Contents and Arrangement Expanded View
Online

Collection Overview

Creator:
Wilson, Edmund, 1895-1972.
Collector:
Princeton University. Library. Special Collections
Title:
Edmund Wilson Collection
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/f4752g75r
Dates:
1917-1971
Size:
1 box and 0.5 linear feet
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1
Language:
English

Abstract

Consists of selected letters and manuscripts by or about Edmund Wilson (Princeton Class of 1916), an American literary critic and author.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of a collection of various letters and manuscripts by or about Wilson, spanning the years 1917 to 1971, from just after his graduation from Princeton to a letter written in 1971 to Charles Scribner about F. Scott Fitzgerald. Included are letters to Charles Hathaway, Allen Tate, Gilbert and Janet Troxell, Frank Jewett Mather, Willard Thorp, Julian Boyd, Isaac Thomas, his daughter, Rosalind Baker Wilson, and the only extant letter (1936) to his first wife, Mary Blair Wilson. Manuscripts of Wilson include a poem, "A Rose Found in a Greek Dictionary," a typescript and galleys of an article, "Thoughts on Being Bibliographed," a short reminiscence (circa 1934) on "Talcottville," New York, corrected proofs of a review of Andre Malraux's first volume of his The Psychology of Art, entitled "Museum Without Walls," and several pages of autograph additions for Wilson's book The Bit Between My Teeth, A Literary Chronicle of 1950-1965 (1965). Also present are an article about Wilson by Christian Gauss, a checklist of Wilson's works by Arthur Mizener, a photograph, and tearsheets from the New Yorker magazine.

Arrangement

Organized in order of acquisition.

Collection Creator Biography:

Wilson, Edmund, 1895-1972.

A graduate of Princeton (Class of 1916), where he befriended F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edmund Wilson became an important American literary critic, essayist, and journalist. Many consider Wilson the preeminent American literary critic of his day and, perhaps, of the twentieth century.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Gift of Charles Hathaway. 2 Letters to Miss Hudson, "Thoughts on Being Bibliographed", etc. were transferred from Coleman Archives. Letters from Wilson were purchased and partially gifted from Rosalind Baker Wilson in 1997. Letters from Wilson to the Morrises were purchased from Barbara Morris in 2000. 4 Notes and 1 signature from Wilson and Letter from Margaret Nicholson purchased from David Holmes in 2005.

Appraisal

No appraisal information is available.

Processing Information

This collection was processed in 2001. Finding aid written in 2001.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication 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 RBSC 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:

Edmund Wilson Collection; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/f4752g75r
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1