Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

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Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of William White, 1875-1987, Accession # 10743, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

These papers were given to the library by Mr. and Mrs. William White of Birmingham, Michigan, on February 13, 1988.

Biographical/Historical Information

This information is taken from Contemporary Authors 21 R, pp. 930-931, The Writers Directory 1988-1990, p. 1002, and Who's Who in America, 1980-1981, Volume 2, p. 3505.

Scope and Content Information

This collection consists of the papers of William White (1910- ), a professor of journalism and English, author, and bibliographer, of Birmingham, Michigan, and contains 8,223 items (32 Hollinger boxes, 10.5 linear feet), 1875-1987. These papers include correspondence, manuscripts of White and others, research material, printed material, newsclippings, photographs, diaries, phonograph records, cassette tapes, scrapbooks, and oversize material, generally concerned with literary research and publication.

The manuscript series includes White's typescripts, setting copy, page proofs, and galley proofs, for his two books containing Ernest Hemingway's journalism pieces, By-Line: Ernest Hemingway and Date-line: Toronto, and several articles concerning Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nathanael West, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sir William Osler, W.D. Snodgrass, Walt Whitman, and his dissertation (1953) entitled "The Textual Evolution of the Poetry of A.E. Housman." Manuscripts present in the collection but not by White include those about Ernest Hemingway, Walt Whitman, Nathanael West, and manuscripts submitted to the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, for which White is both a contributor and an editor.

The most notable material in the manuscript series is a group of original typed poems by A.E. Housman and three associated letters purchased from his brother, Laurence Housman, by Howard S. Mott Rare Books and later resold to William White for his collection. These include:

--TMs poem, April 22, 1875, Fockbury, marked "copy" and beginning "My dear Mamma, I cannot say"/ Housman's mother had died in 1871 and his father remarried in 1873.

--Fragment of a Greek tragedy involving Alcmaeon and the chorus, two typed versions, one an early version printed in The Bromsgrovian, June 8, 1883, and the other a revised version.

--Undated TMs poem entitled "Iona" with a note from Laurence Housman "not to be published"

--Undated parody (carbon) of [Housman's ?] poetry by Arthur Christopher Benson (1862-1925), with a note by Edward Frederick Benson (1867-1940) describing when he met A.E. Housman

--A typescript of Housman's dedication to his friend, Moses I. Jackson (? -1923) which appeared (in Latin) in his edition of the Astronomica of Manilius, a poet of the first century, "To my comrade M.I. Jackson who despises these studies"

Also included are three letters, Grant Richards to A.E. Housman, October 13, 1934 (with note added October 18), describing his memory of their first acquaintance; M.I. Jackson to Grant Richards, July 25, 1922, giving his recipe for maquereau creme and retracting previous unfavorable comments about Dr. Listard and his cure for horsefly bites; and an undated and incomplete letter from Geoffrey [Wethered] to [Laurence Housman] in which he refers to his correspondence with A.E. Housman where Housman discouraged him from visiting him, saying "Some men are better than their books, but my books are better than their man," and discussed Housman's relation to his own poetry.

The second series consists of White's correspondence with other scholars about literary figures. It is generally topical but occasionally the correspondence is filed by name of correspondent. Research and printed material have been removed from the correspondence files and organized into their own series. Prominent correspondents will be listed following their folder heading.

"A" correspondence includes: Eleanor Anderson (Mrs. Sherwood Anderson) August 10 & October 22, 1961; W.B. Thorsen (April 18, 1951 & May 3, 1956); and Edward Weeks of the Atlantic Monthly (March 18, 1941). "B" correspondence includes: Dr. Frank Baxter (January 31 & February 7, 1966); Fredson Bowers (March 10, 1958); and I.R. Brussel (June 21, 1959). White's correspondence with Carlos Baker is generally about Ernest Hemingway, but especially about the conditions stipulated by Mary Hemingway in order for White to bring out his book on Hemingway's journalism, By- Line: Ernest Hemingway (January 19 & February 15, 1965). Book and Manuscript Dealers contains correspondence with the dealer Louis Henry Cohn, who was also one of the earliest bibliographers of Ernest Hemingway. He published his A Bibliography of the Works of Ernest Hemingway in 1931.

Letters from Ernest Bramah contains original letters from this English detective story writer. One to "Dear Sir" speaks of a possible meeting with the individual (January 19, 1900); Another to "Dear Sir" expresses thanks for the compliments about The Wallet of Kai Lung, speaks of Grant Richard's wish to bring out another series of Chinese stories, shares his intention of writing a novel of modern English life, and reveals concerning his Chinese detective stories, "the idea was in part serious and in part burlesque: but where the one ends and the other begins I cannot always be quite sure myself" (September 19, 1901); Three letters to James B. Pinker, one about sending four runs of the Max Carrados series for News of the World (June 16, 1913), another a brief note about a cheque from Punch (January 3, 1915), and a third to Pinker concerning the settlement over use of a Max Carrados story in an American anthology published by Payson & Clarke, The Omnibus of Crime and also refering to Dorothy Sayers' anthology Great Short Stories of Detection (November 9, 1929).

Several of the Bramah letters are to his publisher Grant Richards. Bramah writes offering Richards the opportunity to publish his hand-book on English regal copper coinage, 1671-1860, (April 18, 1921); and encloses a carbon of his note to the Bookman and gives a record of the eight publishers who rejected The Wallet, originally composed of three stories, before it was accepted by Richards, and speaks of his possible interest in publishing Bramah's Max Carrados stories (January 10, 1923). Bramah reveals to Richards that he had never been to China but did not feel it diplomatic to publicly admit the fact, says that he has accumulated a considerable amount of miscellaneous Chinese literature, recounts an embarrassing incident in which an editor described him as "perhaps the greatest living English authority on China," furnishes a detailed description of his writing process and sources of ideas for his Chinese stories, and discusses terms for the Max Carrados stories (April 27, 1923). He also writes concerning a possible title for the book of Max Carrados stories (May 12, 1923).

One letter to the editor of the Asheville Times discusses his favorable review of Kai Lung Unrolls His Mat (June 28, 1928); and a letter to [E.C. Bentley] thanks him for his enthusiastic reference to The Wallet of Kai Lung in Bentley's book Those Days (April 6, 1940); Also included is a list of suggestions for possible alternate titles for The Golden Hours of Kai Lung (n.d.) and a typed history of the publication efforts of Bramah, probably written by Bramah himself (n.d.).

Letters re Ernest Bramah contains the following correspondents: Bramah's publisher, A.P. Watt & Son (throughout); Pearl S. Buck (September 30 & November 12, 1965); John Carter (November 18, 1964); Lin Carter (December 17, 1972); Hennig Cohen (July 16, 1958); Frederic Dannay (January 10, 1965); Morley Fox (August 14, 1969 & March 22, 1970); John Hayward (August 31, September 12, October 30, 1962 & April 9, 1963); James Keddie, Jr. (July 30, 1966; September 2, 1968; & June 28, 1972); John Logan (January 10 & 20, February 6 & 13, 1967; & March 14, 1968); Manchester Grammar School Record of Ernest Bramah (September 14, 1965); Martin Secker (April 7, 1965); Edgar Shannon, Jr. (April 9, 1958); Charles E. Yenter (January 14 & March 7, 1970; April 27, May 11, July 26, & November 18, 1973; February 8, March 12, May 13, & August 27, 1974; August 16 & 17, September [1975 ?]; & n.d.); and "Ernest Bramah: An Unpublished Detective Play" enclosed with letter (February 1, 1982).

Correspondence with Matthew Bruccoli, 1968-1969 & n.d., is mainly concerned with White's work on the Hemingway Checklist, Guide, and Studies, for the Charles E. Merrill Books, Inc. - Merrill Studies in American Literature . Bruccoli was one of the general editors for the series.

The "C" file contains letters from Henry S. Canby (February 7 & March 11, 1938) and Cyril Clemens (December 28, 1954; March 27, 1962; April 30, 1965; and January 22, 1979).

White's correspondence concerning Censorship contains a letter from Gilbert A. Harrison (February 25, 1957).

Charles Scribner's Sons correspondence includes letters from Charles Scribner, Jr. and generally discusses the publication arrangements for By-Line: Ernest Hemingway and Date-line: Toronto . Two letters especially discuss Scribner's plan to bring out Hemingway's unpublished works (May 9 & August 29, 1966).

The folder concerning White's editing of the Father Brown issue of the Chesterton Review includes correspondence with the regular editors John Sullivan and Ian Boyd of the Chesterton Society, Robert Barnard (November 22, 1982); William F. Buckley, Jr. (March 10, 1983); Martin Gardner (July 20 & August 20, 1984); Otto Penzler (February 11, March 13, & April 20, 1983); discusses an Esperanto translation of Father Brown stories (November 13, 1982 & March 23, 1983); and the article, "Kenneth More as Father Brown" by Anthony Grist (w/ August 18, 1982).

"D" includes a discussion about Jack Potter's Bibliography on John Dos Passos (March 3, April 1, July 5, and November 15, 1950); and a letter from George Dangerfield (April 11, 1966).

Emily Dickinson contains the following correspondents: Doris Grumbach (February 26, 1975), Tom Burns Haber, Carlton Lowenberg, Frederick L. Morey, Carlton F. Wells, George F. Whicher, and Roger White.

The John Donne folder includes letters from Geoffrey Keynes (January 14, 1955, n.d.); Ronald Mansbridge (May 17, 1938); and Louis B. Wright (February 19, 1938).

The "F" file contains two letters from Arkansas governor, Orval E. Faubus (October 31, 1958 & March 4, 1959); and a letter concerning the Firkser family (August 16, n.y.).

The "G" folder includes correspondence from Hamlin Garland (May 12, 1939); and Louis Ginsberg (October 2, 1972; February 18, 1974, and March 8, 1977).

The "H" folder includes letters from Atcheson Hench (May 18, 1957 & October 28, 1958); Marcelline Hemingway Sanford (March 26, 1962) concerning Charles Fenton's book and her brother, Ernest Hemingway; and Hemingway's brother, Les Hemingway (October 23 & December 12, 1970) about stamps honoring Ernest Hemingway, especially a sheet printed by the self-appointed officials of the "Government of the Republic of New Atlantis" founded in 1964, off the coast of Jamaica, commemorating the United States 4th Infantry Division's 20th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion and the war correspondent, Hemingway (a sheet of these "commemorative stamps" are attached to the letter).

Letters re Ernest Hemingway include the following topics and correspondents: Bob Borzello (February 4, n.y.); Cyril Clemens (December 18, 1961; January 20, 1962; March 8, 1967); Malcolm Cowley (January 8, 1946); Randall Scott Davis (January 29, February 10, & July 28, 1983; June 9, 14, & 26, 1985); William Nolan (own folder); Tod Oliver (January 14, February 16, & June 15, 1985); William B. Watson (March 20 & April 7, 1985; and August 4, 1986); Philip Young (January 6, 1965; and March 19, 1970); Hemingway's appearance on a Czech stamp, with the stamp enclosed (March 19, 1971); copy of an Ernest Hemingway letter to Irene Rosenthal Gorden, September 1, 1949, enclosed with July 29, 1985; NANA dispatches (August 4, 1986); and a bibliography of articles about Hemingway found in "men's magazines" by William Nolan (March 6, 1967).

Hemingway Notes, a periodical devoted to Hemingway studies, contains correspondence with its editors, Ken Rosen and Taylor Alderman, and later Charles Oliver, and "Ernest Hemingway on Cuban Stamps," with stamps enclosed (November 5, 1973).

Correspondence re A.E. Housman includes the following: Eric Bloom (August 6 & October 10, 1942; March 9 & June 12, 1943); I.R. Brussel (March 14, 1948 & July 27, 1952); John Butt (March 27, June 11, August 28, 1947; October 2, 1948); Cyril Clemens (January 10, 1955); T.S. Eliot (April 6, 1938); Charles Feinberg (September 16, October 4 & 16, 1946); Ben Fisher (April 22, May 13, July 1, 1974; April 4, May 7, 1975; December 12, 1976; January 28, March 4, 1977; May 5 & 13, 1984); A.S.F. Gow re Housman's failure in his Greats examination (October 26 & 31, 1937); November 2, 1937; White's proposed biography of Housman (December 12, 1937); and other topics (June 3, 1946, July 19, 1952; and March 16, 1953); R.P. Graves (October 13 & November 9, 1979); Henry Maas (August 13, September 16 & 27, October 5, 1966, and May 24, 1967); Ronald Mansbridge (July 10, 1941); Houston Martin (own folder); and Canon J.T. Nance re Housman's failure at college in Honour Greats and his college career (December 21 & 29, 1936).

Other correspondents include: Henry Runyan (August 22, 1941); William Sloane and Henry Holt & Company (November 6 & 28, 1939; March 12, September 20, October 22, and December 11, 1940; January 3 & 25, March 17, and June 19, 1941); W. Snow (October 23 & 31, 1937); Charles A. Stonehill re Grant Richards and Housman (May 14 & 23, 1942); Carl J. Weber (January 30, February 15 & 27, March 8, April 17, 1946; January 2, 1954; February 13 & 21, March 4, 1957; and November 12, 1959; and Edward Weeks (December 23, 1947).

White also corresponded extensively with the original bibliographers of A.E. Housman, John Carter and John Sparrow, 1941-1970, as well as with the publisher of his revision of their A.E. Housman A Bibliography, Robert Cross, in 1980-1984. Tom Burns Haber was also a frequent correspondent (October 9 & 19, 1950; January 29, August 12, and November 9, 1951; February 16, March 8 & 30, July 8 & 27, August 3, 13, & 30, October 20, 1952; January 31, 1954, and April 8, 1955. Haber wrote concerning Laurence Housman (July 8 & August 13, 1952) the right to publish Housman (August 30, 1952, see also January 28, 1955); and his introduction to Manuscript Poems of A.E. Housman (July 18, 1952).

A few letters are from Laurence Housman concerning critical studies of his brother's poems, "It would have been quite contrary to my Brother's wish that the processes of his literary workshop should become public property" (November 15, 1950); and the publishing of A.E. Housman's school prize poem on Sir Walter Raleigh (won ca. 1873), which he termed "a very inferior specimen of A.E.H.'s early verse writing" (January 4, 1952).

This collection also contains a small folder of correspondence with Joseph Ishill of The Oriole Press about his unpublished A.E. Housman letters (May 11, 1958- October 6, 1959), and the possibility of his publishing a Walt Whitman and a Henry David Thoreau item for White.

"J-K-L" includes letters about Sidney Lanier (December 23, 1937) and James Joyce (January 13, June 21 & 29, 1949, and July 23, 1953).

The D.H. Lawrence folder has letters from Frieda Lawrence concerning White's D.H. Lawrence: A Checklist, 1931-1950 (April 1, 1949; January 10, July 25, and November 4, 1950), with a handwritten introduction to White's bibliography attached to the letter for November 9, 1949, and Harry T. Moore (May 7 & 13, July 31, August 7, 9, & 14, October 3, 1950; and January 23 & March 3, 1951).

"M" contains H.L. Mencken (January 28, 1946) and Archibald MacLeish (April 17, 1963). "O" contains correspondence with Zoltan G. Zeke about George Orwell: A Selected Bibliography which he co-authored with William White (November 12, 1960; March 5 & 19, July 27, August 26, October 16 & 30, and November 5, 1961, and January 10, 1962), and Harold Owen about an introduction to White's Bibliography of Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) (May 26 & 27, 1966; and May 23, 1967).

Correspondence concerning Oita College in Japan has several letters which reveal living conditions for Americans residing in Japan just prior to the entry of the United States into World War II.

Much of White's correspondence concerning Sir William Osler was with W.W. Francis, Curator of the Osler Library, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and Henry E. Sigerist, Johns Hopkins University Institute of the History of Medicine. Others include: Edward Weeks of The Atlantic Monthly (October 24, 1938) and Christopher Morley (November 23, 1938).

"P-R" contains several letters from John Crowe Ransom of The Kenyon Review (June 3, 1941; and February 27, and May 8 & 18, 1963), and Grant Richards, the publisher, (July 22 & October 31, 1942). "S-T" includes correspondence about White's Percy Shelley bibliography and a Norman Cousins letter (March 29, 1957).

White has a folder of correspondence with Karl Shapiro (1913- ), editor of Prairie Schooner and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1945, discussing a Walt Whitman poem (May 1, 1958 and May 20, 1959) and items for his bibliography of Shapiro's work.

Correspondence with William DeWitt Snodgrass (1926- ), winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1960, includes the following topics: Syracuse Poems 1969 (March 17, 1975); copies of his poems in Remains (April 12, 1975); Walt Whitman (March 1 & 27, 1972); Roumanian folk songs (June 6, July 2, September 21, 1977; and May 1, 1978); "On Collecting W.D. Snodgrass" (enclosed with July 12, 1979); and several concerning White's W.D. Snodgrass A Bibliography .

Henry David Thoreau includes letters about White's bibliography about Thoreau and correspondence with Walter Harding about establishing a Thoreau Society.

"V-Z" includes two letters from Governor G. Mennen Williams (February 17, 1959 and June 1, 1960) and White family correspondence.

White also corresponded with Fredson Bowers of the Bibliographical Society (December 8 & 25, 1956; January 2, April 25, May 2 & 17, and October 9, 1957), and James F. Light (February 23, August 13, September 13 & 25, and November 4 & 25, 1957; January 3, April 16, June 23, 1958; October 7, 1959; February 27, April 13, May 6, 1960; March 16, 1961; and August 1, 1964) about his bibliography on Nathanael West.

Correspondence about Walt Whitman and the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review (White was the editor) contains much correspondence with Edward F. Grier, Sculley Bradley, Gay Allen, and Harold Blodgett concerning their work on the multi-volume The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman . White was supposed to edit the volumes about Whitman's journalism, notebooks, diaries, miscellany, and bibliography. Other correspondents include: Fredson Bowers (August 6, 1972), Matthew Bruccoli (September 19, 1972), Emory Holloway (separate folder) and Charles Feinberg (October 19, 1979; January 21, March 17, and April 17, 1980; May 13, 1982; Christmas 1983; January 4, 1985).

The third series consists of White's research material concerning Ernest Bramah, Emily Dickinson, Ernest Hemingway, A.E. Housman, William Osler, Theodore Roethke, Karl Shapiro, Percy Shelley, Dylan Thomas, Henry David Thoreau, Nathanael West, and Walt Whitman, comprised of notes, completed articles by White, copies of the individual's correspondence and manuscripts, checklists and bibliographies, contemporary reviews, and copies of Horace Traubel's notes for the unpublished volumes of With Walt Whitman in Camden, July 1890-March 1892.

The fourth series consists of printed material concerning Ernest Bramah, Emily Dickinson, "Essays in Americana" newsclippings of articles by White, Ernest Hemingway, A.E. Housman, the International Imitation Hemingway Competition, D.H. Lawrence, Miscellaneous Authors, Obscenity, Sir William Osler, S.J. Perelman, Nathanael West, Walt Whitman, and William White.

The fifth series is composed of miscellaneous papers, chiefly the personal papers of White and photographs, especially of Ernest Bramah, Miscellaneous Authors, the White family, and a fine collection of Walt Whitman photographs.

The sixth series consists of the diaries of William White and contain both personal and professional entries for 1928, 1931-1948, 1951-1953, 1976, 1978, and 1980. The seventh series contains cassette recordings, phonograph records, and microfilm. The last series is composed of oversize items, including two scrapbooks, 1912-1938, of memorabilia, newsclippings, tickets, etc., and copies of school newspapers, The Campus List (1926), Baylor Notes (1931), and The University Echo (1928-1932); photostats of the New York Sunday Dispatch ; engravings of the "Virgin and the Dragonfly," ; a broadside concerning the Hemingway Conference in San Diego, California, March 27 & 28, 1987; printed articles about Ernest Hemingway, a print of Sir William Osler and sheet music employing the words of A.E. Housman poetry.

Organization

The collection preserves White's organization of his files by literary figure or topic, with some modifications. Printed and research material were separated from the correspondence and placed in their own series. Material within each folder is arranged chronologically. The collection is arranged in eight series as follows:

Manuscripts
A) William White (boxes 1-5)
B) Others (boxes 6-7)
Correspondence (boxes 8-13)
Research Material (boxes 14-22)
Printed Material (boxes 22-29)
Miscellaneous Papers (boxes 29-30)
Diaries (boxes 31-32)
Microfilm/Tape Recordings/Phonograph Records
Oversize Items