the work of James A. Herne could not be represented and that the choice of a play by Clyde Fitch had to fall outside of those included in his "Memorial Edition." But it is a satisfaction to the editor to note how few changes had to be made from the first list of selections.
Before each play, a brief introduction explains its significance and gives a biographical sketch of the author, together with necessary information concerning his plays. No pains have been spared to make these introductions accurate, and the editor has fortunately had at his disposal not only the usual histories of the theatre, but also manuscript sources such as the Bird and Boker Papers and the Diary of William Wood, the Manager of the Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, as well as the printed sources that are included in the Clothier Collection of American Plays in the Library of the University of Pennsylvania. In the cases of the modern plays the information has been checked in nearly every ease by the playwrights themselves. In each of the introductions a selected bibliography has been given. It has seemed unnecessary to cumber these with long lists of magazine articles of a fugitive character but it is hoped that the references given will be found helpful. A general bibliography of books relating to the American Drama has been placed at the end of the volume.
In each introduction is given also the source of the text. Where it was possible to obtain acting versions of the older texts, the differences between these and the reading versions have been indicated. In general where emendations have been made, they have been included in square brackets. The spelling has followed that of the original text, and the stage directions have been reprinted in the older plays as originally given. Several of the modern plays have been revised by the authors and their wishes have naturally been followed both as to text and stage directions. Some slight alterations have been made even here for the sake of uniformity, and where the preparation of the text has fallen on the editor alone, he has tried to present the stage directions in a readable form, according to modern standards of technique.
Many friends have helped in the preparation of this volume. Of primary importance was the establishment, through the generosity of Mr. Morris L. Clothier, of the Library of American Plays which bears his name. The continued interest in the collection of its donor and of the Chairman of the Library Committee, Dr. Joseph G. Rosengarten, has been of a degree of service that is difficult to measure. Special acknowledgments are made in the separate introductions to those who have aided in the cases of individual plays. Mention must be made here, however, of the help rendered by Mr. Augustus Thomas and Mr. Percy MacKaye, in connection with plays not their own. Valuable suggestions concerning the sources of the older plays have been made by my colleagues, Professor J. P. W. Crawford and Professor Arthur C. Rowland, and here, too, should be acknowledged the generous help in collation of texts
