Several items related to Vivien Leigh and her connection with Topsham and with Dorothy and Leigh Holman are displayed on the first floor of Topsham Museum. Visitors to the Museum are encouraged to interact with the display, pulling out a drawer to reveal a variety of treasures.
A selection of paper and physical artefacts are displayed within the drawers. These include a black hat owned by Vivien Leigh; photographs of Vivien Leigh and Leigh Holman; postcards sent from Vivien Leigh to her daughter Suzanne Holman when she was was living at No. 25 The Strand with her aunt in the late 1930s; a small ivory box owned by Vivien Leigh; a signed theatre programme for The School for Scandal; photographs of Vivien Leigh on the set of Gone with the Wind wearing the nightdress; and a mock-up of the ‘discovered’ dress. This is presented in a plastic carrier bag, reproducing the original moment of discovery when Topsham Museum Steward Ann McMennamin found the dress in 1992.
When we visited the Museum in summer 2019, the research team removed the drawer from the chest and produced a 3D model of the unit. This allows its contents to be viewed in very close detail from all angles.
A selection of paper and physical artefacts are displayed within the drawers. These include a black hat owned by Vivien Leigh; photographs of Vivien Leigh and Leigh Holman; postcards sent from Vivien Leigh to her daughter Suzanne Holman when she was was living at No. 25 The Strand with her aunt in the late 1930s; a small ivory box owned by Vivien Leigh; a signed theatre programme for The School for Scandal; photographs of Vivien Leigh on the set of Gone with the Wind wearing the nightdress; and a mock-up of the ‘discovered’ dress. This is presented in a plastic carrier bag, reproducing the original moment of discovery when Topsham Museum Steward Ann McMennamin found the dress in 1992.
When we visited the Museum in summer 2019, the research team removed the drawer from the chest and produced a 3D model of the unit. This allows its contents to be viewed in very close detail from all angles.
| Subject | Vivien Leigh |
|---|---|
| Source | Topsham Museum |
| Date | 2019-06-25 |
| Format | Photograph |
| Type | Research process |
| Coverage | 1930s-1970s |