Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection consists of multiple parts. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Materials not created by Ann Moss or the donor are subject to standard U.S. Copyright protection. The donor retains literary rights to these materials until their death and their estate may retain copyright afterwards. Materials may be used for personal or research use. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Special Collections and University Archives cannot grant permission for publication use at this time.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Ann Eve Moss Papers, Ms1990-028, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Ann Eve Moss papers were donated to Special Collections in July 1990.

Processing Information

Original processing of the Papers was completed in November 1990 by L. H. Katz.

Biographical Note

Ann Eve Moss, nee Dressler, was born in New York City in 1903. She took singing and dancing lessons in high school and began performing on the professional stage by the time she graduated. She married Harry Moss , a theatrical agent, in 1922. She spent the years between 1922 and 1930 as a Ziegfeld Follies chorus girl in such productions as The Three Musketeers , Garrick Gaieties , and Funny Face . Moss also modeled for New York Daily News advertisements. In 1927 she gave birth to her only daughter, Marilyn (later known as Alwyn). In 1928 she refused to audition in the nude for producer Earl Carroll 's show Fioretta , brought charges against Carroll before Actor's Equity, the theater union, and won the case in January 1929.

In the late 1930s Moss traveled to Europe, the beginning of a series of trips abroad throughout the remainder of her life. Upon her return to the U.S. she launched into her writing career, and completed the first draft of the novel Catha's Sister , based on her experiences on the stage. When her marriage ended in the early 1940s, she became a freelance secretary. Her employers included Erich Fromm , Rollo May , Countess Mona Bismarck (for whom she later worked full time as an administrative secretary on her estate in Capri, Italy), and Paul Pierre Matisse , son of the painter, for whom she worked in Nice, France. During this time she also worked on another novel, A Widow's Odyssey (unpublished). Other, shorter works include children's books The Friends of Tinkle Rescue Club and The Runaway Balloon (unpublished). She moved to Nice in the mid-1960s and returned the United States in 1975, settling in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1981 she moved to Floyd, Virginia, to live with her daughter, and in 1984 moved to a retirement community in Blacksburg, Virginia. She died five days before her 85th birthday in March 1988.

Scope and Content

The bulk of the materials in the collection consist of photographs, news clippings, correspondence, literary manuscripts, and playbills collected or created by Ann Eve Moss from the 1920s to her death in 1988. Copies of her two unpublished novels, Catha's Sister and A Mystic Smile , are included here, as well as several of her other shorter writings. The news clippings include editorials from New York papers regarding Moss's lawsuit against Earl Carroll. The photographs include many where she appears as a character from the various plays in which she performed, as well as several portrait poses. Other materials include correspondence, news clippings, and programs from meetings of The Ziegfeld Club, an organization of former Ziegfeld Follies chorus girls. A draft of the introduction to The Friends of Tinkle Rescue Club , written by Alwyn Moss , is also included.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Authors, American -- 20th century
• Women -- History

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Ann Eve Moss Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).