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Jackson Mathews Collection of Sylvia Beach
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Jackson Mathews was a writer, translator, and editor. Born in Griffin, Georgia, in 1907, Mathews graduated from the University of Georgia in 1928 and received a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1947. His specialty was comparative literature, and he worked extensively with French texts. Mathews worked as a professor, translator, and Foreign Service officer, and he completed translations of Monsieur Teste (1947), My Theatre (1952), Flowers of Evil (1955), and Hypnos Waking (1956). In 1963, he completed Hommage à Sylvia Beach (Homage to Sylvia Beach) for the Mercure de France, during which time he collected correspondence, typescripts, and other miscellanea from Beach. Mathews died in 1978.
The collection consists of correspondence (1955-1962) by Sylvia Beach to Jackson Mathews and his wife, Marthiel; copies of letters to Beach from Ernest Hemingway, D. H. Lawrence, Adrienne Monnier, Andre Gide, and others; and correspondence of Mathews with others primarily regarding the "Hommage à Sylvia Beach," which he prepared in 1963 for the Mercure de France. These last materials include letters and typescripts containing remembrances of Beach by Malcolm Cowley, Allen Tate, Katherine Anne Porter, Archibald MacLeish. Furthermore, there is a small selection of miscellanea, including Beach's manuscript "Inturned," which describes her captivity by the Germans during World War II; an untitled manuscript by Yves Bonnefoy; material on Shakespeare and Company's library; material regarding the sale of James Joyce's papers to the University of Buffalo; and unpublished photographs of Beach and her friends in the Mediterranean (1961-1962).
The following sources were consulted during preparation of biographical note: Marquis Who's Who on the Web.
Purchased from Mrs. Jackson Mathews through Paul Appel.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This collection was processed by Jim Flannery in 2004. Finding aid written by Jim Flannery in 2004.
Biography written by Jessica Marati, '08.
No appraisal information is available.
People
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Author
- Jim Flannery
- Finding Aid Date
- 2004
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
Consists of letters from Sylvia Beach to Jackson and Marthiel Mathews from 1955-1962.
Arranged chronologically.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Includes a printed photograph of Beach in Joyce's Tower, Sandycove, Co. Dublin
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of copies of letters to Sylvia Beach from individuals such as Ernest Hemingway, Sherwood Anderson, André Gide, Adrienne Monnier, Gertrude Stein, and Paul Valéry.
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
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1 folder
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Consists of correspondence with individuals such as Kay Boyle, Marie Monnier Bécat, Gordon Craig, Katherine Anne Porter, Howard C. Rice, Thorton Wilder, and William Carlos Williams, as well as others.
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
1 folder
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1 folder
1 folder
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1 folder
See Léger, Alex
Physical Description1 item
1 folder
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1 folder
Consists of notes, lists, and manuscripts for "Hommage à Sylvia Beach" as well as papers related to the sale of James Joyce material to the University of Buffalo.
Not arranged according to any arrangement scheme.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
1 box
TM, 12 pp.
Physical Description1 folder
AMs, 22 pp.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Consists of photographs and drawings of Sylvia Beach and some friends.
Not arranged according to any arrangement scheme.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder