Francis Steegmuller papers, 1877-2012
Summary Information
Abstract
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#1195
- Bib ID:
- 4079364 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Steegmuller, Francis, 1906-1994
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 102.5 linear feet (122 manuscript boxes; 32 record cartons, 2 flat boxes; 2 tube boxes)
- Language(s):
- English , French .
- 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.
-
Boxes 1-23 and 2 flat boxes are on-site. The following boxes are located off-site: 24-125 and the 2 tube boxes. You will need to request this material at least five business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. Commercial materials are not routinely digitized.
Description
Summary
Letters from Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, Edith Sitwell, Adlai Stevenson, and Jacques Lipschitz. Notes and correspondence relating to Steegmuller's books, as well as manuscripts of the books, make up part of the collection. Also, seven scrapbooks of clippings and 37 inscribed books; manuscripts and proofs for his translation of Flaubert's MADAME BOVARY; and two solander cases containing 155 photographs, mounted and inscribed, taken by Steegmuller on his trips to France, 1948, 1950, Italy, 1950, and the Virgin Islands, 1949.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into 19 series.
- Series I: Correspondence
- Series II: Breunig Family
- Series III: William Maxwell Files
- Series IV: Muriel Spark Files
- Series V: Patrick White Files
- Series VI: Gustave Flaubert
- Series VII: Jean Cocteau
- Series VIII: Louise d'Épinay
- Series IX: Guillaume Apollinaire
- Series X: Isadora Duncan
- Series XI: Guy de Maupassant
- Series XII: Incident in Napels
- Series XIII: Other Writings
- Series XIV: Private Papers of Francis Steegmuller
- Series XV: Contracts
- Series XVI: Scrapbooks and Photographs
- Series XVII: Audio Visual
- Series XVIII: Printed & Posters
- Series XIX: Books
- Series XX: 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.
Boxes 1-23 and 2 flat boxes are on-site. The following boxes are located off-site: 24-125 and the 2 tube boxes. You will need to request this material at least five business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. Commercial materials are not routinely digitized.
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); Francis Steegmuller papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Selected Related Material
Shirley Hazzard Papers, Rare Book & Manuscript Library
General Manuscripts, Rare Book & Manuscript Library. This collection includes one audio CD, "Audio File Concordance"
Francis Steegmuller collection of Jacques Villon , Yale University.
Accruals
No additions are expected.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Source of acquisition--Steegmuller, Francis. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1967. Accession number--M-67.
Gifts of Francis Steegmuller and Shirley Hazzard, 1967-2021.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 09/--/89.
Processed Patrick Lawlor 2012.
Material in Boxes 122-126 processed by Catherine C. Ricciardi, 2023.
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library holds the papers of both Francis Steegmuller and his wife, Shirley Hazzard (1931-2016). Many papers are intermingled between the two collections, particularly because correspondence and photographs often involved both Hazzard and Steegmuller as a couple after their marriage in 1963. For the most part, it seems that papers were placed in one collection or the other based upon when they were received at the Library. Material that was given prior to Steegmuller's death in 1994, or shortly thereafter, was mostly added to the Steegmuller papers. Later donations, particularly those received after Hazzard's death, were added to the Hazzard papers, with the exception of a few boxes of additional books, manuscripts, and other material that were clearly related only to Steegmuller. This being the case, certain correspondents are filed with the Steegmuller papers, and others are filed with the Hazzard papers. In addition, the majority of the couple's personal photographs are filed with the Hazzard papers.
Revision Description
2009-06-26 File created.
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
2023-04-19 Finding aid updated to include Boxes 122-125 by CCR. These boxes consist of new material that was received by the Library after the death of Shirley Hazzard.
2023-04-20 Rewrote biographical statement. CCR.
2023-07-17 Boxes 127-154 (books) added. kws
Biographical Note
Steegmuller was born on July 3, 1906 in New Haven, Connecticut. He was educated in the public schools of Greenwich, Connecticut, and graduated from Columbia University in 1927. While at Columbia, Steegmuller's friends included Lionel Trilling, Clifton Fadiman, Jacques Barzun, Meyer Shapiro, Richard Snow, and Dwight Minor. After graduation, Steegmuller spent time in Europe, but became disillusioned by events in Germany and Italy in the 1930s and returned home, eventually serving in United States military. After the war, he returned to France, working initially in military intelligence. Steegmuller divided his time between Europe and New York City throughout the rest of his life.
Steegmuller was the author of many works about French culture and literary figures, and a translator of Gustave Flaubert. He was the recipient of many literary honors. He received two National Book Awards: in 1971, for his biography of biography of Jean Cocteau, and in 1981 for his translation for the first volume of Flaubert's complete letters. Steegmuller was awarded a gold medal in biography by the American Academy and Institute of Arts in 1982. He was also a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
Steegmuller's first wife was Beatrice Stein (1899-1961), a painter who was a pupil and friend of Jacques Villon. She suffered from polio, and died in 1961. He married the writer Shirley Hazzard (1931-2016) in 1963.
Steegmuller died in Naples, Italy on October 20, 1994.
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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