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Kipling, Rudyard Family, Letters to Frank Nelson Doubleday Family, 1899-1952

1 box
Collection Creator:
Princeton University. Library. Special Collections and Doubleday, Frank Nelson (1862-1934)
Dates:
1899-1952
Extent:
1 box
Languages:
English
Scope and Contents

Consists primarily of letters from Rudyard Kipling to Frank Nelson Doubleday with a fair amount of correspondence to Doubleday from Caroline Kipling. Also included are some letters from Caroline and Elsie Kipling to Dorothy Doubleday as well as couple of letters from John and Alice Kipling.

The letters between Rudyard Kipling and Frank N. Doubleday, which are both professional and personal in nature, demonstrate how close the two men were. Topics of discussion include the political climate, World War I, and Kipling's major publications, including his novel Kim. Having finally finished the serial publication of Kim, which he had been working on for seven years intermittently, Kipling writes: "So take off your little coat and gird up your panties and proceed to cram ram and jam Kim down the throat of the Great Eagle. Make that pious but agitated bird understand that life without Kim is- inkimplete; that nobody with a hope of Heaven can pass St. Peter without a copy of Kim in his shroud; that existence in the country or in the manufacturing centers in lightened and sweetened by Kim: that you can garden & read Kim, plant bulbs and mow the grass with a better heart for reading him. (September 2, 1901)"

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Acquisition:

AM 2015-50

Credit this material:

Kipling, Rudyard Family, Letters to Frank Nelson Doubleday Family; Frank N. Doubleday and Nelson Doubleday Collection, C0162, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (mss): Box 33
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.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Anna Bialek in July and August of 2005. The finding aid was written by Anna Bialek in the summer of 2005, incorporating detailed calendars compiled by Howard C. Rice, Jr., in 1961, which he revised in 1964.

Collection Overview

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Consists primarily of letters from Rudyard Kipling to Frank Nelson Doubleday with a fair amount of correspondence to Doubleday from Caroline Kipling. Also included are some letters from Caroline and Elsie Kipling to Dorothy Doubleday as well as couple of letters from John and Alice Kipling.

The letters between Rudyard Kipling and Frank N. Doubleday, which are both professional and personal in nature, demonstrate how close the two men were. Topics of discussion include the political climate, World War I, and Kipling's major publications, including his novel Kim. Having finally finished the serial publication of Kim, which he had been working on for seven years intermittently, Kipling writes: "So take off your little coat and gird up your panties and proceed to cram ram and jam Kim down the throat of the Great Eagle. Make that pious but agitated bird understand that life without Kim is- inkimplete; that nobody with a hope of Heaven can pass St. Peter without a copy of Kim in his shroud; that existence in the country or in the manufacturing centers in lightened and sweetened by Kim: that you can garden & read Kim, plant bulbs and mow the grass with a better heart for reading him. (September 2, 1901)"

Arrangement

Arranged in alphabetical order by correspondent, then chronologically.

Collection History

Acquisition:

AM 2015-50

Appraisal

No appraisal information is available.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Anna Bialek in July and August of 2005. The finding aid was written by Anna Bialek in the summer of 2005, incorporating detailed calendars compiled by Howard C. Rice, Jr., in 1961, which he revised in 1964.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

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:

Kipling, Rudyard Family, Letters to Frank Nelson Doubleday Family; Frank N. Doubleday and Nelson Doubleday Collection, C0162, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
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Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (mss): Box 33

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Related Materials

The Ellen McCarter Doubleday Papers (C0747) contains additional Doubleday family papers. Included is correspondence of both Ellen and Nelson Doubleday with Thomas Costain, Noel Coward, Daphne Du Maurier, Edna Ferber, Ellen Glasgow, Sinclair Lewis, W. Somerset Maugham, Kenneth Roberts, Booth Tarkington, and other Doubleday authors; Du Maurier's typescript for a play entitled "Mother" and a photocopy of her notebook for Rebecca (1938); a great deal of social correspondence with English and American friends; correspondence with their children and other family members; correspondence with doctors and others concerning Nelson Doubleday's illness and letters of condolence on his death; and documents concerning the estates of Frank Nelson Doubleday and Nelson Doubleday and various trust disputes.

Bibliography

Former Assistant Librarian for Special Collections Howard C. Rice, Jr., wrote about the Princeton Doubleday collection in two articles in the Princeton University Library Chronicle: Volume XXII (spring 1961), pp. 105-117, and Volume XXIV (spring 1963), pp. 191-196.

Names:
Doubleday, Doran & Company
Conrad, Joseph (1857-1924)
Doubleday, Nelson
Frost, A. B. (Arthur Burdett) (1851-1928)
Kipling, Rudyard (1865-1936)
Kipling, Rudyard (1865-1936)
Maugham, W. Somerset. (William Somerset) (1874-1965)