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Selected Papers of Wright Morris

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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

Morris, Wright, 1910-1998

Raised in Nebraska, Wright Morris was a successful novelist and photographer. Two of his novels won the National Book Award: The Field of Vision (1956) and Plains Song: For Female Voices (1980). He also published several books that juxtaposed photographs with fictional text, which he dubbed "photo-text." Morris died in 1998.

Morris, Wright, 1910-1998

Raised in Nebraska, Wright Morris was a successful novelist and photographer. Two of his novels won the National Book Award: The Field of Vision (1956) and Plains Song: For Female Voices (1980). He also published several books that juxtaposed photographs with fictional text, which he dubbed "photo-text." Morris died in 1998.

The collection contains nineteen photographs and over 140 letters, cards, and telegrams by Morris, as well as the original typed manuscript of My Uncle Dudley, with holograph corrections and pencilled printer's marks. The letters, all addressed to Robert J. Horton, are friendly and personal, often revealing the author's sharp humor. Most of the photographs (of sites in Nebraska, Virginia, and elsewhere) have been inscribed and signed by Morris; four are large, mounted on board. Also included in the collection are two watercolors (one, titled "Alley Crossing," is signed), a folder of letters by Mary Ellen Morris, the author's wife, to the Hortons, and a folder of newspaper clippings pertaining to the literary career of Morris.

Publication: My Uncle Dudley (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, [1942]) by Morris.

Folder inventory added by Feng Zhu '14 in 2013.

Publisher
Manuscripts Division
Finding Aid Date
2008
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication 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 RBSC 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

Original Typescript of My Uncle Dudley, undated. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Letters and Cards to "Doc Horton", 1936-1954. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Vasty, S. Wright Morris Letters to "Doc Horton", 1933-1941. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Mellon Morris Letters to R. Horton, 1933-1958. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Photographs, 1942-1947. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Unidentified Letters and Cards, undated. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Clippings, 1940-1959. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

4 mounted photographs, undated. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

2 watercolors, undated. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Print, Suggest