Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Sitwell Family Papers, 1948, 1963-1995, Accession # 10480-i, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was given to the Library on November 8, 1995 by Arthur P. Bean, Jr. of Washington, D. C. through the Rare Book Division of the Special Collections Department.

Scope and Content Information

This collection of "Sitwelliana" consists of ca. 500 items, 1948(1963-1995), created and compiled by Arthur Parsons Bean, Jr. of Washington, D. C. Included are correspondence of Bean with individuals, book and manuscript sellers, and the University of Virginia Library; business papers concerning the purchase of his Sitwell collection; printed material; and, a photograph.

The Business Papers include invoices and cancelled checks for various book and manuscript sellers, including Bernard Quaritch Ltd., Bertram Rota Ltd., Booked Up, Dalian Books, Kenneth W. Rendell, Inc., North Shore Books Ltd., Pharos Books, Robert Loren Link, Booksellers, and others. Correspondence with representatives of the various book and manuscript sellers describe Sitwelliana for sale and include list prices. There is a letter, June 22, 1978, from Larry McMurtry of Booked Up, Washington, D. C. to Bean, discussing the appraisal of Bean's "extensive collection of the works of Edith, Osbert, and Sacheverell Sitwell."

There are letters, 1971-1978, from Frank Magro of Florence, Italy to Bean discussing various subjects. A letter of July 30, 1971 discusses the Music Festival Tour, operas performed in London and Rome, and the Sitwell manuscripts in Texas. In a letter of May 15, 1972, Magro mentions an American family (Jim and Carole Howe's) living in the [Sitwell] castle; discusses the fate of the castle including Reresby Sitwell's possible plans; mentions being the literary executor of Osbert Sitwell and having an interest in Bean's collecting of manuscripts and letters of the Sitwells; relates an account his recent trip to Honolulu and the Pacific side of the United States, Canada, and Mexico as well as the Panama Canal, Jamaica, Nassau, and Bermuda; and, mentions the Dramatic Publishing Company. Letters of December 30, 1977 and August 12, 1978 mention the Sitwell exhibit in the Rare Book Department at the University of Virginia Library, his writing a statement as Sir Osbert Sitwell's literary executor for the keepsake, and University of Virginia's Henry J. and Mildred K. Abraham's visit to Florence.

There are letters, 1982-1989, between Bean and Paul W. Motter of San Francisco, California. A letter of February 7, 1983 discusses briefly a failure in the negotiations to publish "The Death of Venus," poems of Dame Edith Sitwell. A letter of May 31, 1986 discusses Motter's Edith Sitwell collection being on exhibit at the Gleeson Library at the University of San Francisco in the fall of 1987 and the collecting of Sitwelliana, and includes a list of wanted Sitwell items. In a (copy of) a letter, June 10, 1986, Bean describes the preparations and planning for the exhibit at the University of Virginia Library, discusses the collecting of Sitwelliana, mentions Neil Ritchie as the collector of Sitwelliana in Florence, and comments on Motter's 'wanted' list. Letters of June 16 and August 30, 1986 discuss various collections of Sitwelliana and the upcoming exhibit at the Gleeson Library, mentioning the assistance of various persons, including Neil Ritchie, James Purdy, Allanah Harper, Mildred Abraham, Rosamund Strode, Beulah Roth, Rollie McKenna, Norman Parkensen, Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Michael Kennedy, John Freeman, and Lawrence Whistler. A note of [June 1987] mentions going to a luncheon and performance with Francis Sitwell. There are also copies of the keepsake and the catalog for the Dame Edith Sitwell Centennial exhibit at the Gleeson Library, and a postcard containing a photograph of Edith Sitwell.

There are numerous letters, 1985-1993, from Neil Ritchie of Florence, Italy, written to Bean as a "fellow collector of Sitwelliana." Letters from December 1985 to August 1986 discuss in detail Ritchie's work on the revision and update of the bibliography of Sacheverell Sitwell's writings, previously compiled by Richard Fifoot. Letters of September and November 1986 discuss Ritchie's visit to the United States, particularly visits to archives containing Sitwelliana, including the University of Virginia, Austin, Texas, Yale, Harvard, and Boston University. Letters of March and April 1987 discuss Ritchie's visit to England and meetings with Sacheverell Sitwell and Francis and Susanna Sitwell. Ritchie's letter of October 29, 1987 includes a advertisement on his Sacheverell Sitwell: An Annotated and Descriptive Bibliography 1916-1986 . Letters throughout 1988 continue to discuss in detail the collecting of Sitwelliana and mention several persons including Sacheverell Sitwell (and his death on October 1, 1988), Reresby Sitwell, Francis and Susanna Sitwell, Paul W. Motter, and Mildred Abraham. Letters throughout 1989 also discuss the collecting of Sitwelliana and mention the possibility of Sir Osbert Sitwell exhibitits in 1992, and mention various persons including Reresby Sitwell, Francis Sitwell, and Henry and Mildred Abraham. In 1990, the letters continue to discuss the collecting of Sitwelliana, often specifying items for sale, and discuss a bibliophiles' conference in Wurzburg including a visit to the library of Otto Schafer at Schweinfurt and to Udine for a Lombard exhibition. A note of December 2, 1990 discusses the decision of Paul W. Motter to sell his Sitwell collection. In addition to discussions of collecting Sitwelliana, letters of 1991 describe Ritchie's trip to South Africa and Namibia (March 19) and mention a visit by George Sitwell, Francis' elder son (May 20) and a collection of Graham Greene-Edith Sitwell correspondence at Georgetown. On May 31, 1992, Ritchie mentions his South African expedition and the Sitwell castle and a visit by "an Australian Facade maniac" and Frank Magro; and, on November 22, 1992, he relates his plans to move to the mild climate of South Africa. Letters of February 9 and July 26, 1993 discuss life in South Africa, mention the National Library and the University of Cape Town Library, refer to Sarah Bradford's biography of Sacheverell Sitwell, and inquire of Mildred Abraham.

Correspondence, 1981-1993, with the Sitwells contain chiefly letters of Francis Sitwell to Bean, and discuss various topics. A letter of February 1, 1981 mentions the death of his mother and a visit by his father, Sacheverell Sitwell, to his friend Artur Rubenstein, the pianist. On September 1, 1981, he mentions a visit from Henry and Mildred Abraham and the health of his father. A letter of August 9, 1982 mentions a visit to Los Angeles where he saw a performance of Dorin McGough's play, Dame Edith, on Edith Sitwell's life, and his return to England because of his father's emergency surgery. Letters of August and November 1986 discuss Bean's collecting of Sitwelliana, and mention a gala performance of Facade in the gardens of Carlyle Square on October 14th, in aid of a musical charity, the Park Lane Group, of which Sitwell is chairman. There is a touching letter, November 2, 1988, from Reresby Sitwell, Renishaw Hall, Derbyshire, to Bean, following the death of his father, Sacheverell Sitwell, discussing his father and his life, especially the latter years. A letter of January 7, 1993 refers to Bean's "marvellous selection of the Sitwell family's books" and offers a copy of the paperback reprint of Roumanian Journey.

Correspondence, 1948(1973-1995) with the University of Virginia chiefly discusses Bean's gifts of Sitwelliana to the Rare Book and Manuscripts Departments and later the Special Collections Department of the University of Virginia Library, and also exhibitions of the Sitwell collection at the University. There is a letter, May 4, 1948, from John Cook Wyllie, Curator of Rare Books, to Bean as winner in the "Student Collectors' Competition, along with the list of books submitted and a newspaper article concerning the annual book collector's contest. Correspondents include William H. Runge, Curator of Rare Books (1973); Julius P. Barclay, Curator of Rare Books (1977-1989); Mildred K. Abraham, General Services Librarian, Librarian for Readers' Services, and Research Librarian (1977- 1992); Frank L. Hereford, Jr., President of the University (June 30, 1980; March 23, 1981; February 10, 1983); Edmund Berkeley, Jr., Curator of Manuscripts (1981-1989); and, Kathryn Morgan, Curator of Rare Books (1992-1995). There are also signed deeds of gifts, descriptive lists of gifts, and appraisals of Bean's gifts by Harold E. Graves and Franklin Gilliam. Included is a photograph, December 3, 1978, taken by Ed Roseberry, of Francis T. S. and Susanna Sitwell, Mildred Abraham, and Arthur P. Bean, Jr. at the opening of the Sitwell exhibit in the Rare Book Department in Alderman Library at the University.

There are also miscellaneous and printed items, 1985-1992, on the Sitwells: "...From the Personal Library of Pavel Tchelitchew," "20th Century Consort" (April 23, 1988); "Sir Sacheverell Sitwell at Weston Hall: A Conversation" by Duncan Fallowell in Encounter (May 1988); "Facades" reviews in Lyric Studio (June - July 1988); and, "Memoir: A Day at the St. Regis with Dame Edith" by Perdita Schaffner in The American Scholar (Winter 1991) with letter to and from Schaffner.