- Collection Overview
- Collection Description & Creator Information
- Access & Use
- Collection History
- Find Related Materials
Expanded View
Collection Overview
- Creator:
- Harper & Brothers Publishers
- Title:
- Selected Records of Harper & Brothers
- Repository:
- Manuscripts Division
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/qf85nb302
- Dates:
- 1909-1960 (mostly 1939-1955)
- Size:
- 34 boxes, 2 folders, and 5.95 linear feet
- Storage Note:
- Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-34
- Language:
- English
Abstract
The Selected Papers of Harper & Brothers consist primarily of the editorial and business correspondence of Harper & Brothers, a distinguished publishing firm, between 1909 and 1960.
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Scope and Contents
The Selected Papers of Harper & Brothers consist primarily of editorial and business correspondence, 1909-1960, with the bulk of the material dating from ca. 1939-1955. In addition, there are several folders of correspondence of Cass Canfield in connection with the 1956 Presidential campaign of Adlai E. Stevenson. Among the broad spectrum of American and European writers included are Gwendolyn Brooks, Virginia Cowles, Max Eastman, Andre Maurois, Adlai Stevenson, and Richard Wright. Within each author's correspondence there may be letters to and from other well known literary figures such as Dorothy Canfield Fisher, H.L. Mancken, Van Wyck Brooks, Louis Auchincloss, or Upton Sinclair. Among the few manuscripts in the collection is a holograph manuscripts of a Gwendolyn Brooks poem and proposals for books by various authors.
For a history of Harper & Brothers see The House of Harper (New York: Harper & Bros., 1967) by Eugene Exman.
- Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by author and then chronologically.
- Collection Creator Biography:
Harper & Brothers Publishers
Harper & Brothers was a distinguished publishing firm in the nineteenth century. The firm was established in 1817 by James and John Harper, and its first venture into publishing was with John Locke's Essay on Human Understanding. Brothers Joseph and Fletcher Harper later joined the business, and the company took on the name Harper & Brothers in 1833. The firm launched Harper's New Monthly Magazine in 1850, Harper's Weekly in 1857, and Harper's Bazar (later Bazaar) in 1867. Harper & Brothers passed out of family hands in 1900.
Collection History
- Acquisition:
The collection is a gift of Harper & Brothers.
- Appraisal
No appraisal information is available.
- Processing Information
Biography written by Jessica Marati, '08.
In 2022, restrictions on Richard Wright materials where researchers were required to use surrogates were lifted as part of a restrictions review project.
Access & Use
- Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. No further duplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Inquiries regarding publishing material from the collection should be directed to Special Collections Public Services staff through the Ask Us! form. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
Selected Records of Harper & Brothers; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/qf85nb302
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-34
Find More
- Bibliography
The following sources were consulted during preparation of biographical note: Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
- Subject Terms:
- Authors and publishers -- United States -- 20th century.
Authors, American -- 20th century.
Novelists, American -- 20th century.
Novelists, English -- 20th century.
Presidential candidates -- United States -- 20th century.
Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1956.
Publishers and publishing -- New York (N.Y.) -- 20th century - Names:
- Canfield, Cass, 1897-1986
Maurois, André, 1885-1967.
Pearson, Hesketh, 1887-1964.
Stevenson, Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing), 1900-1965
Welles, Sumner, 1892-1961
