Nathan Halper papers, 1923-1986
Summary Information
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#0539
- Bib ID:
- 4078342 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Halper, Nathan
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 13.26 linear feet (28 boxes, 1 flat box)
- Language(s):
- English .
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
-
This collection has no restrictions.
The following boxes are located off-site: 2-28. You will need to request this material from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
Description
Scope and Content
Correspondence, manuscripts, notes, word lists, documents, photographs, clippings, periodicals, and other printed materials concerning his writings, translations, and criticism. Most of the manuscript drafts and notes are for his critical and analytical studies of Finnegans Wake and of other works by James Joyce.
There are also draft translations from the Yiddish of various authors, early autobiographical articles and chapters for an autobiographical novel, general literary criticism, articles on chess, as well as notes and drafts for his research in 1938 into the history of the Indians of New England and of the Mashpee Indian Reservation on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
There are many periodicals and other printed materials about Provincetown where he maintained his art gallery. Some years before his death, he began a study of Jewish-American family names; there are many notes, drafts, and clippings for his projected book on the subject which was not completed. Among the correspondents are John Cage, Richard Ellmann, Norman Mailer, Robert Motherwell, Lionel Trilling, and Edmund Wilson.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in twelve series.
- Series I: Cataloged Correspondence
- Series II: Cataloged Photograph
- Series III: Miscellaneous
- Series IV: Chess
- Series V: Columbia University and Other Schools
- Series VI: Criticism
- Series VII: Fiction
- Series VIII: Fiction--Translations
- Series IX: Jewish Names
- Series X: James Joyce
- Series XI: New England
- Series XII: Memorabilia
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection has no restrictions.
The following boxes are located off-site: 2-28. You will need to request this material from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Curator of Manuscripts, Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML). The RBML approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Nathan Halper papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Related Archival Materials
Materials relating to Halper's art gallery were given to: The Archives of American Art in: Address--National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. 20560.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Papers: Source of acquisition--Halper, Marjorie Windust. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1984.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Papers Processed HR 02/--/86.
Revision Description
2012-02-14 xml document instance created by Carrie Hintz
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Biographical sketch
Nathan Halper, 1907-1983 (Columbia A.B. 1927; Ph.D. 1973), author, translator, and art dealer, was an authority on the writings of James Joyce. He also translated and published much Yiddish literature, reviewed books and operated an art gallery in Provincetown, Massachusetts where he lived for half the year.
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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