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Robert H. Davis Collection

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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

Davis

Robert H. Davis was an American novelist and poet. He joined the Frank A Munsey Company in New York City, and was fiction editor of Munsey's Magazine (1903-1904).

Thomas Baskerville was a lawyer. He was a member of the New York law firm of Bowers and Sands, and later he joined the firm of Middlebrook & Sincerbeaux.

The collection consists primarily of correspondence of Robert H. Davis with his friend, the lawyer Thomas Baskerville, who was amassing a collection of autographs of famous individuals. Several of Davis's letters to Baskerville include poems by Davis or discuss and criticize literary works. Included are a short poem titled "Lines to Autumn by a Nature Faker" and another poem that is untitled but starts with "Them nifty little Brownsville crackers . . . ." There is another autograph poem by Davis (with typewritten copy) titled "You've an Elephant off Your Hands" and addressed "To Tom." Of significance is the group of letters from famous American and British authors, poets, and other celebrities that were sent to Davis during the course of his job as editor for Munsey's and which he passed on to Baskerville for his autograph collection. The correspondents include Robert Bartlett; Arnold Bennett; Don Bryne; Emmett Dalton, train robber and member of the Dalton Gang in the American Old West and author of The Death of Several Roughnecks; American humorist and playwright Montague Glass; Francis Grierson; Fannie Hurst; Wallace Irwin; William Loeb, secretary to President Woodrow Wilson; Francis Patton; Elihu Root; Edwin Milton Royle; Arthur Train; and author Ben Ames Williams.

Purchased in December 1946 (AM13257).

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 Dina Britain on April 24, 2009. Finding aid written by Lauren Kustner on April 28, 2009. Folder Inventory added by Hilde Creager (2015) in 2012.

No appraisal information is available.

Publisher
Manuscripts Division
Finding Aid Date
2009
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

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

5 Letters from Robert H. Davis to Thomas Baskerville, 1907-1908. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

2 Manuscripts of "You've an Elephant Off Your Hands", 1909. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

3 Letters from Robert H. Davis to Thomas Baskerville, 1914-1915. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

3 Letters from Robert H. Davis to Thomas Baskerville and 1 newspaper clipping (photocopy), 1923-1926. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

2 Letters from Robert H. Davis to Thomas Baskerville, 1929. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

"Lines to Autumn" typed poem, 1 Signed Note, 1 envelope with dried leaves, undated. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Collection of autographs sent from Robert H. Davis to Thomas Baskerville, 1908-1977. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

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