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Thomas H. Johnson 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
Thomas Herbert Johnson was born in Bradford, Vermont, on 27 April 1902. He was the son of Herbert Thomas and Myra (Burbeck) Johnson.
Johnson studied English at both Williams College (A.B. 1926) and Harvard University (A.M. 1929, Ph.D. 1934) before beginning his own career as an educator. His first teaching position was at Rutgers University (1928-1929), but he returned to his undergraduate alma mater the following year (1929-1931). Next he taught at the Hackley School (Tarrytown, N.Y.) from 1931 to 1937, before moving to the Lawrenceville School (Lawrenceville, N.J.) where Johnson would teach until 1972, as well as serve as English department chair (1944-1967).
During his long tenure at Lawrenceville, Johnson also served as a guest lecturer at many institutions, including Chautauqua (1937), New School for Social Research (1943-1944), Columbia University (1948), Harvard University (1950), University of Copenhagen (1951-1952), University of Pennsylvania (1958-1959), and New York University (1959-1960).
Johnson was a renowned scholar of Emily Dickinson. He wrote Emily Dickinson: An Interpretative Biography (1955), as well as edited several volumes of her poems and letters: The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Including Variant Readings Critically Compared With all Known Manuscripts (1955), The Letters of Emily Dickinson (1958), The Poems of Emily Dickinson (1963), The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (1970), Emily Dickinson: Selected Letters (1971), and Final Harvest: Emily Dickinson's Poems (1984).
Johnson's other published writings include editing three books relating to teaching and youth, two works relating to Jonathan Edwards, and The Poetical Works of Edward Taylor (1939).
On 11 September 1934, Johnson married Catherine Schyler Rice. Together they had a daughter and son, Laura Bradley and Thomas. Johnson died on 3 January 1985; he was 82 years old.
The collection consists of correspondence, subject files, notes, and other materials relating to Johnson's teaching, research, and writings, primarily concerning Emily Dickinson and Edward Taylor. Included are photostatic copies and transcripts of Edward Taylor's poetry in the Yale University Library, together with correspondence and notes by Johnson, gathered in preparation for Johnson's edition of The Poetical Works of Edward Taylor (1939). In addition, there are essays and notes on American literature, a small selection of printed material, and an assortment of diplomas.
Gift of Mrs. Laura Johnson Waterman.
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 Ran Tao in 2004. Finding aid written by Ran Tao in 2004.
No appraisal information is available.
People
Subject
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Author
- Ran Tao
- Finding Aid Date
- 2004
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Collection Inventory
Consists of the correspondence of Johnson, including with former students, regarding Williams College honorary degree, and regarding The Grolier Club, as well as others.
Arranged by genre of correspondence.
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Consists of subject files related to Copenhagen Trip, Emily Dickinson, Mount Holyoke College, Wallace Stevens, and Rutgers Honorary Degree.
Arranged by subject.
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These materials were used in preparation of Johnson's edition of The Poetical Works of Edward Taylor (New York: Rockland Editions, 1939).
Arranged by genre of material.
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Consists of speeches, essays, agreements, articles, clippings, and printed matter.
Arranged by genre of material.
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Consists of photographs and materials related to the diploma from Williams College, the diplomas of Thomas Johnson (Montpelier High School, Vermont State Board of Education, Williams College, Harvard University), and Catherine Schyler Rice (Mount Holyoke College).
Arranged by institution and then chronologically.
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