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Zelda Fitzgerald Papers
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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
Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-1948) was an American socialite, novelist, painter, and wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The collection consists of manuscripts, correspondence, miscellaneous notes and related material, documents, pictures, clippings, and photographs of Zelda Fitzgerald. Included are the typescript, set for printer, of Save Me the Waltz (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1932), manuscripts (mostly typescripts) of short stories, articles, and her play Scandalabra , and tear sheets of some of her published articles and stories: "Big Top," "Caesar's Things," "Choreography of an Idea," "Janno and Jacob," "Other Names for Roses," "Show Mr. and Mrs. F. to Number...," and "Unembellished." Also present is a portrait drawing by Zelda of her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and several other drawings. There are letters to her daughter, Frances Scott Fitzgerald (married name, Scottie Fitzgerald Smith), correspondence with other people, such as Ludlow Fowler, Charles Kalman, Margaret Turnbull, George Nathan, and others, and correspondence between various family members. Correspondence between Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald is gathered in his Papers (C0187).
Additions to her papers consist of a family scrapbook of photographs, clippings and memorabilia, dating from Zelda's childhood to 1927, and an album, compiled by Eleanor Lanahan in 1997, entitled Zelda by Herself, The Art of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald , which contains a 45-page catalog and 235 color slides of all of the known art works of Zelda Fitzgerald and their various locations. A later addition includes a jacket worn by Zelda, a photograph of Zelda, Lane Montgomery's notes about Zelda from her writings, and her correspondence with Scottie Fitzgerald Smith (daughter of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald) and others about Zelda and William Luce's play Zelda (1984) in which Ms. Montgomery collaborated and performed.
The collection has been arranged into 8 series, primarily by type/genre.
Microfilm of parts of the collection are available, such as of the manuscripts and the scrapbook.
Frances Scott ("Scottie") Fitzgerald Lanahan (later Smith), the daughter of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, donated the papers to the Princeton University Library in 1950. Some accession numbers associated with this collection are AM 14450 and AM 20502, with additions made to the collection over time until that practice was discontinued.
Some of these additions were from Lane Montgomery, Henry Dan Piper, John Evans, Eleanor Lanahan, James R. Duke (some accession numbers associated with these various gifts include AM 1997-97, AM 1997-106, AM 1999-16, AM 1999-27, AM 2002-149, AM 2006-51, AM 2007-38, and AM 2013-58).
Zelda Fitzgerald's scrapbook was purchased 1982 December 17 (AM 83-73). Easter card purchased 1978 October 31 (AM 79-61).
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.
In 2023, rehousing and metadata enhancement was completed to prepare materials for digitization. The finding aid was revised by Amy C. Vo in June 2023.
People
Subject
- American fiction -- 20th century
- Artists -- United States -- 20th century -- Catalogs
- Mothers and daughters -- United States -- 20th century
- Short stories, American -- 20th century
- Women artists -- United States -- 20th century
Occupation
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 1998
- Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open for research.
This collection is currently undergoing conservation review and digitization efforts. Some materials may be temporarily unavailable. Please consult staff if you have questions about the status of any material.
- Use Restrictions
-
Single copies may be made for research purposes. No further duplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Inquiries regarding publishing material from the collection should be directed to Special Collections Public Services staff through the Ask Us! form. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.
Collection Inventory
Consists of the writings of Zelda Fitzgerald, including manuscripts for novels, plays, and short stories.
Physical Description3 boxes
Consists of manuscripts for the novels Save Me the Waltz and Caesar's Things.
Physical Description2 boxes
Corrected typescript. "Setting" copy for printer.
Physical Description7 folders
3 folders
Revised galleys with author's corrections.
Physical Description4 folders
1 folder
Includes:
- Preceding page, typescript.
- Chapter I, autograph and typescript manuscripts.
- Chapter II, autograph manuscript and title page.
- Chapter III, typescript and title page.
- Chapter IV, autograph manuscript, title page, and typescript.
- Chapter V, autograph manuscript, title page, and typescript.
- Chapter VI, autograph manuscript, title page, and typescript.
- Chapter VII, typescript.
- Typescript, page [1]-19: "adultery...Mr. and Mrs Warren..."
- Autograph manuscript: "Adultery: the suspected wife condemned of evil..."
- Typescript, page 10-16: "The Big Top."
- Autograph manuscript: "I am not going to have it..."
- Typescript: "She had a right to it..."
12 folders
1 folder
Performed in Baltimore, 1933.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of manuscripts for short stories and articles such as "Choreography of an Idea," "Here's the True Story," and "The world angered God...," as well as others.
Physical Description15 folders
Autograph manuscript.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Typescript with author's corrections.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript with author's corrections.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph manuscript.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph manuscript. Article written at Highland Hospital.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph manuscript. Letter in the form of a story to F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Physical Description1 folder
Galley proofs with autograph corrections.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript with author's corrections.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript. Written by F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
Physical Description1 folder
Corrected typescript. Written by Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph manuscript, various paginations.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph manuscript. Tribute to F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Physical Description1 folder
Autograph manuscript.
Physical Description1 folder
Typescript, note on religion.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of tearsheets for works such as "A Couple of Nuts," "A Millionaire's Girl," and "Who Can Fall in Love After Thirty?" as well as others.
Physical Description13 folders
Esquire.
Physical Description1 folder
Harper's Bazaar.
Physical Description1 folder
The New Yorker.
Physical Description1 folder
Scribner's Magazine.
Physical Description1 folder
Fragment of the tearsheet from Metropolitan. Story about Zelda Fitzgerald and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Physical Description1 folder
College Humor.
Physical Description1 folder
College Humor.
Physical Description1 folder
Saturday Evening Post tearsheet, and related telegram.
Physical Description1 folder
Scribner's Magazine.
Physical Description1 folder
College Humor.
Physical Description1 folder
College Humor.
Physical Description1 folder
College Humor.
Physical Description1 folder
College Humor.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of correspondence with Frances Scott Fitzgerald and individuals such as Edmund Wilson and Allen Tate. Also includes correspondence with Princeton University and Bryn Mawr University.
Physical Description26 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Includes letters and drafts of letters from Zelda Fitzgerald to Scottie, and letters from Scottie to her mother.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Correspondence concerning Save Me the Waltz.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Consists primarily of an address book and notebooks with sketches, religious and philosophical reflections.
Physical Description7 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Contains sketches, religious and philosophical reflections, and the original binder.
Physical Description2 folders
1 folder
Consists of miscellaneous bills (including some from Highland Hospital) as well as a contract with Scribner's for Save Me the Waltz.
Physical Description3 folders
Including bills related to Highland Hospital in 1936-1938.
Physical Description2 folders
1 folder
Consists of printed matter, primarily reviews of Zelda's works.
Physical Description3 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Consists of photographs and drawings, primarily of Zelda, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and their daughter, Frances Scott Fitzgerald.
Physical Description5 folders
1 folder
1 folder
8 photographs and one drawing. Zelda at tennis ("A Lesson," Westport, CT., 1920); Zelda playing tennis (in Scott's writing, "Our Tennis Court," Westport, 1920); Zelda doing a back arch; Zelda among flowers (Montgomery, 1919); Zelda in car (Westport, 1920); Mollie Fitzgerald (Scott's mother); Zelda in basket of a crane (circa 1940s); sketch with the caption, "Here's me...in my last costume."
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Consists of primarily correspondence with a few notes and writings from Frances Scott Fitzgerald (Lanahan) and Minnie Machen Sayre's papers. Correspondents include Henry Louis Mencken, Arthur Mizener, Gertrude Stein, Dr. Robert S. Carroll, and a few unidentified correspondents.
Physical Description8 folders
Letter to Minnie Machen Sayre.
Physical Description1 folder
Letters from Frances Scott Lanahan to Minnie Machen Sayre.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Letters from Minnie Machen Sayre to Frances Scott Lanahan, and various correspondents. Also includes poetry by Minnie Machen Sayre.
Physical Description1 folder
Letter to Minnie Machen Sayre on Zelda's death.
Physical Description1 folder
Letter to Frances Scott Lanahan.
Physical Description1 folder
Letter to Frances Scott Lanahan.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Consists largely of a scrapbook and album of color slides, as well as materials from Lane Montgomery pertaining to Zelda Fitzgerald, some correspondence, and a jacket.
Physical Description3 boxes
Contains newspaper clippings, announcements, photographs, occasional letters, and memorabilia of Zelda Fitzgerald, relating to her family and childhood in Montgomery, Alabama; though the bulk concerns her life with F. Scott Fitzgerald (1918-1926).
Physical Description1 box
233 color slides and a 44 page catalog of all the known artworks of Zelda Fitzgerald, compiled by Eleanor Lanahan.
Physical Description1 folder
3 copies of proof sheets from The Romantic Egoists (1974).
Physical Description1 folder
Watercolour of flowers and fruit presumably painted by Zelda, with inscription "Easter Greetings, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald." The card was found in F. Scott Fitzgerald's book, Taps at Reveille, Ex3740.8.386.
Physical Description1 folder
Group photograph of the volleyball team at Highland Hospital. Zelda is in the front row, holding the ball.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Photocopy of the third draft of William Luce's play, with pages from earlier drafts.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Consists of photocopies and typescripts of Lane Montgomery's notes of Zelda Fitzgerald's writings.
Physical Description1 folder
Correspondence and copies of contract about William Luce's "Zelda," including a letter from Frances Scott Fitzgerald Smith.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of a copy of the Paris Review containing Lane Montgomery's "Zelda: A Worksheet"; a copy of the William Luce play, "Zelda"; and a Gerald Murphy art exhibition catalogue.
Physical Description1 folder
Three letters from by Zelda Fitzgerald to "Dick" (Robert Knight). Two holograph pages of religious musings by Zelda. Also included are photocopies of the envelopes used by Robert Knight to send his letters from Zelda to his sister, Mrs. Charles W. Flynn (the donor's grandmother).
Physical Description1 folder
Austrian jacket ("Herm Weghofer jun." in Bad Ausee, Austria) owned and worn by Zelda.
Physical Description1 box