Scope and Contents
Series I, Correspondence , is organized into two subseries: Eugene O'Neill, Jr. Correspondence, and Correspondence Regarding Eugene O'Neill, Jr.'s Estate. The Eugene O'Neill, Jr. Correspondence mainly contains letters to O'Neill, Jr., although there are some carbons of letters from him. Most of the correspondence is of a professional nature, relating to his work in classical studies and in radio. There is some personal correspondence, however, including many letters from his father, Eugene O'Neill, from 1928 to 1950 (folders 26-35). There is also correspondence with Barbara Burton (Agnes Boulton's daughter), Mary Elizabeth Greene (O'Neill, Jr.'s first wife), Elsie and Frank S. Meyer (friends and neighbors of O'Neill, Jr. in Woodstock, New York), and Norman Holmes Pearson (O'Neill, Jr.'s Yale classmate and friend). The subseries is arranged alphabetically.
Correspondence Regarding Eugene O'Neill, Jr.'s Estate relates to O'Neill, Jr.'s funeral and the settlement of his estate. Eugene O'Neill paid for the funeral expenses through his lawyer, Winfield E. Aronberg. Some of the correspondence in this series is between Aronberg and other people (including Pitt-Smith's lawyer, Nathaniel J. Palzer) regarding these expenses. There is also correspondence between Frank S. Meyer and other people about funeral-related expenses and about the disposition of O'Neill, Jr.'s belongings.
Series II, Writings , is organized into six subseries: Articles, Lectures, Poems, Reviews, Other Writings, and Writings of Others. Each subseries is arranged alphabetically. Articles contains drafts and printed versions of articles by O'Neill, Jr. mainly on topics in the field of classical studies. Lectures contains holograph and typescript drafts of notes for lectures, also mainly on topics in the field of classical studies. The files include lectures that O'Neill, Jr. delivered at the American Philological Association, the Classical Club of Yale University, Vassar College, and Wellesley College. There is also a printed version of his 1947 commencement address at Connecticut College. Poems mainly contains draft versions of poems by O'Neill, Jr. The published poems are mostly early works that appeared in The Horace Mann Quarterly; there is one published poem from The New Yorker in 1950.
Reviews contains clippings as well as reprints of reviews by O'Neill, Jr. of books in classics. Many are inscribed by O'Neill, Jr. to friends and relatives. Other Writings contains a play, two short stories, letters to the editor of The Key Reporter and PM, O'Neill, Jr.'s successful submission for the Noyes-Cutter Prize as an undergraduate at Yale University, a research paper, a transcript from a 1944 radio discussion on the talmud, and some notes. Writings of Others contains Thomas Cutt's 1936 dissertation, inscribed to O'Neill, Jr.; a 1923 burlesque play by O'Neill's Jr.'s teacher at the Horace Mann School, Clifton Joseph Furness; and two printed copies (from 1925 and 1926) of The Horace Mann Quarterly.
Series III, Personal Papers , is organized into three subseries: Legal Materials, University Study and Teaching, and Other. Each subseries is arranged alphabetically. Legal Materials contains a 1912 document regarding Eugene O'Neill's divorce from Kathleen Pitt-Smith; O'Neill, Jr.'s 1948 lease for a house in Woodstock, New York; receipts for his bank loans from 1947 to 1949; and his 1947 will. University Study and Teaching contains materials regarding O'Neill, Jr.'s undergraduate and graduate studies at Yale University, including commencement programs, grade reports, and certificates for awards that he received. There are also materials from 1932 to 1933 regarding his graduate study in Germany at Universität Freiburg im Breisgau, as well as syllabi and examinations from courses that O'Neill, Jr. taught at Yale University and at the New School for Social Research. Other contains various emphemera, including O'Neill, Jr.'s address book; some autobiographical notes; two photostats of his birth certificate; clippings about him and other topics; a typed list (probably made by Elsie Meyer) of inscriptions to him from his father; a list of people who received items from his estate; materials relating to the Pardee Morris House; a scrapbook of clippings and photographs, mostly relating to O'Neill, Jr.'s radio career, from 1945 to 1946; and his wallet, containing various identification cards.
Series IV, Photographs , is organized into five subseries: Family, Other People, Places, Albums, and Other. Each subseries is arranged alphabetically and then chronologically. In addition to photographic prints, there are negatives in this collection (though stored separately). In the case of negatives for which there was no corresponding print, the Library had one copy print made; this information is specified after the folder title.
Family contains photographs of O'Neill, Jr.'s maternal great-grandfather, Henry S. Camblas; his first wife, Mary Elizabeth Greene; his maternal grandmother, Kate Camblas Jenkins; his stepmother, Carlotta Monterey O'Neill; his father, Eugene O'Neill; his third wife, Sally O'Neill; his stepbrother, George Pitt-Smith, Jr.; and his mother, Kathleen Pitt-Smith. There are also many photographs of O'Neill, Jr. himself, from 1922 until the late 1940s. Other People contains photographs of O'Neill, Jr.'s friend, Lois Williams Bry, her husband, and her children; the Coleman Brothers musicians; and the art agent Ruth Reade Lander. There are a few unidentified people. Places contains photographs of Germany, the Netherlands, and Iceland from O'Neill, Jr.'s time in graduate school, from 1932 to 1933. There are also photographs of Lois Williams Bry's ranch in Ennis, Montana in 1939; of a boat trip near Northport, New York that O'Neill, Jr. took in the early 1930s; and of the Pardee Morris House.
Albums consists of four albums from the 1920s to 1940. The first, from the 1920s to the 1930s, contains photographs of scenes at a military academy (location undetermined) and around Northport, New York, as well as copies of photographs of Eugene O'Neill and Carlotta Monterey O'Neill that were sent to O'Neill, Jr. The second and third albums, which are from O'Neill, Jr.'s trip to Europe in 1932-1933 to attend graduate school in Germany, contain views in Germany, Iceland, and the Netherlands. The fourth album is from 1937 to 1940 and contains photographs from O'Neill, Jr.'s visit to the Brys' ranch in Ennis, Montana in 1939, plus earlier photographs with the Brys, from 1937 to 1938. There are also photographs from his visit with Eugene O'Neill and Carlotta Monterey O'Neill at Tao House in 1939, as well as many photographs of cats in New Haven, Connecticut in 1940. The contents of each album are listed in the Appendix to this finding aid. Other contains photographs of house cats; of O'Neill, Jr.'s Soldiers Memorial Foote Fellowship certificate, which he received at Yale University in 1932; of animals at a German zoo; and of a drawing of boats.
Series V, 2001 Addition features approximately 80 pieces of correspondence, chiefly autograph letters, signed, from Lois Williams Bry to Eugene O'Neill, Jr. dating from 1928 through 1949. Other materials from Bry, most likely enclosed originally with letters, include cards, clippings, photographs, picture postcards of Montana, and printed ephemera. Accompanied by four autograph letters, signed, to O'Neill, Jr. from others, including Ivan M. Linforth and Walter Porzig.
Dates
- 1862 - 1964
- Majority of material found within 1932 - 1950
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Restricted Fragile in box 14 may only be consulted with permission of the appropriate curator. Preservation photocopies or photographic prints for reference use have been substituted in the main files.
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The 2001 Addition was the gift of David Zincavage, Eugene B. Myers, and Karen L. Myers, 2001.
Extent
8.63 Linear Feet ((16 boxes) + 3 broadside folders)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
EUGENE O'NEILL, JR. (1910-1950)
O'Neill, Jr. attended New York public schools and the Horace Mann School, and received his B.A. from Yale University in 1932. He won many awards while an undergraduate at Yale, including the Winthrop Prize for knowledge of Greek and Latin poetry, the Jacob Cooper Prize in Greek philosophy, the Noyes-Cutter Prize for translating biblical Greek, the Soldiers Memorial Foote Fellowship for classical research (all four years), and the Berkeley scholarship for classical Greek. O'Neill, Jr. was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and of Skull and Bones, and he served as the Ivy Laureate at his commencement.
O'Neill, Jr. began his graduate studies at the University of Freiburg, Germany, where he studies classics from 1932 to 1933. While abroad, he also traveled in Iceland, Norway, and the Netherlands. He returned to Yale to complete his studies and received the Ph.D. in 1936. That same year, he was appointed instructor in classics at Yale.
In 1941, O'Neill, Jr. he rose to the rank of assistant professor. From 1942 to 1943, he took time off from teaching to assist in the war effort. He worked at the Greist Manufacturing Company, an anti-aircraft gun parts factory, and then at the American Steel & Wire Company, and in 1943 was drafted by the army but then rejected because of a childhood injury. That fall, he returned to his post at Yale, spending half of his time in the Department of Classics and the other half teaching English to Navy V-12 students.
In May 1944, while continuing his full-time teaching at Yale, O'Neill, Jr. also began working full-time as a radio announcer at WTIC in Hartford, Connecticut. That fall, he moved to New York City, taking the semester off from Yale to devote himself to his radio work. He returned to teaching at Yale in the spring of 1945, but he resided in New York City and continued his work in radio. In the summer of 1945, he added to his workload a session of teaching at Sarah Lawrence College.
In the fall of 1945, O'Neill, Jr. took two years' leave of absence from Yale to devote himself entirely to radio, and in July 1947 ended his association with Yale, though not with teaching. During the academic year of 1947-1948, he taught at Princeton University and at the New School for Social Research. From the fall of 1948 until his death, he taught at the New School and at Fairleigh Dickinson College while continuing his work in radio.
O'Neill, Jr. was married three times. His first wife was Mary Elizabeth Greene ("Betty"), whom he married on 15 June 1931 while an undergraduate student at Yale. He and Betty were divorced in April 1937, and on 25 May, O'Neill, Jr. married Janet Hunter Longley, who was the daughter of a Yale mathematics professor; they were divorced in the summer of 1938. On 3 July 1939, O'Neill, Jr. married Sally [Hayward?], whose mother, Marjorie F. Hayward, was the curator at the Pardee Morris House in New Haven, Connecticut. During that summer, he and Sally visited Eugene O'Neill and Carlotta Monterey O'Neill at Tao House in California, as well O'Neill, Jr.'s childhood friend, Lois Williams Bry and her family in Ennis, Montana. In April 1944, Sally left O'Neill, Jr. and moved to New York City. He himself moved to New York City in the fall. Four years later, in the summer of 1948, O'Neill, Jr. moved to Woodstock, New York with the art agent Ruth Reade Lander. He increasingly relied on alcohol, and his relationships with others became more difficult. O'Neill, Jr. committed suicide on 25 September 1950 in Woodstock, New York.
In addition to published articles (on Greek metrics and Greek drama) and reviews, O'Neill, Jr. edited with Whitney J. Oates The Complete Greek Drama: All the Extant Tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and the Comedies of Aristophanes and Menander, in a Variety of Translations, which was published in 1938. Some of his radio credits include the programs "Invitation to Learning" and the "Author Meets the Critic." He also recorded books for the blind.
Appendix I: CONTENTS OF "SNAP SHOTS" ALBUM ([1920s-1930s]), box 10, folder 302
EO, Jr. and George Pitt-Smith, Jr. sitting on steps of house
Student at military academy, sitting on wall
Baseball game (2 versions)
Student at military academy, wearing uniform, standing on porch
Teacher at military academy
Students at military academy, wearing uniforms, sitting on stairs
Northport (N.Y.):
Fishing boat (2 versions)
Sailboat
Marina
View of shoreline
Boats near marina
Unidentified man sitting on boat
Harbor (2 versions)
Unidentified people on boat (3 versions)
Unidentified person wearing bathing suit
View of beach
Fishing boat
Unidentified man sitting on boat
Unidentified people sitting near boat on beach
Unidentified woman wearing bathing suit, sitting on beach
Unidentified older man and woman sitting on boat
Unidentified younger man and woman sitting on boat
Unidentified woman wearing bathing suit on boat (2 versions)
View of boats moored (2 versions)
Lighthouse
Shoreline (2 versions)
Buildings on shoreline
Rocks on shoreline, close-up
Lighthouse from far away
View of boats moored
Rocks on shoreline, close-up
Sailboat
Jetty
Silhouette of lighthouse
Lighthouse (2 versions)
Unidentified woman in field (2 versions)
Unidentified man sitting on boat
EO, Jr. in rowboat, far away
View of ocean
Unidentified man sitting on boat
View of ship, far away
EO, Jr. in rowboat with unidentified woman
Unidentified woman standing on dock
Lighthouse, far away
View looking down on rocks in water
Lighthouse, far away
Shoreline
Fishing boat
View of boats moored, far away
Two unidentified men and one unidentified woman camping
Portrait of EO, Jr., [192-]
Person lying on camping cot (2 versions)
Unidentified woman holding cat
View of beach
[Kate Camblas Jenkins?] sitting on dock, knitting
Carlotta Monterey O'Neill sitting next to pool at ChGteau du Plessis (St. Antoine-du-Rocher, Indre et Loire, France), [1930]
Carlotta Monterey O'Neill standing with Blemie near pool at ChGteau du Plessis (St. Antoine-du-Rocher, Indre et Loire, France), [1930]
Carlotta Monterey O'Neill sitting on log at Wolf Lake (N.Y.), [1933 or 1934]
Carlotta Monterey O'Neill leaning against tree at Wolf Lake (N.Y.), [1933 or 1934]
EO, Jr. and Eugene O'Neill sitting on wire chairs at ChGteau du Plessis (St. Antoine-du-Rocher, Indre et Loire, France), [1929]
Appendix II: CONTENTS OF "CANDID SHOTS" ALBUM (1937-40), box 9, folder 301
Landscape with building
"Seattle from ship on way to Vancouver"
Goats in barnyard
Path and view of landscape at Tao House (Calif.)
LWB's ranch (Ennis, Mont.), 1939 summer:
"Timon," cat in barnyard
View of fields and sheds in distance
Landscape with buildings (from above)
"House with Sally in door"
"Ranch with shops + cabin fr[om] hill"
"Cabin from weir"
"View out of back window of cabin (ripple)"
"View out of back of cabin"
"Barn + mt. from door"
Landscape with buildings (from above)
Landscape into distance (2 versions)
Barn against hill
View of buildings from hill
Cabin in woods
View of buildings and rooftops from hill
"Sunset from cabin door"
"Edgar Bught" standing in front of barn
"Dam"
"Dam site we built"
1937 fall:
Billy and Tommy Bry with Cabot
Billy, Tommy, and LWB with Cabot
Billy and Tommy Bry with Cabot
Billy, Tommy, and LWB with Cabot
1937 Mar:
Billy Bry standing next to sled carrying Tommy, pulled by Cabot
Billy Bry standing with Cabot next to car
LWB standing next to Cabot, who is pulling sled containing Tommy and Billy
Tommy standing next to Cabot who is pulling sled containing Tommy
LWB sitting next to Cabot and behind sled containing Tommy and cat
Unidentified man standing on steps of log cabin; Cabot standing near steps
LWB standing with Tommy, NWB, and Cabot
Billy Bry shaking Cabot's paw, with men and horses in background
Close-up shot of Cabot, standing next to EO, Jr.
EO, Jr. standing next to Cabot
Cabot lying down (2 versions)
Unidentified woman sitting next to Cabot
1938 Sep 11:
NWB, Tommy, Billy, and LWB sitting on blanket
EO, Jr. with Tommy and Billy Bry
LWB riding horse
Evergreen tree
"Jack Creek Canyon from knoll"
"Jack Creek Canyon"
"Lake + mountains"
"Mountains to west from beach"
"Canyon fr[om] road behind barn"
"View from beach road"
"View from picnic grounds, Mill Creek"
"View from picnic" (2 versions)
"View east from Jeffers"
"View at Buffalo Ranch"
"View at Simmons Ranch (Audrey's)"
"Hepgen Lake"
"Geyser Basin"
"Yellowstone Lake" (2 versions)
"Tower Falls, Yellowstone Park"
"Canyon at Yellowstone Park"
"Old Faithful"
"Water from bridge, Yellowstone Park"
"Bears - telephoto"
"Olympic mts. on way to Vancouver"
Eugene O'Neill standing with Carlotta Monterey O'Neill and black cat in front of valley at Tao House (Calif.), 1939
Eugene O'Neill sitting on step next to Blemie, sitting, at ChGteau du Plessis (St. Antoine-du-Rocher, Indre et Loire, France), 1930 Jun
Eugene O'Neill standing on path near a building at Wolf Lake (N.Y.), [1933 or 1934]
Eugene O'Neill sitting in lawn chair at Casa Genotta (Sea Island, Ga.), [1934]
Eugene O'Neill wearing bathing suit, standing on diving board at Wolf Lake (N.Y.), [1933 or 1934]
Eugene O'Neill playing piano, "Rosie," with eyes closed, at Tao House (Calif.), [1939]
View by Ray Moulin of back of Tao House (Calif.), looking down hill, [1939 May 23]
Note on back from CMO to Sally O'Neill.
Casa Genotta (Sea Island, Ga.). View of house from beach, [193-]
Note on back from CMO to EO, Jr.
View by Ray Moulin of back of Tao House (Calif.), in yard, [1939 May 23]
Note on back from CMO to Sally O'Neill, 1939 Aug 28.
View by Ray Moulin of living room at Tao House (Calif.), [1939 May 23]
"Timon," cat lying in shade
New Haven (Conn.), [1940]:
Cat lying in planter
Cat walking down steps
Cat sitting on wooden steps
Cat sitting on porch bench
Cat, from back, looking toward yard
Cat sitting on fence
Cat sitting on stone steps
Cat standing lawn next to unidentified woman
Kitten sitting on floor next to bureau
Kitten outside on wall
Kitten playing with stuffed toy
Kitten sleeping on bed
Cat sitting, close-up
Cat sitting outside on window sill
Cat sitting next to bush
Cat walking toward camera
Cat walking on wall outside, looking down a cat on sidewalk
Cat peering into window
Two cats looking out of window (2 versions)
Cat sitting on couch, sleeping (3 versions)
Cat wearing collar, close-up
Tao House (Calif.), 1939:
View of landscape
Path
Pool
Path and view of landscape
City view [in San Francisco (Calif.), 1939?]
View [in Ennis, Mont., 1939?]
Cat lying in yard
Train
Sally O'Neill sitting on lawn chair
Sally O'Neill sitting on lawn chair, holding cat
Mary Elizabeth Green standing, holding drink
Christmas tree on baby grand piano
Cat lying on grass
Mary Elizabeth Green sitting next to building, looking at cat
Three cats playing
Processing Information
- Aronberg, Winfield E.
- Bry, Lois Williams
- Greek language -- Study and teaching
- Greek literature -- Study and teaching
- Latin language -- Study and teaching
- Latin literature -- Study and teaching
- Linforth, Ivan M. (Ivan Mortimer), 1879-1976
- Meyer, Frank S., 1909-1972
- Montana -- Pictorial works
- New School for Social Research (New York, N.Y. : 1919-1997)
- O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953
- O'Neill, Eugene, Jr., 1910-1950
- Pearson, Norman Holmes, 1909-1975
- Photograph albums
- Photographic prints
- Pitt-Smith, Kathleen, 1889-1982
- Porzig, Walter, 1895-
- Radio announcing
- Snapshots
- Universität Freiburg im Breisgau
- Yale University -- Faculty
- Title
- Guide to the Eugene O'Neill, Jr. Collection
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- by Miriam B. Spectre
- Date
- July 1998
- Description rules
- Beinecke Manuscript Unit Archival Processing Manual
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.