History of Special Collections @ Colby

James Family Collection

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William-James-and-Josiah-Royce-edited-crop-web
Philosophers William James (left) and Josiah Royce.

The James Family collection at Colby is a collection of correspondences, manuscripts, and published materials from the family of philosopher/psychologist William James (1842-1910) and novelist/critic Henry James (1843-1916) as well as biographies and writings about its members. The collection offers insight into the personal lives and relations of a Victorian family gifted with literary talent and plagued by mental and physical ailments.

Student scholarship: Read brief biographies of James Family members by 2016 summer research assistant Rose Nelson ’16.

COLLECTION DETAILS

The March 1970 issue of the Colby Library Quarterly focuses on the content and provenance of our James Family collection. A finding aid is in progress.

HIGHLIGHTED DONORS FOR THIS COLLECTION

Julius Seelye Bixler – primary donor

Colby Library Associates – primary donor

H Bacon Collamore

Margaret Perry

Irene Cooper Willis

Laura E Richards Collection

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Laura-E-Richardsl-picture-only-web
Author Laura E Richards.

Laura Elizabeth Richards (1859-1943) was born in Boston, the daughter of Julia Ward Howe. She moved to Gardiner, Maine with her family in 1876, where she mostly wrote children’s books such as Captain January, the Hildegarde series, and the Margaret Series, although she also published books of poetry and biographies. She and her sister Maud Howe Elliot received a Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1917 for Julia Ward Howe 1819-1910.

The December 1961 issue of the Colby Library Quarterly contains articles on Richards’ life and work, including a personal recollection by her friend and neighbor Philo Calhoun. Richards’ autobiography is titled Stepping Westward (1931). She was a personal friend and correspondent of the poet Edwin Arlington Robinson.

The Laura E Richards Collection includes letters, manuscripts, and photographs, in addition to published works.

LAURA E RICHARDS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

In 1942, Laura E Richards gave selected books, inscribed by herself, and unpublished materials related to Edwin Arlington Robinson and Sarah Orne Jewett. These gifts are detailed in “Some Recent Acquisitions” in the January 1943 issue of the Colby Library Quarterly.

Additonal work consulted:

Richards, Laura E. E.A.R. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1936. Print.

HIGHLIGHTED DONORS FOR THIS COLLECTION

Philo C Calhoun – primary donor

Susan Nichols Pulsifer – primary donor

Colby Library Associates

Ruth Robinson Nivison/Robinson Birthplace, Inc

Margaret Perry

Clara (Mrs Carl Jefferson) Weber

Florence (Mrs Ben Ames) Williams

 

Celia Thaxter Collection

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Celia Laighton Thaxter (1835-1894) was a poet and prose writer from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Her first poem, “Land-locked,” was published in 1860, and was an immediate success. She enjoyed visits from prominent artists, literary figures, and musicians at her family’s resort on Appledore Island, and was published in Harper’s, Scribner’s, and the Atlantic. She is best known today for An Island Garden and Among the Isles of Shoals.

The December 1964 issue of the Colby Library Quarterly features articles on Celia Thaxter’s life and work.

COLLECTION DETAILS

We have letters, poems, prose fragments, an unfinished novel, scrapbooks, and first appearances in print. Our Celia Thaxter Collection is described in detail online.

HIGHLIGHTED DONORS FOR THIS COLLECTION

Rosamond Thaxter – primary donor

Colby Library Associates

Margaret Perry

Sarah Orne Jewett Collection

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Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909) was born in the small town of South Berwick, Maine, near the New Hampshire border. Many of Jewett’s works take place in the area and derive their importance from her careful descriptions of local color. In 1901 she became the first female recipient of an honorary degree in literature from Bowdoin College. She died at the age of 59 in her birthplace of South Berwick. Jewett’s works include: Mr. Bruce, Deephaven, A Country Doctor, A White Heron, Country of the Pointed Firs, The Dulham Ladies, and The Tory Lover.

The September 1959 issue of the Colby Library Quarterly features articles on Jewett’s life and work, marking the 50th anniversary of her death.

Additional work consulted:

“Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett.” American National Biography Online. Web. 19 March 2015.

SOJ at desk
Undated photograph of Sarah Orne Jewett at her desk, in her South Berwick home.

COLLECTION DETAILS

We have letters by and about Jewett, holograph manuscripts, periodicals containing her short stories, and books.

A finding aid and descriptive information for the Jewett Collection is available online.

HIGHLIGHTED DONORS FOR THIS COLLECTION

Colby Library Associates – primary donor

H Bacon Collamore – primary donor

Patrick Ferry – primary donor

Rosamond Thaxter – primary donor

Richard Cary

Laura E Richards

Margaret Perry

Irene Cooper Willis

 

Thomas Hardy Collection

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Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was the son of a builder from Dorchester, England. He went to school for architecture. He worked as an architect in addition to writing poetry until 1874, when he became a full time writer, publishing the novel Far From the Madding Crowd. Other well known works include The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and The Dynasts, a three-volume epic poem about the Napoleonic Wars. He returned to exclusively publishing poetry and short stories after 1895, when his novel Jude the Obscure met with harsh criticism. After Hardy’s death, his executors burnt many of his letters and notebooks, however our collection includes over 400 letters written by Hardy and his first and second wives, Emma and Florence.

The Thomas Hardy Society web site contains a biographical sketch.

TH in chair - from CLQ Nov 1950
1927 photograph of Thomas Hardy and his cat at Max Gate, seated in the chair that now graces our main reading room.

COLLECTION DETAILS

The Hardy Collection at Colby contains first editions, books about Hardy and volumes from his personal library, manuscripts, numerous first appearances from periodicals, sheet music, and artifacts, including a chair from his study at Max Gate. Our Hardy Collection is one of the largest collections of Hardy materials in the United States.

Read more details about the Hardy Collection online.

HIGHLIGHTED DONORS FOR THIS COLLECTION

Colby Library Associates – primary donor

Carl Jefferson Weber – primary donor

Patrick Ferry

Waldo Peirce

 

James Brendan Connolly Collection

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JBC 1896 #7
Athens, Greece, portrait of James Brendan Connolly during the 1896 Olympic Games. Years later, Connolly wrote about the Olympic experience in a 1936 Collier’s article.

James Brendan Connolly (1868-1957) was an Irish-American author of sea-related stories, novels, and nonfiction such as The Book of the Gloucester Fishermen. Born in South Boston as one of twelve children, he worked as a clerk for an insurance company in Boston and later with the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Savannah, Georgia. He attended Harvard and was a medal-winning athlete in the first modern Olympics, held in Athens in 1896, winning the triple jump, placing second in the high jump, and third in the long jump. Connolly became an authority on maritime writing, after spending years on many different vessels, fishing boats, and military ships all over the world. He participated in the Siege of Santiago (Spanish-American War) as a member of the 9th Regiment, ran for the 12th Congressional District (South Boston) seat as a member of the Progressive Party in 1914, and worked as a correspondent for such publications as Scribner’s, Harper’s and Collier’s.

The November 1948 issue of the Colby Library Quarterly features an article on Connolly’s literary career written by Ernest Marriner.

Additional works consulted:

James Brendan Connolly Collection. Colby College Special Collections.

Shaw, Jonathan. “The Unexpected Olympians.” Harvard Magazine. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, July-August 1996. Web. 19 March 2015.

COLLECTION DETAILS

The extensive James Brendan Connolly Collection, part of our Healy Collection, contains first editions, letters, manuscripts, scrapbooks and memorabilia, as described online.

HIGHLIGHTED DONORS FOR THIS COLLECTION

Brenda Connolly – primary donor

James Augustine Healy – primary donor

Ernest Cummings Marriner ’13

Carl Jefferson Weber

Vernon Lee Collection

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Violet Paget (1856-1935) was born to English parents in France in 1856 and published under the pseudonym Vernon Lee. She spent her life in England and Italy, was fluent in four languages, and became a central figure in the literary and social circles of her day. She wrote essays on aesthetics, archeology, history, and politics and authored over fifty books. She died in Florence in 1935.

The June 1960 issue of the Colby Library Quarterly is features articles on Vernon Lee including a biographical sketch written by her associate and executrix, Irene Cooper Willis.

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1914 photograph of Vernon Lee at her Florence villa, Il Palmerino.

COLLECTION DETAILS

The Vernon Lee Collection contains over 1,000 letters, hundreds of manuscripts, articles and photographs, and a small number of personal documents and artifacts in addition to published works.

Descriptive information about the Vernon Lee Collection is available online.

HIGHLIGHTED DONORS FOR THIS COLLECTION

Irene Cooper Willis – primary donor

Colby Library Associates

Carl Jefferson Weber

Edwin Arlington Robinson Collection

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Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869-1935) was born in Head Tide, Maine, but grew up in Gardiner.  Although his literary aspirations were discouraged by his family, he eventually attended Harvard but early on had little success in getting his work published. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt read and publicly admired Robinson’s 1897 book The Children of the Night, getting the book reprinted by a major publishing company and finding Robinson a job in the New York Customs House.  Starting in 1910, Robinson started to receive recognition as a poet and he won the Pulitzer Prize three times, in 1922 for Collected Poems, in 1924 for The Man Who Died Twice, and in 1927 for Tristram.  He died in 1935 just hours after finishing his last book, King Jasper.

The Gardiner Library Associates maintain a web site dedicated to Robinson’s life and work.

COLLECTION DETAILS

The Edwin Arlington Robinson Collection – one of our largest — contains nine linear feet of unpublished material, including over 1,200 unpublished letters by Robinson, as well as over 100 linear feet of published works; first and subsequent editions of Robinson’s works; related criticism; and many books from his personal library.  The collection also contains: photographs; writings and printed items created by family members, peers, other individuals, and organizations; Robinson’s personal items and academic regalia; and, artwork.

The personal library of Edwin Arlington Robinson is described here. We have a finding aid and other descriptive information about the Robinson Collection online.

HIGHLIGHTED DONORS FOR THIS COLLECTION

H Bacon Collamore – primary donor

Ruth Robinson Nivison/Robinson Birthplace, Inc – primary donor

Margaret Perry – primary donor

Colby Library Associates

Susan Nichols Pulsifer

Laura E Richards

Clara (Mrs Carl Jefferson) Weber

 

Lilla Cabot Perry Collection

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Lilla Cabot Perry (1848-1933) was born in Boston and was a member of the prominent Cabot family. In 1874, she married Thomas Sergeant Perry, who taught briefly at Harvard and contributed literary criticism to prominent periodicals such as the Atlantic Monthly and North American Review. Through her husband, she became friends with writers such as Henry James and William Dean Howells. Primarily known as an artist, Perry was mentored by Claude Monet and helped introduce his impressionist techniques to the United States. The Perrys traveled throughout Europe and Japan. Increasingly, the family – Thomas, Lilla and daughters Margaret, Edith and Alice – relied financially on the income from Lilla’s paintings.

Read a biographical sketch on the National Museum of Women in the Arts web site.

COLLECTION DETAILS

William Dean Howells - LCP portrait - 1912
A rare portrait of William Dean Howells painted by Lilla Cabot Perry in 1912. Gift of her daughter, Margaret Perry.

As a poet, Lilla was a close friend and correspondent of Edwin Arlington Robinson. In 1916, she painted what is probably the best-known portrait of him, which is on permanent display in our Robinson Room. Our collection also includes her 1912 portrait of Howells.

In addition to the aforementioned portraits, our Lilla Cabot Perry Collection contains many letters as well as manuscripts, diaries, articles and memorabilia.

HIGHLIGHTED DONORS FOR THIS COLLECTION

Margaret Perry – primary donor

Ruth Robinson Nivison

Susan Nichols Pulsifer

Clara (Mrs Carl Jefferson) Weber

 

Thomas Sergeant Perry Collection

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Thomas Sergeant Perry (1845-1928) was born in Newport, Rhode Island into an illustrious family that included Commodore Oliver Perry (grandfather) and Commodore Matthew Perry (great-uncle). Benjamin Franklin was his great-great-grandfather on his mother’s side. He graduated from Harvard in 1866, studied abroad and tutored in French and German at Harvard before becoming editor of the North American Review. He was instructor in English at Harvard for five years.

In 1874, Perry married Lilla Cabot of Boston, who became a noted painter. The Perrys lived abroad for several years before he accepted an invitation in 1897 to teach at Keiogijiku University as Professor of English Literature. Returning home in 1901, the Perrys lived at their Boston home on Marlborough Street and at their summer residence, Flagstones, in Hancock, New Hampshire.

Perry was a respected, astute reader and a prolific translator and literary critic. He was lifelong friends with notable writers such as Henry James and William Dean Howells and poets Harold Trowbridge Pulsifer and Edwin Arlington Robinson. Perry died of complications from pneumonia at his Boston home in 1928.

Our collection contains letters, manuscripts and Perry’s personal library.

Works consulted:

Cocks, J Fraser. Report on Special Collections.. 1985. Colbiana Collection. Colby College Special Collections.

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. Selections from the Letters of Thomas Sergeant Perry. New York: Macmillan. 1929. Print.

HIGHLIGHTED DONORS FOR THIS COLLECTION

Margaret Perry – primary donor

Julius Seelye Bixler

Ruth Robinson Nivison

Susan Nichols Pulsifer

Clara (Mrs Carl Jefferson) Weber