Established in 1948 by friends for the purchase of additions to the drama collection presented to the University of Pennsylvania Library by Mr. and Mrs. Maurice J. Speiser in memory of their son.

The diverse collection includes:

Algernon Charles Swinburne, Marino Faliero: a tragedy, 1885
Mrs. W. K. Clifford, A long duel: a serious comedy in four acts, 1902
John Corbin, Husband, and The forbidden guests: two plays, 1910
Federico Garcia Lorca, Five plays: comedies and tragicomedies, 1963
Murrell Edmunds, Moon of my delight: a play in three acts, limited edition, 1960
Arnold Munn, Joan of Arc: a chronicle play, 1959
Lope de Vega, The star of Seville, 1955
Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin, Boris Godunov, 1953
Eugene O'Neill, A moon for the misbegotten: a play in four acts, 1st edition, 1952
William Archibald, The innocents: a new play, 1950
Three plays of the Argentine: Juan Moreira, Santos Vega, The witches' mountain, 1920