Marie Scheikévitch papers and Sicard family papers

The Marie Scheikévitch Papers consist of correspondence, diaries, writings, and a small amount of photographs, drawings, and other documents. The collection documents Scheikévitch's personal life and social activity, particularly for the period 1901-1914, and her efforts to preserve memories of her social circle in writings and radio broadcasts. The Sicard Family Papers consist of correspondence of François and Pierre Sicard, with a small amount of drawings by François, other documents, and ephemera. Papers of François Sicard concern his work as an artist and his social activity. Papers of Pierre Sicard include correspondence with a similar social circle extending to a later period. Both the Scheikévitch and Sicard papers were acquired through the Sicard family.

The collection is housed in ten boxes and is organized into five series: Marie Scheikévitch Correspondence, Marie Scheikévitch Diaries, Marie Scheikévitch Writings, Other Marie Scheikévitch Papers, and Sicard Family Papers. A portfolio houses oversize materials.

Series I, Marie Scheikévitch Correspondence , consists of letters received from her friends and family, with concentrations of letters from intimate friends including Daniel Berthelot, René Boylesve, Adrien Hébrard, and Claude-Joseph Gignoux. No letters from Proust are present; these apparently were sold by Scheikévitch after Proust's death. Family correspondence includes letters from her father, her brother Victor, François and Lili Sicard, and Pierre Carolus-Duran. Also present are a small number of drafts of letters written by Marie Scheikévitch to unidentified correspondents.

Series II, Marie Scheikévitch Diaries , includes diary volumes, some containing drawings and fragments of other writings, and diary entries written on unbound sheets. In some cases, volumes and groups of sheets have overlapping date spans. Early diary entries discuss her engagement and marriage to Pierre Carolus-Duran, describing an abusive relationship and her subsequent depression and decision to obtain a divorce. The diaries also discuss her friendships and her involvement in the social life of the period through 1914, when entries end abruptly. A few appended entries dated 1938, 1944, and 1948 include discussion of her radio talks and the Second World War.

Series III, Marie Scheikévitch Writings , includes three subseries: Memoirs, consisting of drafts later published as sections of her Souvenirs d'un temps diparu, arranged by corresponding chapter in the published work; Radio Broadcasts, including outlines for a proposed series of radio talks and scripts of radio talks arranged by title; and Other Writings, including drafts and notes for an untitled novel, book reviews, school notebooks, and unidentified fragments.

Series IV, Other Marie Scheikévitch Papers , includes a few table seating diagrams, lists of appointments, and other notes concerning social engagements; photograph identity cards and a small number of other photographs, and notebooks of sketches and other drawings by Scheikévitch. Additional drawings are found in Scheikévitch's diaries, student notebooks, and writing fragments. Among papers concerning social engagements is a printed menu for a luncheon at the Ministère des affaires étrangères, with signatures of a number of guests, including Léon Bérard, Tristan Bernard, Philippe Berthelot, Helène Berthelot, Prince Sixte de Bourbon, André de Fels, Princess Lucien Murat, and Anna de Noailles.

Series V, Sicard Family Papers , includes two subseries: François Sicard Papers and Pierre Sicard Papers, each consisting of Correspondence and Other Papers. Drawings, sketches, and watercolors present in François Sicard's papers include sketches of writers and artists, some captioned and dated, and sketches of singers made on printed programs for performances of works by Henry de Forge and Paul Arosa, Académie des Beaux-Arts, Concours de Rome. Correspondence of Pierre Sicard includes letters from his parents, a single letter from Marie Scheikévitch written late in her life, letters of introduction obtained by Sicard for his travels in Europe and Asia, and letters from George Clemenceau and other members of the Clemenceau family. Also present are a few fragments of travel diaries written by Pierre Sicard and "Pendant le bal," a short play written by Georges Clemenceau, holograph, for performance by children at a family gathering. Also included in this series are a few 19th century legal documents, possibly relating to the Sicard family.