Lewis, Sinclair, 1885-1951. Sinclair Lewis papers, 1866-1964 (bulk 1910-1950).
Title:
Sinclair Lewis papers, 1866-1964 (bulk 1910-1950).
The collection consists of manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, artwork, and personal papers by or relating to Sinclair Lewis. The papers span the years 1866-1964, with the bulk of the collection dating from early in Lewis's literary career, circa 1910, to 1950. The papers document his literary output and creative process, as well as the role he played in the public and intellectual life of the United States in the first half of the twentieth century. Series I, Writings, features material for twenty-four of Lewis's novels, including background material and notes, character sketches and plans, drafts, galley and page proofs, playscripts and screenplays for theatrical and cinematic adaptations, and printed publicity and reviews. Novels date from 1909 to 1951, with the bulk dating from plans for Babbit (1921) to page proofs for The Godseeker (1949). In addition to the novels, there are notes, drafts, playscripts, and other materials relating to several plays and a rich variety of shorter works, including book reviews, essays, poems, short stories, and speeches. Writings of others include biographies, literary analysis, and memorial tributes relating to Lewis. Series II, Correspondence, is organized into three subseries for incoming, outgoing, and third-party correspondence. The incoming and outgoing subseries feature single letters or small groups of letters with American and English writers and literary scholars and critics of the late 19th to mid 20th century. Noteworthy correspondents include: Sherwood Anderson, Stephen Vincent Bénet, Bernard Berenson, Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, William Dean Howells, Jack London, Compton Mackenzie, Thomas Mann, W. Somerset Maugham, H. L. Mencken, Upton Sinclair, Chauncey Brewster Tinker, Rebecca West, Edith Wharton, and Thornton Wilder, among others. The subseries include correspondence with family, friends, publishers, and organizations. Series III, Photographs, features photographs of Lewis in snaphots, studio and artists' portraits, and stage scenes from plays and theatrical adaptations of novels. Photographs include family scenes from early childhood (1894) to portraits of Lewis on Main Street in Sauk Centre, Minnesota (1948) and in Florence, Italy before his death (1950). Studio and artists' portraits of Lewis include photographs by Trude Fleischmann, Eric Schaal, and Carl Van Vechten. There are also photographs of Grace MacKowan Cooke, Irving Fisher, Albert Payson Terhune, and Dorothy Thompson. Series IV, Personal Papers, consists of manuscript and printed materials arranged alphabetically by material type. The series features original artwork, diaries, and notes and notebooks. Artwork in the collection includes original drawings and paintings by Adolf Dehn, Childe Hassam, and James Thurber. The diaries, written in English and in code, date chiefly from 1900 to 1907, and include notes relating to life in high school in Sauk Centre and at Oberlin College and Yale University. Copies of the diaries include transcriptions of the English-language portions of the text and translations of the coded portions of the text. The twenty-nine folders of notes, dating from 1907 to 1950, include research for unidentified writing projects and loose manuscript material. Series V, Harry E. Maule Material, is organized into three subseries for correspondence, writings, and other papers. Maule was the editor at Random House who oversaw work on Lewis's novels in the 1940s and early 1950s. Correspondence includes letters between Lewis and Maule, fan mail, and production files relating to book projects dating from that period. Writings contain original drafts by Lewis and drafts and printed versions of work on Lewis by others. Other papers include manuscript material, photographs, and printed ephemera. Series VI, Philip Friedman Material, consists chiefly of third-party correspondence solicited by Friedman for a biography on Lewis. There are generous responses from Granville Hicks and Upton Sinclair, as well as several letters from Lewis to others. Series VII, Morgan Guaranty Trust Company Material, consists of financial and legal records relating to property owned by Lewis in North Dakota.
ArchivalResource:
48.92 linear feet (92 boxes) + 7 broadside folders.
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/702139092 View
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