Contents and Arrangement Collection View
Description:

This series contains manuscript materials for several of White's works of fiction and drama, including various manuscripts, copies, and drafts of his novels, short stories, and plays, occasionally in several versions.

This series is arranged alphabetically by the title of the work, with groups of short stories at the end.

Description:

This series contains correspondence between Charles William "Max" White and a variety of publishers, editors and other literary professionals, as well as personal and business correspondence with Alice B. Toklas. Much of the business correspondence is related to either the publication of his work The Matchless Pleasure or the Alice B. Toklas autobiography on which he was set to collaborate with Toklas. This series also contains some personal correspondence with Gertrude Stein, who wrote to him a laudatory review of his novel Anna Becker, as well as correspondence to his friend Klaus Winkelmann which includes an informal will. The photographs included in the series are undated. One is of White as a young man, and the other is of White on his death bed.

This series is arranged alphabetically by last name of correspondent, with unidentified correspondence and photographs at the end.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of manuscripts and correspondence of Charles William White ("Max White"), including Alice B. Toklas material. Materials include: The Matchless Pleasure: novel (original manuscript and photocopy); Ghastly Shivaree (2 versions): play; The Man Who Carved Women From Wood: play based on his novel; "The Parrot", "Remember Lacey Jatter", "Grimmer than Anderson", "Alchemy for Late Summer": stories; Terror to Come (TV play); Hannah's Nighthouse (play); Blockheads: novel (3 binders); The Lonely Roads of Midnight: novel (2 binders); Oh, the Little Ticking Heart: novel (3 binders); Mr. Gaffajoli's Looking Glass: novel (2 binders; 1 manuscript); The Ballad of the Dead Sailor: novel (manuscript) ; How Do You Do: novel (manuscript); Death of a Cockroach: play (2 manuscripts); and a note in the hand of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. The Alice B. Toklas materials include 6 letters from the early months of 1958, all signed, from Alice B. Toklas on her 5 rue Christine Paris stationery to Max White regarding their friendship, thoughts, and proposed collaboration on her memoir of her life for Holt publishers in New York; 1 contract dated April 18, 1958, signed by and addressed from Alice B. Toklas to Max White, detailing their collaboration on the Toklas memoir for Holt; 1 letter signed from John Schaffner (Toklas's literary agent in New York) regarding the offer from editor Robert Lesscher at Holt for the memoir; 2 copies of Max White letters to his literary agent Mavis McIntosh in New York and 1 letter from her to Max (who was likewise living in Paris) c/o Toklas, regarding his collaboration on the proposed book; 1 copy of a letter from Max to Robert Lesscher at Holt, in June of 1958, ending the collaboration and cancelling the contract between himself and Toklas on the book in question at which point Max moved to New York.

Arrangement

Organized into the following two series: Series 1: Writings, Series 2: Correspondence.

Collection Creator Biography:

White, Charles William, 1906-

American Charles William White wrote historical novels about artists and writers under the pen name of "Max White." Active as a writer primarily in the 1930s through 1950s, White traveled in the same social circles as Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.

Acquisition:

Gift of Thomas Colchie, Princeton Class of 1964, in 2014.

Appraisal

Nothing was removed from the collection during 2014 processing.

Processing Information

Folder inventory added by Kristine Gift in 2014.

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:

Charles William White Papers; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/ff365665q
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • ReCAP (scarcpxm): Box 1-5