1897 Letter ACTOR Isaac Drew - Ship London Barrymore Wm Gillette Ocean Storm

Fantastic piece of history! 
This is an original letter that was sent to Abbie by Isaac, her husband.  He did not sign the letter, but wrote the letter.
The letter is 8 pages that has been stored in a folder since 1965.
There is also a 'transcription' of the letter by his grandson Allan W. Drew. The pages are number 5 - 12.  The grandson questions about 1 - 4.  
It is so interesting to read that so many were seasick, the water ws rought.  They played poker and were fearful of eating.  He even talks about how Ethel Barrymore and Ida Waterman were also sick.  
The last page lists the children, the Drew's, Browns, Gerow's.  

Isaac Newton Drew: 1844 - 1899 famous PA actor.
He was married to Abigale Tate (Abbie)
He had two sons, Isaac Jr, and Lowell Bartlett Drew who was also an actor in Hollywood.
He was an Army Pvt with Co K - 17th PA Volunteer Infantry as part of the Civil War Union Army.
He did acting with Frank Mayo who was one of his pallbearers when he died. 
He was part of "The World" company since at least 1881.

He died ON A TRAIN in 1899, see the articles about his death (articles are shown, but not included in this sale, but you can print them).
The ship was the "USMS" "St Paul" which was on the way to England for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and the London debut of "Secret Service" at the Adelphi Theater.  This was in May 1897. Secret service played before the Prince & Princess of Wales, Duke & Duchess of York at the Adelphi Theatre during its great London run.

The "St Paul" was an American Line Steamship.
He was traveling with the "Secret Service" cast which was William Gillette's production.  Others he was traveling with that he mentions in the letter are:
I. N. Drew (Issac played Sgt. Wilson)
Ethel Barrymore (played Miss Kittridge)
Miss Ida Waterman (played Mrs General Varney)
William Gillette (Producer and played William Dumont - Famous as Sherlock Holmes)
Dan Frohman (Charles Frohman was the producer)
Marcus Meyer
Martin L. Alsop (played Henry Dumont)
H. A. Morey (played Corporal Matson)
William B. Smith (played Lt. Foray)
James (maybe Rickard  or H.D. James)
Joe Brennan (Joseph Brennan played General Nelson Randolph)
Isaac was in the original opening cast that played in the US at the Garrick Theater from 1896 - 1897


About "Secret Service"  It was declared it "the best play of its kind which America has yet sent us."  It follows the basic rules of melodrama and includes a war theme.  The heroine of one side falls in love with the hero of the other.  Love rises above politics.  After bowing to these conditions, the author brought a small part of the American Civil War to the London stage.

The action takes place at a home in Richmond, Virginia, while the city is under siege.  A Northern spy in disguise in the home of a Confederate officer is trying to maneuver into a position for espionage, and inevitably falls in love with the general's daughter.  There are many intricacies and twists within the plot and plenty of opportunities for Northerners and Southerners to show their nobility.

The Times felt that William Gillette went out of his way to provide a successful conclusion.  In the natural course of events, the spy, once unmasked, would indeed be shot.  However, both the heroine and the plot contrived to commute his death sentence to imprisonment.

The actors were all commended, from the forceful yet restrained performance of Gillette, down to that of the merest supernumerary.  There were many small parts in addition to the listed cast, which included Misses Ida Waterman, Blanche Walsh, Odette Tyler, Alice Leigh, and eighteen-year-old Ethel Barrymore.



About Ethel:  In 1897, an 18-year-old Ethel Barrymore was establishing her acting career on the London stage, having traveled there with William Gillette’s production of "Secret  Service". During this same time—the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee—she was introduced to high English society, notably catching the eye of a young Winston Churchill, who proposed to her.While Barrymore was not among the aristocrats at the legendary Devonshire House Ball, her 1897 London trip became a pivotal career launching pad, leading to an offer from the iconic actor-manager Henry Irving.Key milestones of her time in London during the Jubilee era include:\(Secret \ Service\): She made her initial London debut playing the role of Miss Kittridge.Collaboration with Sir Henry Irving: Following the close of Gillette's play, Irving and Ellen Terry offered her a role at the Lyceum Theatre. She played Annette in The Bells (1897) and Euphrosine in Peter the Great (1898).The Churchill Proposal: Winston Churchill, a massive fan of the Lyceum Theatre, was highly smitten with Barrymore and proposed marriage. She declined, not wishing to become a politician's wife, though they remained lifelong friends


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