Meyer Schapiro letters and manuscripts of Whittaker Chambers and James Thomas Farrell, 1923-1991

Meyer Schapiro letters and manuscripts of Whittaker Chambers and James Thomas Farrell, 1923-1991

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#1121
Bib ID:
4079304 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Schapiro, Meyer, 1904-1996
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
3 linear feet (6 boxes)
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 is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Description

Summary

Autograph and typed letters from James Thomas Farrell to Schapiro, concerning Farrell's personal life, his writings, and current social and political affairs. There are also eight of Farrell's manuscripts from the 1960s. The long friendship of neighbors is seen in Farrell's personal letters about his private life and his family and in the discussions of whichever novel he was working on at the time. The main body of the correspondence is from the World War II period and shows much concern for current events in the Soviet Union as well as in the U.S. and Europe. The author also made a few forays into Irish humor, as in the use of his pseudonym, Jonathan Titelescu Fogarty. There are autograph drafts of Prof. Schapiro's replies to and notes about Farrell, and letters and post cards from Farrell's actress wife, Hortense Adler. Also, a letter from Frances Mitchell on her book, THE AWAKENING - LE REVEIL, 1950.

1995 Addition: 70 letters from Whittaker Chambers to Meyer Schapiro, along with copies of his letters and research material about Chambers.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into 5 series.

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 is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Readers must use photocopies of Whittaker Chambers' letters.

Single photocopies 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); Meyer Schapiro letters and manuscripts of Whittaker Chambers and James Thomas Farrell; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

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

Ownership and Custodial History

Gift of Meyer Schapiro, 1982, 1984& 1995.

Bequest of Meyer Schapiro, 1996.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Schapiro, Meyer. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1982. Accession number--M-82.

W.Chambers material: Source of acquisition--Schapiro, Meyer. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--02/08/1995. Accession number--M-02-08-95.

Papers: Source of acquisition--Schapiro, Meyer. Method of acquisition--Bequest; Date of acquisition--10/25/1996. Accession number--M-96-10-25.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 09/--/1989.

W.Chambers material Processed HR 10/26/2000.

Papers Processed HR 10/30/2000.

Revision Description

2010-03-01 Legacy finding aid created from Pro Cite.

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

Biographical / Historical

Educator, art critic, and professor of fine arts at Columbia University, 1928-1965, University Professor, 1965-1973, Prof. Schapiro (Columbia Univ BA, 1924; MA 1926, Ph.D., 1929) died in 1996.

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
Affidavits
Articles
Depositions
Invitations
Memorandums
Notes (documents)
Poems
Releases
Reviews (documents)
Subpoenas
Transcripts
Name
Adlen, Hortense
Buckley, William F., Jr., 1925-2008
Chambers, Whittaker
Columbia University -- Faculty
Corman, Cid
Farrell, James T (James Thomas), 1904-1979
Hiss, Alger
Mitchell, Frances, 1914-
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Subject
Actresses
Anti-communist movements -- United States
Authors, American -- 20th century
College teachers
Communism -- United States -- 20th century
Irish wit and humor
Journalists
Spies
Subversive activities -- United States -- 20th century
Women authors
World War, 1939-1945 -- Europe
World War, 1939-1945 -- Soviet Union
World War, 1939-1945 -- United States

Series I: Cataloged Correspondence


Box 1

Buckley, William Frank, Jr., 1925- To Meyer Schapiro, Switz., 24 Feb. 1967, 1 page t.l.s.

[Signed by Secretary; with copy of related letters]


Box 1

Chambers, Whittaker, 1901-1961 To Meyer Schapiro, [v.p.], [1924-1953], 44 a.l.s., 1 a.l., 9 t.l.s., 18 t.l., 2 a.p.c.s., 1 p.l.

[Reading copies]


Box 1

Chambers, Whittaker To the Politburo of the Communist Party USA, [n.p.], [Early 1937], 1 ms.l.

[Reading Copies; "Dictated by WC," in the hand of Meyer Schapiro?; 2 photocopies and 1 typewritten transcript]


Box 2

Chiaromonte, Nicola To Meyer Schapiro, [New York?], 2 Aug & [summer] 1944, 1 a.l.s., 1 t.l.s.


Box 2

Corman, Cid To Meyer Schapiro, Kyoto, 25 July 1983, 2 t.l.s.


Box 2

Farrell, Hortense Alden (Mrs. James T.) To Meyer Schapiro, v.p., [1938] - 1944, 5 t.l.s.


Box 2

Farrell, Hortense Alden (Mrs. James T.) To Mr. and Mrs. Meyer and Lillian Milgram Schapiro, Rheims & Chartres, July [ca.l] - 8, 1938, 2 a.p.c.s.

[Signed by "Hortense and Jim"]


Box 2

Farrell, James T. To Meyer Schapiro, [v.p.], 11 Dec 1937 - 29 May 1944, 389 t.l.s., 69 t.l., 3 a.p.c.s., 25 a.l.s., 1 t.pc.


Box 3

Farrell, James T. To Meyer Schapiro, [v.p.], 2 June 1944 - 24 Aug 1974, 257 t.l.s., 24 t.l., 2 a.p.c.s., 174 a.l.s.


Box 4

Farrell, James T. To Meyer Schapiro, [v.p.], 5 Feb 1976 - 1 June 1979, 86 t.l.s., 3 t.l., 3 t.p.c.s., 6 a.l.s.


Box 4

Mitchell, Frances To Meyer Schapiro, New York, [ca. 1950], 2 t.l.s.


Box 4

Schapiro, Meyer To James T. Farrell, [New York], [June - July 1938?], 1 t.l.

[With 3-page draft in the author's hand]

Series II: Cataloged Manuscripts


Box 5

Farrell, James T. "Author defends character Studs Lonigan", Louisville, 22 Nov 1960, 2 t.ms.

[Multilith copy: "Comment by Farrell" as printed in The Louisville Times ]


Box 5

Farrell, James T. "The action of the government of Irag...", [New York], 6 Feb 1969, 5 t.ms.

[Carbon copy: With corrections in the writer's hand; article for a journal; with envelope]


Box 5

Farrell, James T. Golden Youth, [New York], 1963, 3 a.ms.

[Poem; with covering a.n.]


Box 5

Farrell, James T. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, [New York], 1963, 1 a.ms.

[Poem; autograph note indicates the poem was printed in the Congressional Record, 15 Jan 1964]


Box 5

Farrell, James T. Lebanon: a first impression, [New York], 1961, 7 t.ms.

[Essay on the political situation in the Middle East; "unpublished"]


Box 5

Farrell, James T. Political Parties...by Robert Michels, New York, [1966-67], 7 t.ms.

[xerox copy; article on Michels' book, suggested by J.P. Nettl's biography of Rosa Luxemburg, Oxford University Press, 1966]


Box 5

Farrell, James T. Requiem For a Literary Bank Account, [New York], [1961?], 4 t.ms.s

[p.4 missing; multilith copy, title and notes in the author's hand, with his signature]


Box 5

Farrell, James T. What Time Collects, [New York], [Feb 1964], 15 t.ms.

[Final draft of Chapters thirty-three, thirty-four, and thirty-six]


Box 5

Schapiro, Meyer [Comments on James T. Farrell's achievements], [S. Londonderry, Vt.], 9 Aug 1978, 1 t.ms.

[Commendation on James T. Farrell in reply to the request of the University of Chicago Alumni Association in considering him for their Professional Achievement Award.]


Box 5

Raphael, Max Zur Erkenntnistheorie des Marxismus, [Paris], [1933], 280 t.ms.

[the last 10 pages: Anmerkungen]

Series III: Clippings


Box 5

Farrell, James T. Clippings about...

Series IV: Miscellaneous Material


Box 5

Farrell, James T. Miscellaneous correspondence


Box 5

Farrell, James T. Miscellaneous letters about


Box 5

Farrell, James T. printed articles


Box 5

Notes removed from Ammianus Marcellinus, 1996


Box 5

Notes removed from "Hero of Alexandria", 1996


Box 5

Notes removed from "Oracula Sibyllina", 1996

Series V: Research Materials on Whittaker Chambers


Box 6

Tanenhaus, 1995


Box 6

Herbert Solow, 1995


Box 6

Clippings, 1995


Box 6

Clippings, articles, etc., 1995


Box 6

Poems, 1922-25, from the Zukovsky Papers, Univ. of Texas (Austin), 1995


Box 6

cleared; ready for CU, 1995


Box 6

VIII, 1995


Box 6

IX, 1995


Box 6

X: Hamilton, J.W., 1978-80, 1995


Box 6

Allen Weinstein, 1975, 1995


Box 6

XII, 1995


Box 6

Notes for J.D. Fox, 1995