Allan Nevins papers, 1912-1992

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.:
Ms Coll\Nevins,Ms Coll/Nevins, A
Bib ID:
4079154 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Nevins, Allan, 1890-1971
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
104 linear feet (205 boxes; ca.40700 items in oversize items; 207 record storage cartons of books)
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: 8-17, 32-205. 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

Approximately 12,000 letters to Allan Nevins from various correspondents including James Truslow Adams, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Willa Cather, Frances Folsom Cleveland, Van Wyck Brooks, Robert Frost, Newton D. Baker, Archibald MacLeish, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Carl Sandburg, and Henry Wallace; notes and typescripts for Nevins' books including Emergence of Lincoln, The Ordeal of Democracy, Rockefeller, and History and Historians, with notes by editor Ray A. Billington; miscellaneous transcripts, clippings, newspapers, and photographs. Also, autograph letters and manuscripts by presidents, Civil War figures, financiers, politicians, and authors. There are also the Brand Whitlock World War I Diaries and letters to him by such people as Herbert Hoover, Gen. John J. Pershing, and others.

Arrangement

Selected materials cataloged; remainder arranged. Cataloged correspondence, A-Z: Boxes 1-6; Cataloged professional correspondence, A-Z: Boxes 18-31; Cataloged manuscripts: Box 7; Brand Whitlock diaries, etc.: Boxes 8, 9& 16; Uncataloged materials arranged by topic: Boxes 10-15, 17, 32-205; Books, Boxes 1-6.

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: 8-17, 32-205. 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. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Allan Nevins Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Related Materials

Additional papers relating to ORDEAL OF THE UNION are at the Henry Huntington Library

Research files and manuscripts relating to his biography of Herbert H. Lehman are in the Lehman Papers, 406 International Affairs

Additional papers relating to Ordeal of the Union are at the Henry Huntington Library.

Research files and manuscripts relating to his biography of Herbert H. Lehman are in the Lehman Papers.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Alternate Form Available

Lord Bryce letters are on: microfilm.

Willa Cather letters are on: microfilm.

Royal Cortissoz letters are on: microfilm.

Elizabeth Benton Fremont diary is on: microfilm.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Nevins, Allan. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1953. Accession number--M-53.

Papers: Source of acquisition--Mayer, Meredith Nevins. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--12/04/1992. Accession number--M-92-12-04.

Gift of Allan Nevins, 1953 & 1954.

Bequest of Alan Nevins, 1971.

Gift of Anne Nevins Loftis & Meredith Nevins Mayer, 1982.

Gift of Meredith Nevins Mayer, 1992.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

The books from Prof. Nevins' own library, which were formerly shelved with these papers, have been moved to offsite storage.

Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 08/--/1989.

Papers Processed HR 10/05/1992.

Processed by Henry Rowen 3/2000.

Revision Description

2010-02-18 Legacy finding aid created from Pro Cite.

2014-03-19 XML document instance created by Catherine C. Ricciardi

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Biographical / Historical

American historian and editor.

Nevins, Joseph Allan May 20 1890 Mar. 5 1971 historian and educator. He attended the University of Illinois wher he earned a B. A. 1912 and an M. A. in English 1913 Nevins moved to New York to work as a journalist in 1913. While working as a journalist Nevins found time to write books on history.

In 1928 Nevins accepted a position teaching history at Columbia University. In 1931 he was appointed Dewitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University. Nevins was the Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford University in 1940 1941 and 1964 1965

Nevins was a quite prolific writer producing more than 50 books and scores of srticles. He produced biographies of Henry White, Grover Cleveland, Abram Hewitt, Hamilton Fish, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and and Herbert Lehman.

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.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Autographs (manuscripts) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Awards CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Certificates CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Clippings (Information Artifacts) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Diaries CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Dissertations CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Essays CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lectures CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lists (document genres) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Manuscripts (documents) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Memorabilia CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Notes (documents) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Photographs CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
diplomas CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Name
Adams, James Truslow, 1878-1949 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Baker, Newton Diehl, 1871-1937 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Billington, Ray Allen, 1903-1981 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Brooks, Van Wyck, 1886-1963 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Bryce, James Bryce, Viscount, 1838-1922 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Cather, Willa, 1873-1947 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Cleveland, Frances Folsom, 1864-1947 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Commager, Henry Steele, 1902-1998 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Cortissoz, Royal, 1869-1948 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Fish, Hamilton, 1808-1893 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Ford, Henry, 1863-1947 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Frost, Robert, 1874-1963 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Hewitt, Abram S (Abram Stevens), 1822-1903 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Hone, Philip, 1780-1851 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
MacLeish, Archibald, 1892-1982 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Rockefeller, John D., Jr (John Davison), 1874-1960 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Roosevelt, Franklin D (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Rowse, A. L (Alfred Leslie), 1903-1997 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Sandburg, Carl, 1878-1967 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Standard Oil Company CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Wallace, Henry A (Henry Agard), 1888-1965 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Whitlock, Brand, 1869-1934 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Place
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Authors, American CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Capitalists and financiers CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
College teachers CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Historians CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Poets, American CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Politicians CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Presidents -- United States CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Scrapbooks CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Women authors CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Women authors, American CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID