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J. M. Barrie collection

 Collection
Call Number: GEN MSS 1400

Scope and Contents

The J. M. Barrie Collection contains correspondence, writings, and other papers relating to the life and work of the British author and playwright J. M. Barrie. The material was accrued by the Beinecke Library through gifts and purchases in the decades preceding 2011, and assembled into one collection in 2015. Along with correspondence from, to, and about Barrie, and examples of his writings for the theater, serials, and various publishers and audiences, the collection contains images of Barrie and some of his colleagues, artwork and ephemera from publications and theater productions, writings about him by other authors, and objects including his inkwell and his personal key to London’s Kensington Gardens.

Dates

  • 1686 - 1977
  • Majority of material found within 1890 - 1937

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The J. M. Barrie Collection 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

The J. M. Barrie Collection is made up of a number of acquisitions. The core of the collection—and its largest component—was accumulated by and given to the library by Walter Beinecke Jr. An overview of this material can be found in Howard S. Mott's article, "The Walter Beinecke, Jr., J. M. Barrie Collection" in the Yale Library Gazette 39, no. 4 (April 1965). After Mr. Beinecke slowed his collecting in the late 1960s, the Beinecke Library continued to add items to the Barrie collection, in some instances with funds provided by Mr. Beinecke and in other instances with monies used to support the General Collection of Modern Books and Manuscripts. Mr. Beinecke gave the library occasional gifts of material up through the 1970s; most of the material acquired after 1980 was purchased directly by the library.

All of the archival material related to J. M. Barrie that came into the library before 2011 has now been gathered into this collection, with the exception of a few prominent acquisitions such as the Llewelyn Davies Family Papers (GEN MSS 554) and the Quiller-Couch Family Papers (GEN MSS 551). Individual donations of material, such as those made to Yale University Library in the 1940s and 1950s from W. Robert Blum (Yale 1916) and Henry C. Taylor (Yale 1917), have been acknowledged in the finding aid, when known.

The printed collection of works by Barrie, also gathered in large part by Walter Beinecke Jr. and which built upon an earlier gift to the library by Mr. Taylor, were described separately in the library’s online catalog.

Arrangement

Organized into three series: I. Correspondence, 1686–1955. II. Writings, 1876–1954. III. Other Papers, 1876–1977.

Extent

49.83 Linear Feet ((77 boxes) + 1 art)

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.barrie

Additional Description

Abstract

The J. M. Barrie Collection contains correspondence, writings, and other papers relating to the life and work of the British author and playwright J. M. Barrie. The material was accrued by the Beinecke Library through gifts and purchases in the decades preceding 2011, and assembled into one collection in 2015. Along with correspondence from, to, and about Barrie, and examples of his writings for the theater, serials, and various publishers and audiences, the collection contains images of Barrie and some of his colleagues, artwork and ephemera from publications and theater productions, writings about him by other authors, and objects including his inkwell and his personal key to London's Kensington Gardens.

Biographical / Historical

James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937), Scottish author and playwright.

Processing Information

This finding aid was produced from a previously existing card set in the Manuscripts Catalog, some cards of which had been selected in 1991 and listed in a finding aid in groups under a modified Cutter number system. The resulting collection was known as the "J. M. Barrie Collection" under the call number MS VAULT BARRIE. In 2015, all Barrie material acquired by the library through 2010 was gathered together and combined with the "J. M. Barrie Collection," organized into three series, rehoused, and a new finding aid produced. All pertinent bibliographical information has been retained, and all former Cutter numbers have been written on the new file folders.

Former call numbers: MS Vault Barrie, Uncat Barrie, Uncat MS Vault File, Uncat MS Vault 284, Uncat MS Vault 302, Uncat MS Vault 303, Uncat MS Vault 319, Uncat MS Vault 355, Uncat MS Vault 372, Uncat MS Vault 378, Uncat MS Vault 379, Uncat MS Vault 428, Uncat MS Vault 429, Uncat MS Vault 433, Uncat MS Vault 434, Uncat MS Vault 435, Uncat MS Vault 436, Uncat MS Vault 437, Uncat MS Vault 438, Uncat MS Vault 444, Uncat MS Vault 447, Uncat MS Vault 448, Uncat MS Vault 523, Uncat MS Vault 534, Uncat MS Vault 537, Uncat MS Vault 611, Uncat MS Vault 622, Uncat MSS 216, Uncat MSS 1041, and GEN MSS MISC Group 3195 F-1.

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the J. M. Barrie Collection
Status
Completed
Author
by Beinecke Staff
Date
December 2015
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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