Scope and Contents
The George Warren Arms Collection consists of letters, manuscripts and subject files documenting the life and work of George Warren Arms. The collection spans the years 1848-1988.
The collection is housed in 8 boxes and organized into three series: Correspondence, Writings of Others and Subject Files. Box 8 contains Restricted Fragile Papers.
Series I, Correspondence , is organized into two subseries: General Correspondence and Third-Party Correspondence.
General Correspondence, housed in boxes 1-2, consists of correspondence between Arms and writers, scholars, booksellers, autograph dealers and others. Arms wrote extensively on William Dean Howells, and much of the correspondence pertains to Howells and other 19th and early 20th century American writers.
Carbon copies of letters from Arms to others are present in much of this subseries.
Third-Party Correspondence, housed in boxes 3-5, consists of letters, mostly ALS dating from the mid-late 19th century, which Arms collected for his own research and for research by students in courses at the University of New Mexico. Letters are arranged alphabetically by author and then by correspondent. Included are George William Curtis, James Thomas Fields, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, William Dean Howells, James Russell Lowell, Charles Eliot Norton and Calvin Ellis Stowe.
Typescript copies of letters and biographical notes are present in parts of this subseries. Specifically, many of the Howells letters are accompanied by typescript copies, and many of the Fields, Freeman, Howells and Norton letters are accompanied by notes on small index cards.
Series II, Writings of Others , housed in box 6, is arranged alphabetically by author and then by title. There is a draft fragment by Howells entitled "Literary Friends and Acquaintance," as well as a letter to the editor by Charles Eliot Norton. Otherwise, the writings subseries consists of work by Arms' students dating from the early and mid 1960s. There are explications of letters from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Henry James, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Horace Elisha Scudder and James Huneker, in addition to those from writers represented in the Third-Party Correspondence.
Series III, Subject Files , housed in box 7, is arranged alphabetically by name. The Subject Files contain bibliographic information, predominantly printed fragments from bookdealers' catalogs, biographical and critical notes, and, in a few cases, copies of letters. Once again the emphasis is on 19th century American authors. Authors not found or mentioned in earlier subseries are William E. Channing, F. Marion Crawford, Edgar Fawcett and Charles Warren Stoddard.
Restricted Fragile Papers are housed in box 8.
The collection is housed in 8 boxes and organized into three series: Correspondence, Writings of Others and Subject Files. Box 8 contains Restricted Fragile Papers.
Series I, Correspondence , is organized into two subseries: General Correspondence and Third-Party Correspondence.
General Correspondence, housed in boxes 1-2, consists of correspondence between Arms and writers, scholars, booksellers, autograph dealers and others. Arms wrote extensively on William Dean Howells, and much of the correspondence pertains to Howells and other 19th and early 20th century American writers.
Carbon copies of letters from Arms to others are present in much of this subseries.
Third-Party Correspondence, housed in boxes 3-5, consists of letters, mostly ALS dating from the mid-late 19th century, which Arms collected for his own research and for research by students in courses at the University of New Mexico. Letters are arranged alphabetically by author and then by correspondent. Included are George William Curtis, James Thomas Fields, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, William Dean Howells, James Russell Lowell, Charles Eliot Norton and Calvin Ellis Stowe.
Typescript copies of letters and biographical notes are present in parts of this subseries. Specifically, many of the Howells letters are accompanied by typescript copies, and many of the Fields, Freeman, Howells and Norton letters are accompanied by notes on small index cards.
Series II, Writings of Others , housed in box 6, is arranged alphabetically by author and then by title. There is a draft fragment by Howells entitled "Literary Friends and Acquaintance," as well as a letter to the editor by Charles Eliot Norton. Otherwise, the writings subseries consists of work by Arms' students dating from the early and mid 1960s. There are explications of letters from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Henry James, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Horace Elisha Scudder and James Huneker, in addition to those from writers represented in the Third-Party Correspondence.
Series III, Subject Files , housed in box 7, is arranged alphabetically by name. The Subject Files contain bibliographic information, predominantly printed fragments from bookdealers' catalogs, biographical and critical notes, and, in a few cases, copies of letters. Once again the emphasis is on 19th century American authors. Authors not found or mentioned in earlier subseries are William E. Channing, F. Marion Crawford, Edgar Fawcett and Charles Warren Stoddard.
Restricted Fragile Papers are housed in box 8.
Dates
- 1848 - 1988
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Box 8: Restricted fragile material. Reference surrogates have been substituted in the main files. For further information consult the appropriate curator.
Box 8: Restricted fragile material. Reference surrogates have been substituted in the main files. For further information consult the appropriate curator.
Conditions Governing Use
The George Warren Arms Collection is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Libary, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The George Warren Arms Collection was acquired through purchases on Eugene G. O'Neill Memorial and Sinclair Lewis book funds.
Extent
2.5 Linear Feet (8 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The George Warren Arms collection consists of letters, manuscripts and subject files documenting research on 19th and early 20th century American authors.
Series I, Correspondence, is organized into two subseries for General and Third-Party Correspondence. General Correspondence consists of correspondence between Arms and writers, scholars, booksellers, autograph dealers and others. The Third-Party Correspondence consists of letters by 19th and early 20th century American authors collected by Arms. Included are George William Curtis, James Thomas Fields, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, William Dean Howells, James Russell Lowell, Charles Eliot Norton and Calvin Ellis Stowe.
Series II, Writings of Others, consists chiefly of work by Arms' students dating from the 1960s.
Series III, Subject Files, contains bibliographic information, chiefly printed fragments from dealer catalogs, and biographical and critical notes.
Series I, Correspondence, is organized into two subseries for General and Third-Party Correspondence. General Correspondence consists of correspondence between Arms and writers, scholars, booksellers, autograph dealers and others. The Third-Party Correspondence consists of letters by 19th and early 20th century American authors collected by Arms. Included are George William Curtis, James Thomas Fields, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, William Dean Howells, James Russell Lowell, Charles Eliot Norton and Calvin Ellis Stowe.
Series II, Writings of Others, consists chiefly of work by Arms' students dating from the 1960s.
Series III, Subject Files, contains bibliographic information, chiefly printed fragments from dealer catalogs, and biographical and critical notes.
GEORGE WARREN ARMS (1912-1992)
George Warren Arms was born February 1, 1912, in La Grande, Oregon to George Wells and Marguerite Shattuck Arms. He was educated at Princeton University, the Universities of Zurich and Munich, and New York University. He taught in preparatory schools from 1933-38, at Bennett Junior College in 1939, at Mary Washington College as an assistant professor of English from 1939-44, and at the University of New Mexico as a professor of English from 1945 until his retirement.
Arms co-authored and co-edited numerous books on American writers and several on William Dean Howells, including Five Interviews with William Dean Howells (1943), A Bibliography of William Dean Howells (1948) and Selected Letters (1979-83). He also wrote The Fields were Green: A New View of Bryant, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell, and Longfellow (1953) and served as co-editor of The Explicator.
Arms married Elizabeth Tanner on June 27, 1936. He died January 1, 1992, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Arms co-authored and co-edited numerous books on American writers and several on William Dean Howells, including Five Interviews with William Dean Howells (1943), A Bibliography of William Dean Howells (1948) and Selected Letters (1979-83). He also wrote The Fields were Green: A New View of Bryant, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell, and Longfellow (1953) and served as co-editor of The Explicator.
Arms married Elizabeth Tanner on June 27, 1936. He died January 1, 1992, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- American literature -- 19th century
- American literature -- 20th century
- Arms, George, 1912-1992
- Authors, American -- 19th century -- Archives
- Authors, American -- 20th Century -- Archives
- Curtis, George William, 1824-1892
- Fields, James Thomas, 1817-1881
- Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins, 1852-1930
- Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920
- Lowell, James Russell, 1819-1891
- Meynell, Francis, 1891-1975
- Norton, Charles Eliot, 1827-1908
- Stowe, C. E. (Calvin Ellis), 1802-1886
- Swallow, Alan, 1915-1966
- Wellek, René, 1903-1995
- Wilson, Edmund, 1895-1972
Creator
- Title
- Guide to the George Warren Arms Collection
- Author
- by Michael Forstrom
- Date
- May 2003
- 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.