University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

Arthur Hobson Quinn (1875-1960) was a professor and dean of English and History at the University of Pennsylvania and an internationally recognized authority on the history of American drama. This collection contains material representative of Quinn’s entire professional life: correspondence, manuscripts of books and articles, lecture notes, reviews of contemporary plays, his collection of playbills and libretti, and material related to his research on Edgar Allan Poe and the American realist playwright James A. Herne.

Burton Rascoe (1892-1957) was an American literary critic, journalist, editor, and author working in the first half of the 20th century. His confrontational style stirred up much debate and helped generate interest in up-and-coming writers that Rascoe believed showed promise; most notably, Rascoe was an early champion of writers such as James Branch Cabell, Theodore Dreiser, and H. L. Mencken. The collection consists of his correspondence, including some with famous literary figures; writings by Rascoe in draft and published form; papers relating to a lawsuit with Max Annenberg; diaries and notebooks; photographs; and clippings.

Jay A. Gertzman is professor emeritus of English at Mansfield University. This collection includes research material collected and used by Jay Gertzman to produce his book Bookleggers and Smuthounds: The Trade in Erotica, 1920-1940;. Documents collected here pertain to the proliferation and censorship of erotic material in the era between the two World Wars.

Collection contains 54 boxes of professional and family correspondence; 68 boxes of writings by Brooks, including typescripts, galleys, and notes for books, articles, prefaces, and addresses, as well as juvenalia, diaries, and notebooks; and 20 boxes of memorabilia, photographs, and newspaper clippings.