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Finding Aid for the Charles D. Abbott Papers, 1931-1960

13/2/86

University Archives
State University of New York at Buffalo

2006

Contact Information

University Archives, State University of New York at Buffalo
420 Capen Hall | Buffalo, NY 14260
Phone: 716 645-2916 | Fax: 716 645-3714
Email: lib-archives@buffalo.edu

©2006. State University of New York at Buffalo. All rights reserved.


Charles D. Abbott

Collection Overview

Collection Title: Charles D. Abbott Papers, 1931-1960
Collection Number: 13/2/86
Creator: Abbott, Charles D. (Charles David), 1900-1961.
Extent: 8.2 linear feet (17 manuscript boxes)
Repository: University Archives, State University of New York at Buffalo
Abstract: Correspondence regarding the creation and maintenance of the Poetry Collection of Lockwood Library at the University of Buffalo; professional papers; personal records, including social correspondence and clippings; records of the Fenton Lecture series, 1935-1941; and records of the Buffalo Film Society, 1935-1938.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Archives staff.

Finding aid encoded by Karen Morse, October 2006

Terms of Access and Use

The Charles D. Abbott Papers are open for research.

Copyright

Copyright is held by the State University of New York at Buffalo, University Archives. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

Preferred Citation

[Description and dates], Box/folder number, 13/2/86, Charles D. Abbott Papers, 1931-1960, University Archives, State University of New York at Buffalo.

See the Archives' preferred citations instructions for additional information.

Acquisition Information

The majority of the material in this collection was transfered to the University Archives by other areas of the Libraries in the mid-1960s.

Historical Note

Up to 1935, the University Library was housed in various places on campus. The Law and Medical schools had and still have their own libraries. When the University moves to the Main Street campus the library was housed in Hayes Hall and the Science Library was housed in Foster Hall and were under the direction of Ruth Bartholowmew. When Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Lockwood gave money for the construction of a library building in memory of their fathers, a condition was mad that Charles D. Abbott be appointed as Director of Libraries.

Chronology

1900 Born, Milfold, Delaware to Charles D. and Annie Evans Abbott
1922 Received A.B. from Haverford College
1924 Received M.A from Columbia University
1925 Authored Howard Pyle, A Chronicle
1927 Received B. Litt., from Oxford University and married Ann Pratt, who died a few years later
1927-1930 Professor of English, University of Buffalo
1930-1934 Professor of English, University of Colorado
1934 Returned to the University of Buffalo as Professor of English and was appointed Director of Libraries
1936 Married Theresa W. Gratwick
1939 Initiated The Poetry Collection
1960 Retired as Professor of English and Director of Libraries. Named Director Emeritus by University President Clifford Furnas
1961 Died, Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, New York

Scope and Content Note

Professional papers, 1903-1961, of Charles D. Abbott, Professor of English (1927-1930, 1934-1960) and Director of Libraries (1934-1960) at the University of Buffalo (now the State University of New York at Buffalo). Abbott's literary correspondence includes letters from W.H. Auden, Sir Thomas Beecham, John Gould Fletcher, Austin Gray, Hellmut Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher Morley, Louis Untermeyer, John Hay Whitney, and Louis Wilson. Much of Abbott's correspondence with literary figures was incorporated into The Poety Collections' Abbott Collection. Also included is Abbott's correspondence with booksellers and publisher concerning the acquisition of library materials, correspondence concerning the dedication of Lockwood Memorial Library in 1934, and correspondence concerning other activities of the University Libraries. The papers also document Abbott's activities with the Buffalo Film Society (1935-1938) and as chairman of the Fenton Foundation Lectures (1935-1941). The Fenton Lecture materials include correspondence with Sir Thomas Beecham, Clifton Fadiman, Oscar Halecki, Alfred Noyes, and William Carlos Williams.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in seven series:

I. Buffalo Film Society

II. Correspondence

III. Ephemera

IV. Fenton Foundation Lectures

V. Lockwood Memorial Library

VI. Teaching and Research

VII. University

Container List

Series I. Buffalo Film Society, 1935-1938

Arranged chronologically.

11 Records concerning the Buffalo Film Soceity, 1935-1938

Series II. Correspondence, 1934-1961

The majority of the correspondence files are arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

14 Personal correspondence 1938-1961
1 A, 1935-1947
1 Abbott, John, 1934-1941
1 Academy of American Poets, 1938
1 Adams, J.N. and Co., 1943
1 American Art Association, 1938-1940
1 Atlantic Monthly, 1935-1937
1 Ba-Be, 1935-1942
1 Barrell, Mrs. George, 1940-1942
1 Barry, Iris, 1935-1947
1 Bartholomew, Ruth, 1942
1 Bi-Bo, 1940-1942
1 Bidwell, Percy, 1935-1937
1 Bonner, Willard, 1937-1943
1 Book Campaign, 1941-1942
17 Book of the Month Club, 1942-1943; includes correspondence and reviews
5 Booksellers and Publishers, 1934-1939
6 Booksellers and Publishers, 1940-1948
1 Br, 1936-1942
1 British Information Library, 1940-1943
1 Brumbaugh, M.A., 1935-1936
1 Bu-By, 1939-1940
1 Buffalo Museum of Science, 1937, 1940-1941
1 Buffalo Public Library, 1935-1942
1 C, 1935-1943
1 Cantor, Nathaniel, 1937
1 Capen, Samuel, 1935-1944
1 Carpenter, Niles, 1935-1943
1 Cartledge, G.H., 1937-1943
2 Chanler, Mrs. W. and Mrs. J.C. Randall, 19371-942
2 Chicago, University of, 1940
2 CLUNY, 1937-1942
2 Columbia University, 1937-1943
2 Committee on Conservation of Cultural Resources, 1940-1941
2 Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, 1940-1941
2 Cook, William, 1939-1940
2 Cummings, L.O., 1938-1943
2 Da-De, 1937-1942
2 Deters, Emma, 1936-1943
2 Di-Dy, 1935-1936
2 Dictionary of American Biography, 1943
2 E, 1935-1942
2 Epstein, Ralph, 1935-1943
2 F, 1938-1940
2 Farber, Marvin, 1941
2 Fiero, G.W., 1935
2 Frazer, J.F., 1935
2 Froman, Lewis, 1942-1943
2 Ge-Gra, 1936-1940
2 Gehman, Harry, 1935-1937. 1940-1941
2 Gilchrist, Donald, 1935-1938
2 Glass, Grace, 1935-1936
2 Goetz, Philip, 1938-1944
2 Goldberg, Arthur, 1941
2 Gratwick, Roger, 1942
2 Gray, Austin, 1935-1936
2 Gre-Gu, 1935-1941
2 Green and Son, 1934-1935
2 Gregory, Willis, 1934-1935
2 Ha, 1937-1944
2 Hamlin, Mrs. Chauncey, 1941-1944
2 Hanley, T. Edward, 1937, 1940
2 Harvard College Library, 1940-1943
2 Haverford College, 1935
2 He-Hy, 1939-1944
2 Hewitt, Theodore, 1935-1940
2 Herwood and Herwood, 1935-1939
2 Hoag, Gilbert, 1939-1940
3 Hofer, Philip, 1935-1936
3 Horton, John, 1935-1940
3 Howe, W.H.T., 1935-1937
3 I, J, 19389-1942
3 Jones, Edward, 1937, 1942
3 K, 1939-1943
3 Keene, Charles, 1936-1938
3 Kelley, Beatrice, 1938-1944
3 Kessel, William, 1939-1941
3 Kinkeldey, Otto, 1938-1939, 1942
3 Kittredge, Rupert, 1940
3 Koch, Edward, 1937, 1941-1942
3 L, 1935-1942
3 Leary, Daniel, 1935-1940
3 Lemon, A.B., 1936-1938
3 Levinthal, Frieda, 1940
3 Lewis, Wyndham, 1940
3 Library of Congress, 1938-1940
17 Library of Congress - letter regarding the National Union Catalogue of Manuscript Collections, 1960
3 Literary figures, 1935-1955
3 Littlefield, William, 1942
3 Livermore, Shaw, 1936, 1940
17 Lockwood, Thomas, 1927-1949
3 Lockwood, Thomas, 1938, 1940
3 Mc-Mitchell, 1938-1944
3 McGrath, Edward, 1936-1937
3 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, 1940
3 Mellon, Clarence, 1935
3 Miller, Wharton, 1935-1936, 1942
3 Millet, Fred, 1938-1939
3 Mitchell, James, 1936-1943
3 Mod-Mu, 1935-1941
3 Montague, Harriet, 1936-1937
3 Moore, Edward, 1935, 1937, 1941
3 Morley, Christopher, 1935-1937
3 N, 1939-1943
3 National Council of Teachers of English, 1936-1937
3 Newman, G.N., 1938-1943
3 New York Library Association, 1937-1940
3 Notre Dame, 1941-1943
3 O, 1936-1939
3 Orwen, Gifford, 1939
3 Orwin, Carroll, 1940
3 Ott, Ellis, 1938-1943
4 Pa-Ph, 1938-1940
4 Park, Julian, 1934-1943
4 Parke, Robert, 1937-1942
4 Parrish, M.L., 1941-1943
4 Patrick, J. Max, 1941-1943
17 Phi Beta Kappa, 1944-1951
4 Pi-Pr, 1937
4 Poetry Collection, 1948-1949
4 Post, Howard, 1936-1937
4 Pratt. Julius, 1935-1937, 1939, 1940
4 Publicity, Library, 1951, 1956-1958
4 R, 1935-1944
17 Rhodes Scholarship, 1935-1949
4 Riegel, Robert, 1934-1938, 1941-1942
4 Rochester, University of, 1939-1942
4 Rutgers University, 1938-1939
4 Sa-Si, 1937-1942
4 Santayana Bibliography, 1940
17 Saturday Review of Literature, 1935-1943; includes correspondence and reviews
4 Schauroth, Edward, 1936-1937
4 Scofield, Carleton, 1935
4 Seitz, Mrs. Robert, 1937
4 Severance, Mrs. Frank, 1935-1937
4 Sewall, John, 1937-1940
4 Shearer, Augustus, 1934-1940
4 Silverman, Oscar, 1940
4 Sm-Sw, 1938-1943
4 Southern Illinois Normal School, 1942
4 Stanley, Winifred C., 1942-1943
4 Stief, Lewis, 1937, 1943
4 T-V, 1936-1941
4 Telgrams, 1935-1955
4 Telephone bills, 1940-1950
4 Thomas, C.W., 1940
4 Wa-Wh, 1936-1942
5 Warren, Mrs. Fiske, 1940
5 Who's Who in Library Services, 1941-1942
5 Wi-Wy, 1937, 1940
5 Widener, Homer, 1934-1936
5 Wilson, Carroll, 1935-1937
5 Yale University Library, 1938-1942
5 Z, 1939

Series III. Ephemera, undated

14 General ephemera
14 Library ephemera
14 Miscellaneous ephemera
14 Publishers notices
14 Magazine "Programs"
14 Fenton Lecture Circulars
14 Communism and Academic Freedom

Series IV. Fenton Foundatation Lectures

Arranged chronologically by year, then alphabetically by name.

15.4-15.9 General Lecture Material; includes circulars and information on potential lecturers
15 Circulars
13.1 Contracts, 1936-1937, 1940-1941
 
Lectures, 1936-1937
13.2-13.4   General Correspondence
13.5   Miscellaneous Correspondence
13.6   Fadiman, Clifton
13.7   Fay, Bernard
13.8   Forster, W. Arnold
13.9   Gruening, Ernest
13.10   Husserl, Gerhart
13.11   Madariaga, Salvador de
13.12   Sulzback, Walter
13.13   Warren, Austin
 
Lectures, 1937-1938
13.14-13.16   General Correspondence
13.17   Brown, Harrison
13.18   Carmichael, Leonard
13.19   Engel, Paul
13.20   Greet, W. Cabell
13.21   Mann, Klaus
13.22   Powell, Thomas Reed
13.23   Salvemin, Gaetane
13.24   Sandburg, Carl
13.25   Sellars, Roy Wood
 
Lectures, 1938-1939
13.26   General Correspondence
13.27   Auden, W.H.
13.28   Frost, Robert
13.29   Halecki, Oscar
13.30   Higgins, F.R.
13.31   Rhine, Joseph
13.32   Sellon, Hugh
13.33   Storrs, Sir Ronald
13.34   Untermeyer, Louis
 
Lectures, 1939-1940
13.35-13.37   General Correspondence
13.38   Barker, Ernest
13.39   Borgese, Guiseppi
13.40   Heilpenin, Michael
13.41   Hooten, E. A.
13.42   Karvas, Imrich
13.43   Leach, Henry
13.44   McKeon, Richard
13.45   MacNiece, Louis
13.46   Maritain, M.
13.47   Panofsky, Erwin
13.48   Tippetts, Charles
13.49   Wheelwright, John
 
Lectures, 1940-1941
13.50-13.52   General Correspondence
13.53   Beecham, Thomas
13.54   Cornish, Louis
13.55   Esthoven, Henri
13.56   Institute of International Education
13.57   Jeffers, Robinson
13.58   Jones, Rufus
13.59   Kohn, Dorothy
13.60   Noyes, Alfred
13.61   Nyabongo, Prince
13.62   Perry, Ralph B.
13.63   Smith, S. Stephenson
13.64   Speyer, Leonora
13.65   Williams, William Carlos
13.66   Wooley, Mary
13.67   Wright, Russell

Series V. Lockwood Memorial Library, 1935-1949

Dedication
7-7a   Dedication of Lockwood Memorial Library 1935
7-7a   Twenty-fifth Anniversary for the Dedication of Lockwood Memorial Library, 1960
7-7a Library Exhibits, 1935-1949
5 Library forms for all departments, undated
7-7a Friends of the Library 1935-1939
8 Invoices, 1935-1940
9 Invoices, 1939-1950
5 Library report (Music Room 1937-1940), 1940
5 Library requirements for English courses, undated
 
Rules
5   Rules of the library, undated
5   Xeroxed rules, 1961
5 Library school, 1934-1944

Series VI. Teaching and Research, 1935-1960

17 Bibliography of works by Thomas Fuller (17th Century), 1932
10 Records concerning Abbott's teaching, 1935-1960
5 War researches, 1945

Series VII. University, 1930-1958

Arranged alphabetically

12 American Association of University Professors (A.A.U.P.), 1936-1939, 1941-1943
12 Buffalo American Association of University Professors (A.A.U.P.), 1936, 1941, 1943
12 Announcements, 1931-1941
16 Faculty announcements 1949-1958
12 Calendars (schedules), 1939, 1942-1945
12 Faculty directories, 1935, 1936, 1942, 1943 (xeroxed 1939-1942)
12 Minutes -- College of Arts and Sciences, 1940-1943
12 Minutes -- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 1940-1943
12 Schedule Committee Report, 1938
12 School of Education -- form for recommendations, undated
12 State Teachers Certification, 1942
12 Work Student Program, undated

Search Terms

Contributors

State University of New York at Buffalo. University Archives.

Subject Terms

Abbott, Charles D. (Charles David), 1900-1961--Archives.

Fenton Lectures Committee.

Lockwood Memorial Library.

State University of New York at Buffalo. Poetry/Rare Books Collection--Archives.

Libraries--New York (State)--Buffalo.

University of Buffalo--Archival resources.

Related Resources

13/1/84, Charles D. Abbott Correspondence Files, University Archives

Abbott Collection, The Poetry Collection. Please note the Abbott Collection is a conglomeration of material collected between 1937-1979, the majority of which was collected by Charles Abbott.