VCU James Branch Cabell Library
Special Collections and Archives 901 Park AvenueRichmond, Virginia 23284
Business Number: (804) 828-1108
libjbcsca@vcu.edu
URL: https://www.library.vcu.edu/research-teaching/special-collections-and-archives/locations/#cabell
Special Collections and Archives staff
Administrative Information
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Access Restrictions
The collection is open to research.
Preferred Citation
James Branch Cabell collection, Collection # M 214, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.
Biographical / Historical
Richmond author James Branch Cabell (1879-1958) is best known for his controversial book, Jurgen (1919), a fantasy set in Cabell's mythical medieval world of Poictesme (pronounced Pwa-tem). The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice contended the book was obscene. A trial over its content brought the reclusive writer national fame. Throughout the 1920s, Cabell's literary peers, including H.L. Mencken and Sinclair Lewis, praised his works.
Cabell was born April 14, 1879, at 101 E. Franklin St., the present site of the Richmond Public Library. His father was Robert Gamble Cabell, II (1847-1922), a physician; his mother Anne Harris (1859-1915), daughter of Col. and Mrs. James R. Branch. Cabell's great grandfather was William H. Cabell, governor of Virginia from 1805-1808. Cabell had two brothers, Robert Gamble Cabell, III (1881-1968) and John Lottier Cabell (1883-1946). His parents divorced in 1907.
After attending the College of William and Mary (1893-1898), where he taught courses in French and Greek while an undergraduate, Cabell worked briefly at the Richmond Times as a copyholder. In 1899 he moved to New York City and worked for the New York Herald as a social reporter. He returned to Richmond in 1901 and worked several months on the staff of the Richmond News . During the next ten years, he performed genealogical research and wrote numerous short stories and articles, which he contributed to national magazines such as Harper's Monthly Magazine and the Saturday Evening Post .
In 1911, Cabell worked as a bookkeeper for his uncle James R. Branch's coal mine in West Virginia. Returning to Richmond in 1913, he married Rebecca Priscilla Bradley Shepherd (1874-1949), a widow with five children by her previous marriage. They had one son, Ballard Hartwell Cabell (1915-1980).
Although he had written for newspapers, Cabell's first published nonfiction work was "The Comedies of William Congreve," which appeared in the April 1901 edition of International . He published his first book, The Eagle's Shadow , in the autumn of 1904 after it appeared serially in the Saturday Evening Post during that summer. His work was slow to draw critical attention. However, by 1918 he had published ten major works and began attracting critical admirers. In an article for the New York Evening Mail , H.L. Mencken described Cabell as "the only first-rate literary craftsman that the whole South can show." Cabell's stature and fame as an author increased with the 1919 publication of Jurgen.
On January 14, 1920, the New York State Society for the Prevention of Vice charged Cabell's publishing editor, Guy Holt, with violating the anti-obscenity provisions of the New York State Penal Code by publishing Jurgen . The controversy over the charges and the attempt at censorship brought Cabell much notoriety. Writers defended the artistry of Jurgen and Cabell's right to publish it.
The obscenity trial over Jurgen began October 16, 1922, and ended three days later with an acquittal of all charges. The presiding judge, Charles C. Nott, stated in his decision "...the most that can be said against the book is that certain passages therein may be considered suggestive in a veiled and subtle way of immorality, but such suggestions are delicately conveyed" and that because of Cabell's writing style "...it is doubtful if the book could be read or understood at all by more than a very limited number of readers."
Throughout the 1920s, he continued to publish in the style of Jurgen , a combination of satire, symbolism, and fantasy, set in a mythical medieval French province of Poictesme. The name was a compound of two provinces located in the South of France, Poitiers and Angouleme. Cabell blended an assortment of myths and legends laced with puns, anagrams, and allegories in these books. These works eventually became part of an eighteen-volume collection entitled The Biography of the Life of Manuel ; the last volume was published in 1930.
Cabell had become well regarded by prominent writers of the period and maintained an extensive correspondence with a wide circle of literary artists and friends, including Mencken, Joseph Hergesheimer, Burton Rascoe, Theodore Dreiser, Sinclair Lewis, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Carl Van Vechten, and fellow Richmonder and close friend Ellen Glasgow (1873-1945). He had known Glasgow since his days at William and Mary. He served as editor of the Virginia War History Commission (1919-1926) and later joined Dreiser, Eugene O'Neil, and others on the editorial board of the American Spectator (1932-1935). In 1937, Cabell was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
While the controversy over Jurgen ensured Cabell an audience throughout most of the 1920s, interest in his books dropped sharply in the New Deal era of the 1930s and continued to decline. In 1932, in an attempt to break away from his past, he began publishing under the name Branch Cabell. During the next three decades, he wrote and published nearly twenty more books. They were grouped in a series of trilogies. He returned as James Branch Cabell in 1947 with the publication of Let Me Lie . It was the first installment of his fifth and last trilogy, consisting mainly of semi-autobiographical essays filled with remembrances of Virginia.
Cabell continued to live and work in Richmond, residing at 3201 Monument Avenue. By 1935 he and his family began spending most of their winter months in St. Augustine, Florida, due to Cabell's reoccurring bouts of pneumonia. During their stay in Florida in 1949, his wife died of heart failure. In 1950, he married Margaret Waller Freeman (1893-1983), whom he had known for many years. Cabell suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 1958, and on May 5, he died at his home in Richmond.
Cabell's writings, published in various magazines, newspapers, and anthologies, included numerous short stories, poetry, essays, book reviews, and one play. He authored more than 52 volumes of work, including three devoted to genealogy. Cabell is recognized as one of the first contemporary writers from the South. Like his friend, Ellen Glasgow, Cabell was not afraid to satirize what he saw as the South's contradictions. Others, noting Cabell's unique blending of classic myths and legends with his imagination, consider him a pioneer of fantasy writing.
Soon after the establishment of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in 1968, created by the merger of the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) and Richmond Professional Institute (RPI), the University began construction for a new library on the Monroe Park Campus. RPI had already planned for a new library and approached Margaret Cabell about naming it for her husband. VCU approved the name, and in 1970, the James Branch Cabell Library opened its doors.
Scope and Contents
The collection contains James Branch Cabell's personal papers along with materials by other creators related to Cabell. Cabell corresponded with a number of American and British authors such as H.L. Mencken, Ellen Glasgow, Sinclair Lewis, and Theodore Dreiser, as well as with family, friends, editors and publishers. Other materials of note include his manuscripts with Cabells handwritten edits, his notebooks containing information about his published works along with poems and other writings, and the materials found inside the books of his personal library. The materials provide insight into Cabell's writings and personal interests based upon the content he placed within the books of his collection.
Series I contains correspondence between Cabell and his contemporaries in the literary world, family and friends.
Series II includes various Cabell manuscripts as story ideas, notes, early drafts, school work, essays and poems.
Series III is composed primarily of materials found placed inside Cabell's books and includes ephemera, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, etc.
Series IV are materials from the Cabell Society and contain correspondence between its founders and correspondence between Cabell and Nelson Bond and Cabell and Frederick Eddy.
Series V has materials related to the book Between Friends: Letters of James Branch Cabell and Others, edited by Padraic Colum and Margaret Freeman Cabell.
Series VI consists of various criticisms of Cabell's writings, most of which were collected by Jean Maurice Duke while writing James Branch Cabell: A Reference Guide.
Series VII includes works by Cabell printed in various periodicals. He often published essays, short stories, and other fiction in periodicals before later revising them into book form. The majority of this series is made up of bound volumes. Each volume is named for a published Cabell book and contains the full periodical where the content originally appeared before he developed it into a book.
Series VIII contains plays, poems, and other works inspired by Cabell's work.
Series IX includes scrapbooks and notebooks containing clippings, letters, notes, poems, and other writings by Cabell.
Arrangement
Collection is arranged alphabetically. Series I -- Correspondence (1860s-1960s); Series II -- Manuscripts; Series III -- Ephemera, printed material, illustrations, newspaper clippings, etc.; Series IV -- Cabell Society (1963- 1971); Series V -- Between Friends; Series VI -- Criticisms of Cabell's work; Series VII -- Periodicals (essays, reviews and fiction by Cabell); Series VIII -- Dramatic and musical interpretations of Cabell's work; Series IX -- Scrapbooks, notebooks and oversized items.
The collection includes materials removed from books in Cabell's personal library. When Jean Maurice Duke cataloged the book collection he assigned a number (written in pencil) to each item indicating what volume the materials was taken from. Please see James Branch Cabell's Library: A Catalogue by Duke, for reference.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- Authors, American -- Archives. -- Virginia -- Richmond
- Authors, American -- Manuscripts. -- Virginia -- Richmond
- Cabell, James Branch, 1879-1958
- Flora, Joseph M.
Significant Persons Associated With the Collection
- Cabell, James Branch, 1879-1958
- Flora, Joseph M.
Container List
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Adler, Elmer1929-1936
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Anderson, Sherwood1922-1942
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Alden, H.M.1906-1910
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Althouse, James A.W.1920
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Amateis, Edmond1924-1925
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Abramson, Ben1930
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Abramson, Ben1930
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Beer, Thomas1922-1931
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Benet, Stephen Vincent1939-1943
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Bernhard, William J.
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Bjorkman, Edwin1921-1931
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Bacheller, Irving1940
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Balch, Emily Clark1927
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Baldwin, Charles C.1919
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Ballou, Robert O.1936
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Barnhard, Ruth Loomis1931
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Baskin, Norton1956
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Bassett, Mrs. John S.1949
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Bates, Ernest S.1927
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Baugh, Hansell1921
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Becker, May Lamberton1947
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Benet, William Rose1920, 1942
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Bierstadt, Edward Hale1920
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Bishop, John Peale1922
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Blackstone, Florence1925
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Bley, Franz1922
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Bochroch, Albert R.1933
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Boni, Albert1925
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Boni and Liverright1928
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Boyd, Ernest1921, 1932, undated
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Boynoton, Percy H.1924
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Bradley, D. (McBride Co.)1932
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Branch, Anna Hempstead1929
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Bregenzer, Helen M.1931
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Brett, George P., Jr.1936
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Brewster, Paul C.1942
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Bruce, Philip A.1915-1922
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Brussell, I.R.1927
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Buck, Mitchell S.1922-1946
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Burgess, Gelett1922
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Burleigh, Louise1926
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Burnett, Whit1937-1946
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Burt, Katherine N.undated
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Byrne, Donn1921
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Copies and Originals of letter sent by Cabell
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Cabell, Margaret1950s
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Cabell Family Correspondence1860s-1870s
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Crowley, Aleister1920-1942
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Canby, Henry S.1920-1933
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Cerf, Bennett A.1932
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Charles Scribner's Sons1912
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Chidsey, Donald B.1923-1928
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Child, Charles1938-1940
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Chubb, Thomas C.1923-1930
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Clark, Aliceundated
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Clark, Barrett H.1921
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Cleaton, Allen1930
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Coleman, Mary Haldane1948
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Collins, Joseph1925
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Collins, Seward1930
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Coman, Morris1926
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Conklin, Goff1929
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Cooper, A. Page (Dblday)1927, 1934
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Corley, Donald1927, 1930
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Cosgrave, John O'Hara II1946
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Cover, James P.1928
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Coyle, Ray1923
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Cranwell, John P.1932
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Croft-Cooke, Rupert1927, 1929
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Culver, Henry B.1945, 1946
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Cutting, Mary Steward1922
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Dreiser, Theodore1928-1937
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Dallet, Morris1922, 1923
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Daniel, Frank1946
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Davis, Elmer1928
- Mixed Materials box: 1
DeCassares, Benjamin1920-1945
- Mixed Materials box: 1
DeLuca, Angelo1927
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Drinkwater, John1931
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Dunham, David R.1941
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Empty envelopes addressed to JBC
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Eddison, E.R.1935
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Eddy, Frederick B.1927
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Emmons, Earl H.1938
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Evans, Montgomery1949
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Farrar, John1927-1946
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Fadiman, Clifton P.1930
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Ferrier, Gladys1929
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Fischer, John1947
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Fisk, Earl E.1932
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Follett, Wilson1918-1920, 1960
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Forman, Justin Miles1902-1905
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Freeman, D.S.1932
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Fuller, H.B.1920
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Glasgow, Ellen1923-1945
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Letters, State GovenorsScope and Contents
Letters from the governors of six different states each thanking Cabell for autographing a copy of one of his books. Pinchot, Gov. Gifford (Pennsylvania); Pollard, Gov. John Garland (Va.); Ritchie, Gov. Albert C. (Maryland); Seligman, Gov. Arthur (New Mexico); Wilson, Gov. Stanley C. (Vermont).
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Gallagher, Marie1932-1935
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Garnett, David1923
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Geffen, Felicia1942
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Gekle, William F., Jr.1950, 1957
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Giroux, Robert1946
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Glenn, Garrard1922-1932
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Goldsmith, Alfredundated
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Goudy, Frederick W.1938
- Mixed Materials box: 1
Greenslet, Ferris1928
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Hellman, George S.1924-1931
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Hergesheimer, Joseph1920-1930
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Hotlt, Guy1917-1929
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Horan, Tom1930-1931, 1949, 1966
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Haardt, Sara,undated
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Hallock, R.F.1942
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Hambidge1920
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Hamilton, Kay
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Hanna, Fred1946
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Harper and Brothers1904, 1912
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Hartwick, Harry1934
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Haverlin, Carl1955
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Hawkins, Arthur Jr.1934
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Helm, Florenceundated
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Henderson, Archibald1922
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Hervey, Harry1941
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Hewlett, Maurice1919
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Heyward, DuBose1932
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Himler, Mary Rose1929
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Hobson, Thayer1928
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Holliday, Robert C.1919
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Holt, Rackam1935, 1947
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Horton, Mary Beatty1920s
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Houdini, Beatriceundated
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Howells, W.D.1909
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Huneker, James1916
- Mixed Materials box: 2
H.E. Janeeundated
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Irwin, William Wallace1947
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Johnson, Merle1920-1921
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Jester, David Jr.1924
- Mixed Materials box: 2
John Lane Company1916
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Johnson, A.1945
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Johnson, James Sydney1927
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Johnston, Mary1919
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Karsner, David1927
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Keating, George T.1929-1933
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Kipling, Rudyard1919
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Kelson , J.D.1922
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Kelpner, A.H.1949
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Kenan, William R., Jr.1946
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Klinefelter, Walter1928-1936
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Lewis, Sinclair1920
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Lambright, E.D.1946
- Mixed Materials box: 2
LaMonte, John L.1927
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Lange, W.W.1926
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Lanier, Henry W.1904, 1908
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Laverack, Belle R.1919, 1934
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Lawson, Katherine S.1940
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Lee, Doris1943
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Lerew, Laurie Mrs.1960
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Lever, H. Randolph1922
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Lewis, Grace Hegger1931
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Lewis, Gracie1956
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Licht, Michael1927
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Lilly, Josiah K. Jr.1944
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Linscott, R.N.1919
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Littell Robert1922
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Liveright, Horace D.1926
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Liveright, Horace (Pub.)1928
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Locher, Robert E.1928
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Loverman, Samuel1927
- Mixed Materials box: 2
L'Engle, William1946
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Macy, John1919-1932
- Mixed Materials box: 2
McCarthy, Catherine1960
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Mencken, H.L.1919-1946
- Mixed Materials box: 2
MacGill, Patricia1947
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Machen, Arthur1918-1919
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Macrae, John Jr.1935, 1940
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Malcomson, David1941
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Mann, W.D.1904
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Mason, Harold T.1932
- Mixed Materials box: 2
McBride, Robert M.1927-1942
- Mixed Materials box: 2
McCormick, Elsie1929
- Mixed Materials box: 2
McKaughan, J.A.1934
- Mixed Materials box: 2
McNeill, Warren A.1925-1931, 1947
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Meade, Julian R.1932, 1937
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Mitchell, David M.1926-1927
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Morrissette, Bruce Archer, undated
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Morse, Willard S.1928
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Mukerji, Dhan G.1923, 1930
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Mullins, Helene, undated
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Nathan, George Jean1921-1934
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Nathan, Robert1921-1946
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Newman, Frances1920-1928
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Norman, Charles1929-1939
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Newman, Henry A.1928
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Nichols, Robert M. B.1923-1928
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Niles, Edward A.1925
- Mixed Materials box: 2
O'Neill, Eugene1934
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Obernodorfer, H.W.1940
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Orcutt, William Dana1927-1929
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Overton, Grant1925
- Mixed Materials box: 2
O'Neil, Mary Coyle1942
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Pape, Frank1921-1935
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Posselt, Erich1928-1929
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Page, Walter H.1904
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Parsons, Charles1924
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Paterson, Isabel1930s
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Patterson, Margaret N.1928
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Patton, J.G. (postcard)1912
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Payne, L.W., Jr.1925
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Peterkin, Julia M.undated
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Pollak, Valentin1931
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Powell, Louise, Mrs John1932
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Pruette, Lorine1930
- Mixed Materials box: 2
Pyle, Howard1906
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Rascoe, Burton1918, 1920
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Rawlings, Margaret K1942-1953
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Roosevelt, Theodore1905
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Redman, Ben Ray1922, 1942-1946
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Remenyi, Joseph1935
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Reniers, Perceval1941
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Ridgely, Charles1927
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Robertson, P.W.1922
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Robinson, James H.1923-1924
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Rosenberger, Francis C.1947
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Rosenfeld, Paul1926
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Rouse, Blair1960
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Stagg, Hunter1920s-1940s
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Starrett, Vincent1920-1928, 1940, 1960
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Sterling, George1920-1930
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Salisbury, William1929
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Sandfort, J.A.1929
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Saunders, Margaret V.1921
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Schaeffer, Samuel B.1932-1933
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Schaeffer, Samuel B.1933
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Seymour, George Steele1920-1921
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Shanks, Lewis P.1921
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Shawn, Ted1928
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Sheed, Frank1947
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Sherer, Adelaide R.1942
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Shipley, Joseph T.undated
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Smith, Douglas1926
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Smith, T.R.1920-1927
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Spingarn, J.E.1924
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Stevenson, Burton1925
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Stevenson, Burton E.1923-1924
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Steward, Sam M.1928-1930
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Stewart, Donald O.1921
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Street, Julian Jr.1944-1945
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Sutliff, Milo J.1932
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Taylor, Deems1921-1925
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Taylor, Walter F.1956
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Thompson, Dorothy1949
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Tietjens, Sybil Miss1927
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Tompkins, Ellen1913
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Trotti, Lamar1928
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Troubetzkoy, Amelie1920-1921
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Tutwiler, Carrington C.1960
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Underwood, Leon1920-1926
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Unsigned Letter, New York City addressundated
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Untermeyer, Louis1920-1923
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Van Doren, Carl1908, 1921-1942
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Van Vechten, Carl1926-1932
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Viereck, George S.1920-1932
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Van Doren, Mark1925
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Van Nortwick, Virginia1938
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Verlaine, Dee1930
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Wharton, Edith1920
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Wilson, Edmund1922, 1953-1956
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Wall, Bernhardt1926
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Walpole, Hugh1920-1923
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Walsh, Richard J.1926
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Ward, Harold1922-1923
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Waterhouse, Francis A.1940
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Webb, Mrs. J.A.1919
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Weil, Maurice K.1929
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Wells, James R.1938
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Westlake, Neda M.1960
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Whitty, J.H.1927
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Wilgers, E.D.1921
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Williams, Blanche Colton1920-1927
- Mixed Materials box: 3
Wylie, Elinor1925
- Mixed Materials box: 3a
Personalized Christmas cards from James Branch Cabell and family
- Mixed Materials box: 3a
Christmas cards sent to James Branch Cabell and Family
- Mixed Materials box: 4
Manuscripts of various Cabell writings
- Mixed Materials box: 4
Manuscripts: D139-478
- Mixed Materials box: 4
Manuscripts: D 479-499
- Mixed Materials box: 4
Manuscripts: D500-501
- Mixed Materials box: 4
Manuscripts: D502-518
- Mixed Materials box: 4
Manuscripts: D848-2323
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Six copies of an acrostic written by Branch Cabell1938Scope and Contents
In Goudy Text celebrating the 35th anniversary of The Village Press
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Newman, Francis-Dust Jacket for Francis Newman
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Letters , preface by Cabell
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Dust jacket for JBC's The Witch Woman1948
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Pamphlets, offprints, etc. in Cabell's library
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Various illustrations, drawings, book jackets, bookplates, cards, etc.Scope and Contents
Taken from books in Cabell's library.
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Illustrations and various advertisements for The Eagles's Shadow
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Rockbridge Alum Springs, Mountain Lake and Dumbarton brochures
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Early versions of map of Poictesme
- Mixed Materials box: 5
First drawing of the Kalki design by JBC
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Newspaper clippings of various writers
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Our Lady of the Cenacle membership certificate1958
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Pamphlets1932, 1933, 1938, 1953, 1965
- Mixed Materials box: 5
Photocopied newspaper articles found in books in Cabell's Library
- Mixed Materials box: 6
Printed material: publication notices, invitations, advertisements etc.
- Mixed Materials box: 6
Printed material: publication notices, invitations, advertisements etc.
- Mixed Materials box: 6
Printed Material: Publication notices, advertisements and illustrations
- Mixed Materials box: 6
Publisher agreements and copyrights1907-1938
- Mixed Materials box: 6
American Spectator stock certificate
- Mixed Materials box: 6
Statements of sales1930, 1937, 1943
- Mixed Materials box: 6
Newspaper clippings--articlesPhysical Location: moved to Box 3-A
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Joseph Hergesheimer letter to Cabell with article about JBC1927
- Mixed Materials box: 7
The Reviewer, Endorsements
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Aliester Crowley letter to Cabell with Songs for Italy
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Cape Henry Day Program, with phrase composed by Cabell1957
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Telegram to Cabell regarding Jurgen; Letter from Lawyer about acquittal
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Summons delivered to Guy Holt in Jurgen case
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Jack Woodford's A Break for Poictesme in the New York Magazine Program1931
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Various advertisements for Cabell books
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Ballad of Brobdinnag by Vincent Starrett
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Virginia and U.S. political convention ephemerallate 19th century
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Sheet music for "Canzonet ", a song by Reginald C. Robbins and James Branch Cabell1934
- Mixed Materials box: 7
The United States in Literature textbook, containing a Cabell reference
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Cumulative Index-Works of James Branch Cabell (A-Jol) by John M. Campbell, Jr. and Emmett Peter, Jr.1900-1930, 1930-1955
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Cumulative Index-Works of James Branch Cabell (Jon-Z) by John M. Campbell, Jr. and Emmett Peter, Jr.1900-1930, 1930-1955
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Cabell: A Reconsideration -Edward Wagenknecht1946
- Mixed Materials box: 7
The Later Romantics -Edward Wagenknetch1945
- Mixed Materials box: 7
James Branch Cabell: The Anatomy of Romanticism -Edward Wagenknetch1945
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Ellen Glasgow Triumph and Despair -Edward Wagenknetch1945
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Poems by David Kemple Eichler
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Poems by Harlan Umansky
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Rothman, Julius Lawrence, James Branch Cabell, Satirist
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Schmidt, Otto-journal article inscribed by Schmidt to Cabell
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Robert M. McBride and Co. published booklist1923-1943
- Mixed Materials box: 7
The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Virginia-Minutes1956
- Mixed Materials box: 7
Misc. material -In Memoriam, Alice M. Tyler, by James Branch CabellMay 15, 1913
- Mixed Materials box: 8
Bond, Nelson: galley proof--Thirty-first of February1949
- Mixed Materials box: 8
Bond-Rothman correspondence1967-1971
- Mixed Materials box: 8
Bond-Cabell Collection, includes correspondence and part of a manuscript of a bibliography of Cabell
- Mixed Materials box: 8
Cabell Society general information
- Mixed Materials box: 8
Fox, Lawrence (Larry): correspondence1964-1967
- Mixed Materials box: 8
Fox, Lawrence (Larry): miscellaneous1963-1965
- Mixed Materials box: 8
Rothman-Fox correspondence1967-1968
- Mixed Materials box: 8
Eddy, Frederick-Galley proof of Figures of Earth and letters to Eddy
- Mixed Materials box: 8
Material removed from Fox, Applebaum and Bond copies of books by JBC
- Mixed Materials box: 9
Copies of letters considered for inclusion #1
- Mixed Materials box: 9
Copies of letters considered for inclusion #2
- Mixed Materials box: 9
Copies of letters and text of Chapter 10
- Mixed Materials box: 9
Proofs
- Mixed Materials box: 10
Criticisms1904-1922
- Mixed Materials box: 10
Criticisms1923-1933
- Mixed Materials box: 10
Criticisms1934-1977
- Mixed Materials box: 13
"A Note as to Sinclair Lewis "- American Mercury , August1930oversize
- Mixed Materials box: 13
"Autobiographic Summary "- TrendJan. 7, 1922oversize
- Mixed Materials box: 13
"Between Worlds "- American Mercury -Sept.1926oversize
- Mixed Materials box: 13
"The Comedies of William Congreve "- International -June1929oversize
- Mixed Materials box: 13
"The Eagles's Shadow "- Saturday Evening PostOct. 1, 1904oversize
- Mixed Materials box: 14
"Ellen Glasgow "-Book-of-the-Month Club News-August1935oversize (2 copies)
- Mixed Materials box: 14
"Kindly Omit Flowers "- American Mercury -June1929oversize
- Mixed Materials box: 14
"Lady into Facts "-photocopy- The Saturday ReviewFebruary 18, 1933oversize
- Mixed Materials box: 14
"Messer Marco Polo: A Very Magically Beautiful Book "- The Centurion -June1922oversize
- Mixed Materials box: 14
"Of Messer Marco Polo, Sixteen Years Later "- Reading and Collecting -October1937oversize
- Mixed Materials box: 14
Near a Flag-American Mercury-July1931oversize
- Mixed Materials box: 14
"Once More the Immortals "- American Mercury -January1924oversize
- Mixed Materials box: 14
"Prince Fribble's Burial "- Red Book -May1911oversize
- Mixed Materials box: 14
"They Buried Me Alive "- American Mercury -December1951oversize (2 copies)
- Mixed Materials box: 14
William and Mary College Quarterlyoversize
- Mixed Materials box: 13
American Spectator Vol. 1 no. 1-12, Vol. 2 no. 13-21, Vol.2 no. 22-28
- Bound Periodicals
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"The Second Chance "- Harper's Monthly -October1909
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"Balthazor's Daughter "- Smart Set -May1913
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"Belhs Cavaliers "- Lippincott's Magazine -June1915
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"Judiths's Creed "- Lippincott's Magazine -July1915
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"A Brown Woman "- Lippincott's Magazine -August1915
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"Pro Honoria "- McBride's Magazine -Sept.1915
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"The Irresistible Ogle "- McBride's Magazine -October1915
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"The Fox Brush "- Harper's Monthly -August1905
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"The Sestina "- Harper's Monthly -January1906
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"The Housewife "- Harper's Monthly -August1906
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"The Tension "- Harper's Monthly -December1906
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"The Navarrese "- Harper's Monthly -September1907
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"The Rat-Trap "- Harper's Monthly -December1907
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"The Choices "- Harper's Monthly -March1908
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"The Scabbard "- Harper's Monthly -April1909
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"The Satraps "- Harper's Monthly -April1909
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"Afternoon in Arden "- Smart Set -July1902
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"As the Coming of Dawn "- Smart Set -September1902
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"An Incarnation of Helen "- Smart Set -October1902
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"The Story of Stella "- Smart Set -August1903
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"Old Capulet's Daughter "- Smart Set -September1903
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"The Ultimate Master "- Harper's Monthly -November1908
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"The Soul of Mervisaunt "- Harper's Monthly -April1911
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"The Feathers of Olrun "- Century Magazine -December1919
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"The Designs of Miramen "- Century Magazine -August1920
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"The Image of Sesphra "- Romance -October1920
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"The Hour of Freydis "- McClure's Magazine -May1920
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"The Head of Misery "- McClure's Magazine -July1920
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"The Hair of Melicent "- McClure's Magazine -September1920
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"As Played Before His Highness "- Smart Set -March1902
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"In the Summer of Saint Martin "- Smart Set -August1902
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"Heart of Gold "- Smart Set -April1905
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"Simon's Hour "- Ainslee's Magazine -April1905
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"Actors All "- Appletons -May1906
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"In the Second April "- Harper's Monthly -April, May1907
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"The Rhyme to Porringer "- Collier's WeeklyApril 15, 1907
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"Balthazar's Daughter "- Smart Set -July1921
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"An Amateur Ghost "- Argosy -February1902
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"Some Ladies and Jurgen "- Smart Set -July1918
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"To Ananias, Citizen of Jerusalem "- Direction -Autumn Issue1934
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"Books I Have Never Read "- The NationNovember 8, 1933
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"His Excellency, George Washington "- American Spectator -August1934
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"The Pompadour "- American Spectator -September1934
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"Love Letters of Falstaff "- Harper's Monthly -March1902
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"In Ursula's Garden "- Harper's Monthly -May1903
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"The Conspiracy of Arnaye "- Harper's Monthly -June1903
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"The Castle of Content "- Harper's Monthly -August1903
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"The Story of Adhelmer "- Harper's Monthly -April1904
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"In Necessity's Motor "- Harper's Monthly -October1904
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"Sweet Adelais "- Harper's Monthly -October1905
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The Line of Love Vol. III
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"The Wedding Jest "- Century Magazine -September1919
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"Porcelain Cups "- Century Magazine -November1919
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"The Shadowy Past "- Smart Set -January1903
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"The Husbands' Comedy "- Smart Set -June1903
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"The Awakening "- Smart Set -February1904
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"A Fordyce of Westbrook "- Red Book -July1909
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"His Relics "- Ainslee's Magazine -November1909
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"Above Paradise "- American Mercury -February1925
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"The Candid Footprint "- Century Magazine -May1922
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"The Mathematics of Gonfal "- Century Magazine -August1925
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"What Saraide Wanted "- Red Book -November1925
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"In the Sylan's House "- Red Book -March1926
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"Cloth at Portasa "- Red Book -May1926
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"A Little More About Eve "- American Mercury -January1929
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"Confusions of the Golden Travel "- Bookman -September1927
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"Ruth Universal "- Bookman -February1933
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"Breast of the Nymph "- Bookman -March1933
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"For Rhadamanthus, Smiling "- Bookman -January1933
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"Study in Sincerity "- American Spectator -January1933
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"Prose of a Pall Bearer "- American Spectator -December1932
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"Art, Beauty and Balderdash "Saturday Review of Literature -June1932
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"Common Places "- American Spectator -February1933
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"The Genteel Tradition in Sex "- American Spectator -November1932
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"Mirror and Pigeons "- Bookman -December1932
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"In Respect to Jeseph Hergeshimer "- Bookman -November/December1919
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"It is of Linda "- Bookman -January1920
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"The Thin Queen of Elfame "- Century Magazine -December1922
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"Once More, The Immortals "- American Mercury -January1924
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"Roque's March: To a Flemish Air "- DialFebruary 22, 1919
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Beauty and Wizardry- The NationNovember 2, 1921
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"A Note on Alcoves "- New RepublicApril 12, 1922
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"Portrait of the Artist: Full Length "- Intrn. Book Review -November1923
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"The Delta of Radegonade "- Vanity Fair -June1921
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"Romantics About Them "- Literary Review-N.Y. Eve. PostMarch 1, 1921
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"Before Aesred "- Virginia Quarterly Review -October1931
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"Near a Flag "- American Mercury -July1931
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"Kindly Omit Flowers "- The American Mercury -June1929
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"Between Worlds "- The American Mercury -September1926
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Bound edition of Harper's Monthly -Vol. 102-contains "In Ursula's Garden "1903
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Bound edition of Harper's Monthly -Vol. 4-Contains "Love Letters of Flastaff "1902
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- Mixed Materials box: 15
Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice by James Branch Cabell and Charlton Andrews play1922
- Mixed Materials box: 15
The Irresistible Ogle-A One-Act Play by A. Eugene Dieaderick1923
- Mixed Materials box: 15
The Rivet in Grandfather's Neck, A Comedy a screenplay by Sidney Howard and Barrett Clark1920
- Mixed Materials box: 15
Rendezvous A Romantic Drama in One Act a play by Knight1920s
- Mixed Materials box: 15
A Brown Woman a play by Peter Ridgeway1930
- Mixed Materials box: 15
Light O'Love-A Play in One Act by Lucile Rutland1909
- Mixed Materials box: 15
The Fox-Brush-A Play in One Act by Lucile Rutland1909
- Mixed Materials box: 15
Manual's Adventure a play by Katherine J. Townsend1920s
- Mixed Materials box: 15
The Cream of the Jest -Radio Play1947
- Mixed Materials box: 15
Jurgen , symphonic poem by Deems Taylor, program notes
- Mixed Materials box: 15
Jurgen , satirical movie treatment1927
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Various advertisements, photos and other memorabilia of Cabell theatre productions15.190
- Mixed Materials box: 15
Bayes Theatre program with Simon's Hour written by Cabell performed in Connecticut1926
- Mixed Materials box: 15
Stadium Concerts Review program, Jurgen production1930
- Mixed Materials box: 16
Scrapbook One1902-1905oversize, 51 sheet bound volume
- Mixed Materials box: 16
Scrapbook Twooversize, 83 sheet bound volume
- Mixed Materials box: 17
Scrapbook Three1911-1917oversize, bound volume of 112 sheets
- Mixed Materials box: 18
Notebook OneOversize, notebook with 200 numbered pages.Scope and Contents
Pages 3-34 are missing. Cabell's notes including lists of stories written year by year, where published, amount paid him, books published, copies received, number sold, royalties, etc. Also, poems, genealogical materials on his family; wills of family members, notes on his books, including to whom submitted and results, other material on his writing, such as "Suppressed Foreword to the Cords of Vanity: rough draft. "
- Mixed Materials box: 18
Notebook TwoOversize, Bound note book with 144 numbered pages.Scope and Contents
Inscription on the first page reads: "Verses, etc., as written 1896-1898. Selected, revised, and copied in this book 1898-1899. James Branch Cabell. "
- Mixed Materials box: 18
Folder of loose materials from Notebook OneScope and Contents
Most of this material concerns The Majors and Their Marriages (1915). Includes genealogical notes, lists, etc. and correspondence concerning these families. Includes a little material on the Cabells.
- Mixed Materials box: 18
Folder of loose materials from Notebook Two
- Mixed Materials box: 18
Notebook ThreeOversize, spring back notebook with about 60 leaves.Scope and Contents
Contains photocopies Cabell manuscripts, both poetry and prose. Some are identified.
- Mixed Materials box: 19
Notebook FourOversize, spring back notebook.Scope and Contents
Contains information on the ancestry of Priscilla Bradley (Mrs. James Branch Cabell) including genealogical notes, abstracts from books and magazines, correspondence, etc. Some of the items are dated after the publication of the genealogy of her family, The Majors and Their Marriages (1915). One folder includes an essay written by Cabell when he was 77 years old, discussing his lack of literary recognition and awards.
- Mixed Materials box: 19
Notebook FiveOversize, spring back notebookScope and Contents
Includes information on Cabell family genealogy.
- Mixed Materials box: 20
Cabell BiblioScope and Contents
A bound volume containing a 37 page check list of Cabell's books and other material held by ULS' Special Collections & Archives made by Daniel E. Jones in 1973.
A bibliography of the later writings of Cabell, 1932-1956, written by Cabell.
A folder containing copies of nine Cabell letters to Desmond Tarrant, 1953-1959, and one letter to Tarrant from Margaret Freeman Cabell, 1964. They are concerned with Tarrant's proposed book on Cabell, later published as James Branch Cabell: The Dream and the Reality , 1967. Also contains copies of two letters Cabell wrote to Guy Holt, 1917 and 1918.
Decorative book box labeled Cabelliana . Materials in this box were transferred to Series III. A list of those items is with the box.
- Mixed Materials box: 21
Cabell LettersoversizeScope and Contents
Contains the letters labeled "Apfelbaum-Cabell Letters ", which include Cabell letters to the editor of The Literary Review , 22 letters to Mourice Speiser, one letter from Herbert Speiser to Robert McBride & Co., and an answer to it from McBride.
A 14 page photocopied list of Cabell books taken from The National Union Catalog Pre-1956 Imprints
23 pages of genealogical oversized photocopied notes on the Branch family. Material includes photocopies of family Bibles, lists of marriages and births with dates up until 1981.
- Mixed Materials Oversize: 23.1
Oversize MaterialScope and Contents
A 24 x 9 inch poster of Cabell's review of The Adventures of the Black Girl in her search for God by Bernard Shaw. A book review reprinted from the New York Herald Tribune Books Section, Sunday, February 26, 1933.
Painting of Family Tree by Cabell
Miscellaneous Drawings and Advertisements