Kathleen Tankersley Young Correspondence, 1928-1932

Contents and Arrangement

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Collection Overview

Creator:

Young, Kathleen Tankersley (1903-1933)

Title:

Kathleen Tankersley Young Correspondence

Repository:

Manuscripts Division

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/tm70mv23z

Dates:

1928-1932

Size:

1 box and 0.2 linear feet

Storage Note:

Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1

Language:

English

Abstract: Consists chiefly of correspondence of American author and editor Kathleen Tankersley Young with the New York book designer and printer Lew Ney and his wife, Ruth Widen.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

The collection consists chiefly of correspondence between American author Kathleen Tankersley Young and the New York book designer and printer Lew Ney and his wife, Ruth Widen -- original letters (holograph and typewritten) by Young, carbon copies of answers to Young's letters by Ney and Widen. The letters provide an intimate portrait of Young's private life and her marriage to David Jerome Ellinger, and of some of the literary and artistic figures of the Harlem Renaissance. They also shed light on the social mores of the United States during that time period. Young frequently refers to her friends and business partners Charles Henri Ford and Harrison Parker Tyler, as well as to her circle of literary friends, which included Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein. There are some letters discussing business matters, including a book project which Young initially intended Ney to publish for her, and money she owed Ney and Widen.

Also included is a typescript of a "Diary. Edward Lennon" (six leaves) which was written for Kathleen Young and Charles Henri Ford by an unidentified author. In addition, there are pencil drawings of different women with captions in French, in an unknown hand; a printed invitation to Young's wedding to David Jerome Ellinger; and a prospectus of the Modern Edition Press announcing the publishing of new pamphlets.

Arrangement

Correspondence is arranged into two file groups by author.

Collection Creator Biography:

Young

Kathleen Tankersley Young was an American author and poet, and editor of the Modern Editions Press during the era of the Harlem Renaissance. Originally from Texas, Young joined Charles Henri Ford and Parker Tyler in 1929 to publish the Blues: A Magazine of New Rhymes. Blues included such contributors as Kay Boyle, Erskine Caldwell, Harry Crosby, E. E. Cummings, Oliver Jenkins, Ezra Pound, Laura Riding, Herman Spector, Gertrude Stein, Laurence Vail, William Carlos Williams, and Louis Zukofsky. Although Young is often described in secondary sources as an African American woman, perhaps due to her association with the Harlem Renaissance, census records indicate her race as white.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Gift of Lew Ney in October 1947 .

Appraisal

No appraisal information is available.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Dina Britain in 2008. Finding aid written in 2008. Folder Inventory added by Hilde Creager (2015) in 2012.

Subject headings and the biographical note for Kathleen Tankersley Young were updated by Kelly Bolding in September 2021 to reflect recent research suggesting that Young was white and not African American.

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.

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