Call Number:

C1191

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 1 box
• 0.2 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); W. B. Yeats Collection, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1888-1937 (bulk) and 1888-1950 (inclusive)

Creator:

Princeton University. Library. Special Collections and Yeats, W. B. (William Butler), 1865-1939.

Form:

Correspondence -- 19th century, Ephemera -- 19th century, Manuscripts, Irish -- 19th century., and Photographs -- 19th century.

Abstract:

Consists of selected material by and about the Irish poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats, including correspondence, a poetry manuscript, photographs, family items, and Cuala Press ephemera.

William Butler Yeats, Irish poet, dramatist, essayist, and a driving force of the Irish literary revival, was the son of the famous portrait painter John Butler Yeats. Yeats developed an interest in mysticism and visionary traditions as well as in Irish folklore, and both interests became the sources of poetic imagery for him. In London he was a founder of the Rhymers' Club and friend of Ernest Rhys, Ernest Dowson, Lionel Johnson, William Morris, W. E. Henley, and Arthur Symons. In Ireland, he was associated with J. M. Synge, "AE" (George W. Russell), Douglas Hyde, George Moore, and Lady Gregory. He helped establish the Irish Literary Theatre in 1899 (later the Abbey Theatre) and was its director till the end of his life. He was a member of the Irish Senate from 1922 to 1928 and received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. His brother, Jack Butler Yeats, was also an artist, and his sisters, Susan (Lily) and Elizabeth (Lolly), assisted in the establishment of the Dun Emer (later Cuala) Press.

The collection consists of selected material by and about William Butler Yeats, including correspondence, a poetry manuscript, photographs, and family items. Correspondents include Arthur Henry Bullen, Ghita Corri, Oliver St. John Gogarty, Lady Isabella Augusta Gregory, Mrs. Frances Franklin Grigson, Althea Gyler, "Mr. Jackson," Elkin Matthews, a Mr. or Mrs. Ray, Johnston Forbes-Robinson, A. J. A. Symons, Katherine Tynan, and Yeats's sister Elizabeth (Lolly) Yeats. The subjects of the correspondence includes the Abbey Theatre, books, publishing, and The Cuala Press. There is a fragment of a letter from Lady Gregory to John Butler Yeats inviting him to attend a reading by his son of the poem "The Shadowy Waters." Included is a signed typescript copy of the poem "The Three Hermits" with several holograph corrections, bearing the stamp of THE SMART SET, a literary magazine, on the first page. Also included are miscellaneous family items, including two letters by Elizabeth C. Yeats, dated 10 November 1927 and 7 January 1937, to the publisher "Mr. Bailey"; photographs of W. B. Yeats and his sister Susan, his son Michael Butler Yeats, his daughter Anne, and his sister Elizabeth; and Cuala Press ephemera.

Folders are arranged by accession number.