections are a unique and invaluable resource for promoting the life and work of Noel Coward and are freely accessible for research and enjoyment by application to the individual institutions detailed above.

This fifteen minute video was produced by the Noël Coward Estate to mark the exhibition
Star Quality: Aspects of Noël Coward that was held at the National Theatre, London from January to March 2008 during the National revival of Present Laugher by Noël Coward and starring Alex Jennings. It also marked the publication of The Letters of Noël Coward edited by Barry Day.

Click once to stop the video and double-click to restart...

Star Quality celebrated the life and work of Noël Coward with a range of period photographs, letters and memorabilia spanning his lifetime. Display cases focus on the breadth of Coward’s talent as a composer, songwriter and cabaret artist, film star, script writer and painter. Perhaps most of all Star Quality highlights his gift for making lifelong friends, with special features on his relationship with Laurence Olivier and with theatre historians Raymond Mander and Joe Mitchenson to whom he gave many personal items including an iconic silk dressing gown, now exhibited for the first time.

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