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James Thurber papers

 Collection
Call Number: YCAL MSS 546

Scope and Contents

The James Thurber papers contain drafts and other material relating to the writing projects The Years With Ross, Many Moons, and The 13 Clocks. The papers feature material relating to Thurber's biographical memoir The Years with Ross (1959), about The New Yorker founder and publisher Harold Ross. Materials include research material, correspondence, drafts, and proofs. There are also drafts and fan mail for two children's books, Many Moons (1943) and The 13 Clocks (1950).

Dates

  • 1944-1961

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The James Thurber Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 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

Gift of Mrs. James (Helen) Thurber, 1969 and 1971.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by title.

Associated Materials

James Thurber Papers (Spec.cms.4), Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Ohio State University.

Extent

2.92 Linear Feet (7 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.thurber

Additional Description

Overview

The James Thurber papers contain drafts and other material relating to three writing projects. The papers feature material relating to Thurber's biographical memoir The Years With Ross (Boston: Little Brown, 1959), about New Yorker founder and publisher Harold Ross. Materials include research material, correspondence, drafts, and proofs. There are also drafts and fan mail for two children's books, Many Moons (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1943) and The 13 Clocks (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1950).

James Thurber (1894-1961)

James Thurber, humorist, cartoonist, illustrator, and playwright, was born December 8 , 1894 in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1919 and served as a code clerk at the Department of State, Washington, D.C., and at the American Embassy in Paris from 1918 to 1920. In 1927, he joined the staff of The New Yorker, serving first as managing editor, then as a staff writer (1927-1933) and regular contributor (1933-1961). Thurber's writings covered a wide range of genres, including essays, short stories, plays, and children's books, but he is best known for his stories concerning middle-class domestic situations, often based on actual events in his own life. Thurber's book The Years with Ross (1959) is an informal biography of Harold Ross, founder and editor of The New Yorker, as well as a history of the magazine and an account of Thurber's friendship with Ross.

Thurber married twice, in 1922 to Althea Adams (they divorced in 1935) and in 1935 to Helen Muriel Wismer. He had one child, a daughter Rosemary, from his first marriage. Thurber died in New York City on November 2, 1961.

Biographical information drawn from Contemporary Authors Online, Thomson Gale, 2005, s.v. "James Thurber" (accessed 12 May 2011).

Processing Information

The collection received preliminary processing around the time of acquisition in 1969 and 1971. Further organization, rehousing, and description were carried out in 2010-2011.

Formerly classed as Za Thurber.

Subjects

Related Names

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the James Thurber Papers
Author
by Beinecke staff
Date
2011
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/
Contact:
P. O. Box 208330
New Haven CT 06520-8330 US
(203) 432-2977

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.

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