A Guide to the Papers of John Dos Passos 1865-1998 Dos Passos, John, Papers 5950

A Guide to the Papers of John Dos Passos 1865-1998

A Collection in
Special Collections
The University of Virginia Library
Accession Number 5950


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Processed by: Special Collections Staff

Repository
Special Collections, University of Virginia Library
Accession Number
5950
Title
Papers of John Dos Passos 1865-1998
Physical Characteristics
The collection consists of ca. 50,000 items.
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of John Dos Passos, Accession #5950, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The collection is a consolidation of gift and other acquisitions received in the Special Collections Department of the University of Virginia over the period 1958-1999 from: John Dos Passos, his wife Elizabeth Holdridge Dos Passos, his daughter Lucy Dos Passos Coggin and from a number of friends and associates that include: Thomas Pym Cope, Mrs. Lloyd (Marion) Lowndes, Mrs. Harold Weston, Connie and William White, Edmund Berkeley, Jr., Charles W. Bernardin, Jack Diggens, Kenneth C. Duckett, Philip L. Gerber, Townsend Ludington and Ray Lewis White.

Processing Information

The following accession numbers originally assigned to various parts of the collection were eliminated and all items interfiled in the single number 5950: 4804, 4804-a 5950-a, 5950-b, 5950-c, 5950-d, 5950-e, 5950-f, 5950-g, 5950-h, 5950-i, 5950-j, 5950-k, 5950-l, 5950-m, 5950-n, 5950-o, 5950-p, 5950-q, 5950-r, 5950-s, 5950-t, 5950-u, 5950-v, 5950-w, 5950-x, 5950-y, 5950-z 5950-aa, 5950-ab, 5950-ac, 5950-ad, 5950-ae, 5950-af, 5950-ag, 5950-ah, 5950-ai, 5950-aj, 5950-ak, 5950-al, 5950-am, 5950-an, 5950-ao, 5950-ap, 5950-aq, 5950-ar, 5950-as, 5950-at, 5950-au, 5950-av, 5950-aw, 5950-ax, 5950-ay, 5950-az 5950-ba, 5950-bb, 5950-bc, 5950-bd, 5950-be, 5950-bf, 5950-bg, 5950-bh, 5950-bi, 5950-bj, 5950-bk, 5950-bl, 5950-bm, 5950-bn, 5950-bo, 5950-bp, 5950-bq, 5950-br, 5950-bs, 5950-bt, 5950-bu, 5950-bv, 5950-bw, 5950-bx, 5950-by, 5950-bz 5950-ca, 5950-cb, 5950-cc, 5950-cd, 5950-ce, 5950-cf, 5950-cg, 5950-ch, 5950-ci, 5950-cj, 5950-ck, 5950-cl, 5950-cm

Sound and video recordings and artistic material have been placed in appropriate custodial sections of the Library and are identified as part of these papers.

Scope and Content

The Dos Passos papers at the University of Virginia present a vivid chronicle of the author's activities, thoughts and literary skills as he analyzed, reported on and criticized the turbulent events of the 20th century. Dos Passos, identifying with the leftist radical sympathies of the post-World War I period, experimented in expressing these sentiments with innovative writing techniques in some of his most important and successful works: One Man's Initiation--1917 (1920), Three Soldiers (1921), Manhattan Transfer (1925) and the trilogy, USA ( The 42nd Parallel, 1930; Nineteen Nineteen, 1932; The Big Money, 1936).

The collection highlights the Dos Passos chronicle principally through a large body of manuscripts, letters and other personal and family related papers that have been assembled at the University of Virginia over the past 40 years from a series of gifts from Dos Passos and later, from his widow Elizabeth, and his daughter Lucy Dos Passos Coggin. Also included is a small quantity of gift acquisitions from several close friends and associates.

The major portion of the papers is comprised of manuscript material (published and unpublished) of most of his novels, plays, poems, articles, speeches, lectures, readings and his reportage on history, politics, society and travel. Included are corrected and uncorrected typescripts, galley and page proofs, notes, outlines, related research material and an extensive assemblage of publisher and literary agent correspondence. Of particular interest are his diaries and notebooks filled with recorded observations, thoughts, verse and sketches that may have served as the basis for some of the character development and themes found in his published writings and in his works of art.

Another large part of the collection contains letters written to him over his lifetime from close friends, literary associates and random correspondents which comprise a narrative, of sorts, of the conflicting political, social and cultural ideas that he and others of his generation grappled with in the period between the two World Wars. Letters from his close friends and literary associates include, among others, those from E.E. Cummings, Ernest Hemingway, John Howard Lawson, Archibald MacLeish, Walter Rumsey Marvin, Gerald Murphy, Dudley Poore and Edmund Wilson.

The balance of the collection consists of Dos Passos family papers, along with a small assortment of other miscellaneous material. The family papers contain correspondence Dos Passos exchanged with his parents, his wife Katharine and other collateral relatives. Included among Dos Passos' personal papers are financial, legal, and household data; mementos of his awards and honors; originals and copies of his drawings and paintings; articles and newsclips about his life and his writings; and a collection of photographs of his childhood years, portraits and snapshots of him as a young adult and family photographs of the period 1950 through 1960. In later years, Dos Passos turned from the radicalism of his youth. He settled in the family home in Westmoreland County in northern Virginia with his wife Elizabeth Holdridge Dos Passos and their daughter Lucy where he continued to pursue, with his characteristic vigor, the engagement of his new found political and social ideas into his writings, lectures and speeches.

He died on September 28, 1970 and remains as one of the pre-eminent writers of the 20th century.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in four series: I--Correspondence, II--Writings, III--Personal, IV--Miscellaneous.

Series I: Correspondence General correspondence with Dos Passos: (Boxes 1-11) Correspondence with attached and related material exchanged between John Dos Passos and lifelong friends and associates, literary colleagues, critics, editors, organizations and the general public. Material is organized alphabetically by the name of the correspondent and is listed separately for both the items sent to Dos Passos and those prepared by him. Included among others, are letters exchanged with E.E. Cummings, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Hillyer, John Howard Lawson, Archibald MacLeish, Walter Rumsey Marvin, Dudley Poore and Edmund Wilson. General correspondence between others: (Box 11) A small amount of third party correspondence not directly involved with Dos Passos. Listed alphabetically by the name of the recipient. Family correspondence with Dos Passos: (Boxes 12-15) The largest portion is of the correspondence exchange between Dos Passos and his parents (1890-1917) and the letters exchanged with his first wife, Katharine Smith Dos Passos (1928-1946). The remaining smaller portion is with other collateral relatives. Family correspondence between others: (Boxes 16-17) Mostly letters to his mother, Lucy S. Madison from his father, John Randolph Dos Passos before and after their marriage (1892-1913) and letters by his father to a cousin, Ida Pifer (1900-1912). Publisher-related correspondence with Dos Passos: (Boxes18-21) Correspondence between Dos Passos and his domestic and foreign literary agents relating to the publication and marketing of his writings. Also included are permission requests from authors and editors to use his work, communications and contracts concerning his lecture activities and, from the Brandt and Brandt literary agency, their "Dos Passos office file" with almost 2500 items of their worldwide correspondence dealings regarding Dos Passos' writings.

Series II: Writings Published works on society, politics, history and travel: (Boxes 22-109) Manuscripts, galleys, notes, outlines, typed drafts, research material, correspondence and reviews relating to Dos Passos' published writings. Arranged alphabetically by the title of the work. Contributions to books, periodicals and newspapers: (Boxes 110-112) Manuscripts, notes, outlines, typed drafts, research material and print copies of Dos Passos' prose and verse contributions. Arranged alphabetically by the title of the work and listing the name and date of the publication. Dos Passos' prose and verse of undetermined publication: (Boxes 113-117) Manuscripts and typescripts that appear to be in his hand and that contain his notations but that have not been determined to have been published. Some appear to be manuscript portions that may relate to earlier versions of a published work. Arranged alphabetically by the title of the work or the opening line. Prose and verse of undetermined authorship and publication: (Box 117) Manuscripts not in Dos Passos' hand and typescripts that do not bear any of his notations. Arranged alphabetically by the title of the work or the opening line. Speech material: (Boxes 117-118) Notes, outlines, background and presentation drafts for specific speech events, readings from his published books and for other unidentified talks. Research and background: (Boxes 118-121) Background print material, notebooks, outlines and miscellaneous loose drafts relating to various research topics. Emphasis on Jefferson and on American and English history.

Series III: Personal Artwork by Dos Passos: (Box 122) His pencil sketches, black and white photographs and color reproductions of his watercolor art, and catalogues of his artwork showings. Artwork collected by Dos Passos: (Box 122) Drawings, sketches and watercolors from a variety of artists collected over the years by Dos Passos. Included also are classical and contemporary musical recordings and sheet music. Awards: (Box 122-125) Mostly certificates and accompanying correspondence and mementos of the honorary tributes bestowed upon Dos Passos for his writings, his educational activities, his influence in the political arena and for his service (non-combative) in the two World Wars. Also included is a video produced in 1996 that commemorates his 100th Anniversary. Diaries and note books: (Box 125-126) Literary and travel books with prose, verse, sketches, observations and commentary compiled by Dos Passos in the years 1911-1927 during his sojourns in Europe and the Middle East. Memorabilia: (Boxes 127-129) An assortment of personal papers, certificates, newsclips, passports, postcards, school records, mementos of World Wars I and II and other keepsakes collected and saved by Dos Passos during his lifetime. Arranged and listed alphabetically by the descriptive name of each item. Personal data: (Boxes 129-130) A small collection of personal papers and documents organized and arranged chronologically by date in financial, legal, medical and household property categories. Photographs: (Boxes 130-133) Photographs of Dos Passos, his family, his close friends and associates and of his activities from his childhood to his later years. Organized alphabetically by subject, location, event or name of person. Writings and reviews about Dos Passos: (Boxes 133-139) Published and unpublished articles, interviews, newsclips and other writings about the life and work of Dos Passos. Arranged and listed alphabetically by the title of the writing.

Series IV: Miscellaneous Papers pertaining to other family members: (Boxes 139-142) Of particular interest are the writings of his father John Randolph Dos Passos, a prominent lawyer active in the national party politics of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and author of articles and essays on the Supreme Court, the recognition of Cuba, woman suffrage and the war in Europe. His papers also include a number of autograph signed letters from some of the notable personalities of the period: William Borah, William Jennings Bryan, Josephus Daniels, Jay Gould, Benjamin Harrison, Charles Evans Hughes, Henry Cabot Lodge and Woodrow Wilson. The papers of Dos Passos' first wife, Katharine contain a number of her short story manuscripts and correspondence that includes autograph signed letters and a poem from Ernest and Pauline Hemingway. The other family papers are primarily correspondence, writings and memorabilia organized under the name of the person to whom the material pertains. Papers pertaining to friends and associates: (Box 143) A small quantity of correspondence, writings and memorabilia of his close friends, Arthur McComb, Wright McCormick and Dudley Poore that relate to the period of the early 20th century. The papers of Charles W. Bernardin, who interacted extensively with Dos Passos while attempting to write and publish a biography about him, contain a scholarly dissertation and unpublished manuscripts on Dos Passos and his writings. Included also are Dos Passos family photographs and a large volume of correspondence that was exchanged with Dos Passos during 1942-1966. The Bernardin material has been relocated to the appropriate sections of the collection (See boxes 1, 2, 94, 130-133, 137-139). The personal papers relating solely to Bernardin are in box 143. Other writings and print matter: (Boxes 143-144) Miscellaneous manuscripts by named and anonymous authors and other print matter that may have been of interest to Dos Passos as memorabilia or as background.

Contents List

Correspondence
Series I
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Writings (manuscripts, speeches and research)
Series II
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Personal
Box 122-139
Series III
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Miscellaneous
Box 139-146
Series IV
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