Louis O. Coxe Collection, 1941-1977

Contents and Arrangement

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Collection Overview

Creator:

Coxe, Louis Osborne (1918)

Collector:

Princeton University. Library. Special Collections

Title:

Louis O. Coxe Collection

Repository:

Manuscripts Division

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/6h440s48w

Dates:

1941-1977

Size:

14 boxes and 5.4 linear feet

Storage Note:

ReCAP (scarcpxm): Box 1-14

Language:

English

Abstract: Louis O. Coxe (Princeton Class of 1940) was a noted twentieth-century poet, playwright, and critic. The collection contains autograph and typescript versions of Coxe's poetry and sixteen of Coxe's notebooks. Also included are materials for the play Billy Budd, such as notes, drafts, worksheets, galley proofs, and production notes.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

The collection contains over sixty autograph and typescript manuscripts of verse by Coxe (Princeton Class of 1940), as well as sixteen of the poet's notebooks. One of the notebooks consists of verse written in the years 1943-1944 during Coxe's naval service, most of which appear in the volume The Sea Faring. Manuscripts for The Strait and Other Poems (early version of the published collection The Last Hero and Other Poems) and the play Uniform of Flesh (early version of Billy Budd, co-authored with Robert Chapman) are included. There are several additional folders of Billy Budd material, including notes, drafts, worksheets, and galley proofs, as well as papers related to the play's production and publication (contracts, financial statements, programs, etc.).

Additional accessions include thirteen letters to Augustus Sherrill Whiton, Jr., Princeton Class of 1940, dating from 1941 to 1943, including 3 manuscript poems; one letter to Hamilton and Janet Cottier, dated Dec. 2, 1977; five letters (1965-1967) from Donald Davidson; and a typescript copy of The Sea Faring and Other Poems with printer's marks.

Arrangement

This is an unprocessed collection. The additions (AM 1992-73) remain in their original arrangement.

Collection Creator Biography:

Coxe

Born in Manchester, New Hampshire, Louis O. Coxe was an American poet. A 1940 graduate of Princeton University, Coxe taught English for brief periods at Princeton, Harvard, and the University of Minnesota before joining the faculty at Bowdoin College (1956), where he remained until his death.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Mostly gifts of author, along with 2 folders of material gifted by Prof. Willard Thorp, 7 copies of poems gifted by Samuel H. Monk, and 3 cartons of material purchased from Edith Coxe in 1992.

Appraisal

No appraisal information is available.

Processing Information

This is an unprocessed collection. The contents list provided is a preliminary inventory for the additions (AM 1992-73).

Biography written by Alyxandra Cullen, '09.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

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.

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