Scope and Contents
The collection consists of writings, correspondence, personal papers, and printed material, documenting the work of avant-garde writer and publisher Michael Fraenkel and his publishing company Carrefour Press, as well as the work of his wife Daphne Fraenkel who continued as director of the publishing company after Fraenkel’s death and their literary executor Michael Peter Harris.
Writings include typescript drafts of works by Fraenkel, including essays, reviews, and an unpublished work, Mexican Journal, parts of which were published as Land of the Quetzal (1946). Correspondence consists primarily of incoming letters to Michael and Daphne Fraenkel, in addition to some outgoing letters and letters from Fraenkel to his wife. Personal papers include passports, marriage and death certificates, notes, printed versions and clippings of reviews of Fraenkel's work. Carrefour Press papers primarily consist of correspondence received by Michael Peter Harris from 1991 to 2000, in addition to some earlier correspondence, business files, and manuscript submissions by various authors.
Writings include typescript drafts of works by Fraenkel, including essays, reviews, and an unpublished work, Mexican Journal, parts of which were published as Land of the Quetzal (1946). Correspondence consists primarily of incoming letters to Michael and Daphne Fraenkel, in addition to some outgoing letters and letters from Fraenkel to his wife. Personal papers include passports, marriage and death certificates, notes, printed versions and clippings of reviews of Fraenkel's work. Carrefour Press papers primarily consist of correspondence received by Michael Peter Harris from 1991 to 2000, in addition to some earlier correspondence, business files, and manuscript submissions by various authors.
Dates
- 1911-2002
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Michael Fraenkel 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
Purchased from Moirandet Company AG on the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2012.
Arrangement
Organized into five series: I. Writings, 1911-1944. II. Correspondence, 1932-1993. III. Personal Papers, 1948-1959. IV. Daphne Fraenkel Papers, 1918-1993. V. Carrefour Press Papers, circa 1939-2002.
Extent
6.47 Linear Feet (16 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 collection consists of writings, correspondence, personal papers, and printed material, documenting the work of avant-garde writer and publisher Michael Fraenkel and his publishing company Carrefour Press, as well as the work of his wife Daphne Fraenkel who continued as director of the publishing company after Fraenkel's death and their literary executor Michael Peter Harris.
Michael Fraenkel (1896-1957)
Michael Fraenkel was born in Kopul, Lithuania, in 1896 and immigrated to New York City with his parents in 1903. He graduated from the City College of New York, and moved to Paris in 1926 to write. He formed a publishing company in Paris with Walter Lowenfels called Carrefour Press. While in Paris, he also befriended Henry Miller and is thought to have been an early yet important influence on Miller. Fraenkel's published works include: Anonymous: The Need for Anonymity (with Walter Lowenfels, 1930); Bastard Death: The Autobiography of an Idea (1936); Death in a Room: Poems 1927-1930 (1936); Hamlet (with Henry Miller, 1941-1943; later republished as The Michael Fraenkel - Henry Miller Correspondence Called Hamlet, 1962); and Land of the Quetzal (1946).
Fraenkel married Daphne Moschos Gillam in 1953. After Fraenkel's death in 1957, Daphne Fraenkel continued as director of Carrefour until her death in 1991. Before her death, she appointed Michael Peter Harris as literary executor and custodian of the Carrefour Publishing Company.
Fraenkel married Daphne Moschos Gillam in 1953. After Fraenkel's death in 1957, Daphne Fraenkel continued as director of Carrefour until her death in 1991. Before her death, she appointed Michael Peter Harris as literary executor and custodian of the Carrefour Publishing Company.
Processing Information
Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.
This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization, in 2012.
Information included in the Description of Papers note and Collection Contents section is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during initial processing.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization, in 2012.
Information included in the Description of Papers note and Collection Contents section is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during initial processing.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- Title
- Guide to the Michael Fraenkel Papers
- Author
- by Drew Adan and Jennifer Meehan
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- 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.