Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Richard Beale Davis Collection, Accession #462-a, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Richard Beale Davis papers were bequeathed to the University of Virginia on September 23, 1981.

Biographical/Historical Information

Richard Beale Davis was born in Accomac, Virginia and received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in 1936. He subsequently taught at Mary Washington College (1936-1940) and the University of South Carolina (1940-1962) before becoming professor in English at the University of Tennessee (1962-1981). His chief fields of study included intellectual life in the colonial south, colonial and early American literature, and Edgar Allan Poe. Among Davis' secondary interests was George Sandys (1578-1644), about whom he published numerous articles, monographs, and the standard Sandys biography.

Scope and Content Information

This collection consists chiefly of the research files and correspondence of Richard Beale Davis (1907-1981). Besides Davis' letters and research notes, this collection also includes photostatic copies of sixteenth and seventeenth-century manuscripts and books, newsclippings (chiefly book notices and reviews of Davis' George Sandys, Poet-Adventurer ), letters of agreement and investment statements from Davis' publishers, typed and autograph manuscripts of articles about George Sandys, photographs and printed matter.

Most of the documents in this collection pertain to Davis' research and published works about George Sandys, who has been described as being the first man in America to devote himself seriously to literature and scholarship. Sandys had been a shareholder in the Virginia Company since 1607 and sailed to America in 1621 as the company's newly-elected treasurer. He was of primary importance following the Jamestown Massacre of 1622, and in 1624 he became a member of Virginia's colonial council. Sandys' interest in Virginia continued after his return to England (post 1628), and he represented the colony's interests when the Virginia assembly petitioned for restoration of charter rights in 1640. Sandys' best known literary work, first published in 1621 and composed in part during his Atlantic crossing, was an English translation of Ovid's Metamorphosis. Among his other works are A Paraphrase Upon the Psalmes(sic) of David (and Hyms dispersed throughout the Old and New Testaments) (1636); A Paraphrase Upon the Divine Poems (1638); Christ's Passion (translated from Grotius) (1640); A Paraphrase Upon the Song of Solomon (1641, 1642).

Most of the letters in this collection comprise reference inquiries and professional correspondence between Davis and his colleagues. Among the correspondents are J. Lindsay Almond, Francis L. Berkeley, Jr., Fredson T. Bowers, Lester J. Cappon, Harry M. Meacham, John B. Morrell (Lord Mayor of York) and John Cook Wyllie. Letters to and from various research libraries, as well as correspondence with Davis' publishers (Columbia University Press and the Bodley Head) and with the editors of various periodicals, are also present. These letters, which discuss bibliographical, historical and literary aspects of George Sandys' career, also document the progress of Davis' research. A separate group of correspondence pertains to the Sandys family and includes genealogical information and personal letters between Davis and some of George Sandys' descendents.

The printed matter in this collection consists mainly of reprint articles about George Sandys' works, but also includes book reviews and notices of Davis' biography of him. Photographs and illustrations, including those used in George Sandys, Poet Adventurer , depict Jamestown and provide likenesses of George Sandys and others in the Sandys family.

Arrangement

These papers are grouped topically as Davis had them arranged. Folder headings, with slight modifications, have been maintained. Letters within each heading are arranged chronologically, and photostatic copies and printed matter have been placed following the correspondence folders.