University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

Paul Eldridge (1888-1982) was an American poet, novelist, essayist, short story writer, and teacher. Most prolific in the 1940s, Eldridge's writing focused on issues of World War II, the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and Zionist and Jewish issues more generally. This collection consists of manuscripts, typescripts, and reprographic copies of Eldridge's poems, stories, and essays; scrapbooks of clippings related to Eldridge's writing and other activities; dustjackets; photographs; issues of newspapers and periodicals in which his columns appeared; and correspondence related to Eldridge's writing and career.

The H.H. Furness Memorial Library focuses on the study of Shakespeare and other Tudor and Stuart dramatists. Horace Howard Furness (1833-1912) and his son Horace Howard Furness Jr. (1865-1930) founded and edited the Variorum Shakespeare and their library was donated to the University of Pennsylvania in 1932. This collection contains personal correspondence to and from Rev. William Henry Furness (1802-1896), Horace Howard Furness, and Horace Howard Furness, Jr., largely relating to Shakespearean study and the H.H. Furness Memorial library; notebooks; copies of speeches and articles; and other assorted items relating to Shakespearean scholarship or to the Furness family.

Mary Colum (nee Maguire) (1884-1957) was a literary critic known for her memoir, Life and the Dream, the posthumously published Our Friend James Joyce, as well as contributions to such magazines as Scribner's, The Saturday Review of Literature, and The Forum, where she also served as literary editor. Padraic Colum (1881-1972) was a poet, playwright, novelist, biographer, and folklorist, known primarily for his collections of myths and folktales for children, his novels Castle Conquer and The Flying Swans, a volume of collected poetry, and several plays. This collection contains 20 boxes of material relating to the works and careers of Padraic and Mary Colum, the management of Padraic Colum's estate following his death, and the life of Emmet Greene, nephew of Padraic and Mary Colum and executor of Padraic Colum's estate.

The collection comprises the personal papers of Alma Mahler, the personal and professional papers of Franz Werfel, memorabilia related to Gustav Mahler, and the research files of Adolf D. Klarmann concerning Franz Werfel. Materials include correspondence to and from Alma Mahler and Franz Werfel, as well as to and from Adolf Klarmann, sometimes on behalf of Alma; writings of Alma, such as diaries and memoirs, as well as her musical compositions; writings of Werfel, such as poems, plays, novels, novellas and stories, and essays; memorabilia relating to Alma, her parents, Gustav Mahler, and Werfel, such as clippings, programs, and personal documents; photographs; and audio files, such as interviews and songs. Also included are Klarmann’s research notes and writings on Werfel, as well as material relating to Klarmann’s work as editor of Werfel’s writings.

Telegraph Books (circa 1970-1972) was a publishing company founded by Victor Bockris, a poet, editor, and biographer of artists, authors, and musicians, poet Aram Saroyan, and literary agent Andrew Wylie. The Telegraph Books collection, dating from 1970 through 1972, documents the activities and functions of Telegraph Books publications in addition to the activities of Victor Bockris at that time, including audio recordings of interviews and conversations with colleagues and workshop materials.

The papers document the literary career and the personal and professional life of twentieth-century American novelist and writer Waldo David Frank. Comprising correspondence, writings, publicity, writings by others, memorabilia, photographs, scrapbooks, and clippings spanning from 1879 to 1977, the collection contains 132 boxes and 3565 folders. The correspondence documents Frank's personal and professional relationships with writers, editors, artists, friends, and family. Letters from friendships with other writers and artists such as Jean Toomer, Sherwood Anderson, Alfred Stieglitz, Lewis Mumford, Van Wyck Brooks, and Hart Crane document congenial collaborations, sharing of ideas, and disagreements. The writings contain his notebooks, major works, articles, essays, and early writings tracing Frank's works and ideas of society and culture with psychological and social themes of man and his environment. Frank's passion for the culture and study of Spain, Latin America, and Mexico is apparent in correspondence and his research, preserved through notes and photographs of South America and Mexico. Letters and photographs display Frank's relationships with family members, his wives (Margaret Naumburg, Alma Magoon Frank, and Jean Klempner Frank) and his children. The materials in this collection divulge not only the writings of Waldo Frank, but the struggles of the writer and his encounters with himself and society as he seeks his vision of truth in the world. He was courageous in the face of his critics and his political enemies even when experiencing both written and physical attacks. Even though Frank claimed he was an outsider he was embraced by the people and cultures he championed and studied. Although largely forgotten by the end of his lifetime, his correspondence, writings, and ideas remain, providing insight into literary circles, political ideas, and historical events in the United States and Latin America during the early- to mid-twentieth century.

Victor Bockris (born in 1949) is a poet, editor, and biographer of artists, authors, and musicians. The Victor Bockris papers document the activities of a community of avant-garde poets and artists of the early 1970s, mainly active in Philadelphia and New York City.

Howard Melvin Fast (1914-2003) was a best-selling and prolific American author of historical fiction, mysteries, and science fiction, known for his books on themes of patriotism, social justice, and the immigrant experience. He wrote nearly 100 books and more than 150 short stories, as well as numerous screenplays, stage plays, and newspaper columns. The Howard Fast papers include correspondence, journals, appointment books, address books, financials, writings, promotion and reviews, scrapbooks, biographies, profiles, chronologies, bibliographies, interviews, governmental and political files, vital records, personal documents, awards, photographs, artwork, and audiovisual materials. The papers were deposited at the University of Pennsylvania over the course of 45 years and represent nearly all facets of the writer's life.

An album containing photographs taken by an unknown person in Sri Lanka working at a British preparatory school during the years 1919 to 1932. There are two letters and some copied poems laid in the volume.

Autograph album kept by Anna M. Leslie, who lived in the Philadelphia area.