Hergesheimer, Joseph, 1880-1954

Born February 15, 1880 in Philadelphia, Joseph Hergesheimer was the son of Joseph and Helen MacKellar Hergesheimer. He grew up in a stable, middle-class, suburban family. His father, a cartographer, worked for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. After studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Hergesheimer traveled to Europe on money inherited from his grandfather, studying and painting in Florence and Venice. By 1907, when he returned to the United States and married Dorothy Hemphill, Hergesheimer had focused his artistic endeavors on fiction writing. In 1913, Forum Magazine published his sketch, The City of Pleasure. In 1914, his first novel, The Lay Anthony, was published. It was not until the release of his third novel, The Three Black Pennys (1917), that Hergesheimer finally attained public and financial success. His work has been praised for lush description and psychological insight. A prolific writer during the 1920s, Hergesheimer began writing only magazine fiction after the publication of The Foolscap Rose in 1934. The last twenty years of his life seem to have been spent mainly in genteel seclusion. He died April 25, 1954 in Sea Isle, New Jersey.

From the description of Joseph Hergesheimer letter, 1930 January 23. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 419909954

American author.

From the description of Letters to W. H. Loudermilk & Co. [manuscript], 1945-1954. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647843117

From the description of Letters, 1918-1948. (University of Iowa Libraries). WorldCat record id: 233126779

Joseph Hergesheimer was born in Pennsylvania in 1880. During his lifetime, he published nearly 30 novels and collections of short stories, as well as several biographies. He produced his most popular works toward the end and just after World War I: The Three Black Pennies  (1917) and  Java Head  (1919). Hergesheimer died in New Jersey in 1954.

From the guide to the Joseph Hergesheimer Letter, 1918, (Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.)