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Elva de Pue Matthews papers
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Held at: University of Delaware Library Special Collections [Contact Us]181 South College Avenue, Newark, DE 19717-5267
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Delaware Library Special Collections. 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
Elva de Pue Matthews was born in San Francisco, California, in 1889, to the wealthy de Pue family. From 1917, when she began studies at Columbia University, until her death in 1962, she resided in New York City. Her lifelong interest and the object of her studies was writing. Mrs. Matthews established relationships with a variety of literary figures, including Richard P. Blackmur, Waldo Frank, Genevieve Taggard, and William Troy.
Although little is recorded regarding Elva de Pue Matthews, it is known that some of her stories and essays were published in The Masses (1917?), The Seven Arts (July 1917), and in three issues of The Figure in the Carpet (1927-1928). The October 1927 issue of The Figure in the Carpet includes excerpts of Matthews' novel, "White River," which is included in these papers (see F58- 62).
Matthews served as one of the associate editors for The Figure in the Carpet from 1927-1928. This little magazine was published by The New School for Social Research in New York, where Matthews was a student.
The brief biographical note which prefaces Elva de Pue Matthews' article in The Seven Arts indicates that one of her dramas was produced by The Morningside Players. She had one daughter named Rowena. Matthews died in 1962 in the Cooper Nursing Home near New York City.
Biographical information was derived from correspondence in the collection or from correspondence in the collection folder.
The Elva de Pue Matthews Papers consist of two linear feet of correspondence, drafts of novels written by Matthews, poetry and essays by Matthews or others, clippings, and notes. The collection spans the dates 1917-1962, with the bulk of the collection dating between 1917 and 1949.
These papers contain Matthews' correspondence with a wide variety of literary figures, including Richard P. Blackmur, Jacques and Raissa Maritain, Genevieve Taggard, Gorham Munson, Waldo Frank, William Troy, and Floyd Dell. Of particular interest is the extensive correspondence with Waldo Frank, Richard P. Blackmur, and William Troy. In most cases the drafts or copies of letters which Matthews wrote in reply to the various correspondents are also present. Matthews' drafts display her extensive revisions.
The papers also include Matthews' drafts and notes toward three different novels, none of which were ever published. Excerpts from the novel "White River" were printed in an issue of
The Figure in the Carpet, a magazine for which Matthews was an associate editor. Three issues of this magazine are found in this collection.The Elva de Pue Matthews Papers are arranged in three series: I. Correspondence, II. Manuscripts Written by Matthews, and III. Printed Material Related to Matthews.
The correspondence section is first arranged alphabetically by name of the correspondent, and then chronologically within the files for each correspondent. Drafts and copies of letters from Matthews to the various correspondents are filed chronologically with the letters from each correspondent.
Section II. Manuscripts Written by Matthews has three subseries corresponding to her three unpublished novels, two of which are untitled.
Series III. Printed Material Related to Matthews consists of five folders. The first folder contains issues of The Figure in the Carpet and the four remaining folders contain material removed from books belonging to Matthews which have been cataloged for Special Collections.
The last segment of the finding aid provides a list of the books which were removed from the papers and cataloged with printed material for Special Collections. The list is arranged alphabetically by author of the book and then alphabetically by title.
Boxes 1-8: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes
Purchase, 1971.
Originally processed 1971 and revised November 1992 by Anita A. Wellner. Finding aid encoded by Special Collections staff.
The PDF linked here provides a list of books transferred to the printed collections in Special Collections. They can be found in DELCAT Discovery, the Library's online catalog.
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Subject
- Publisher
- University of Delaware Library Special Collections
- Finding Aid Author
- University of Delaware Library, Special Collections
- Finding Aid Date
- 2017 June 23
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S.Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec
Collection Inventory
This series consists of letters from various literary persons to Matthews, as well as drafts of letters from Matthews to these individuals. Included are letters from Richard Blackmur, Waldo Frank, Floyd Dell, Jacques and Raissa Maritain, Gorham Munson, Genevieve Taggard, William Troy, and many others. Included in some of the letters are clippings, poetry and essays by Matthews, as well as a few poems and essays written by others. The material is arranged alphabetically by name of the correspondent and chronologically within folders from a particular individual. Matthews' responses are filed chronologically with the letters of the correspondent.
Consists of seven letters from Baugh and four drafts of letters from Matthews.
Consists of 36 letters from Blackmur and 66 drafts of letters from Matthews. Also included are a twelve-page critique by Blackmur of Matthew's untitled novel (see F54-57), a poem titled "Of Lucifer," clippings, 100 pages of notes by Matthews, and an essay titled "The Uneducated Heart" by Matthews.
Includes Blackmur's critique of Matthew's untitled novel (Part I is titled "Love Apples").
Includes notes by Matthews.
Includes article by Matthews titled "The Uneducated Heart "
Includes ten pages of criticism of Matthews' untitled novel by Blackmur and notes by Matthews
Includes financial notes by Matthews
Includes a chapter of Matthews' untitled novel
American critic and biographer Van Wyck Brooks (1866-1963) was an associate editor, with Waldo Frank, of
Seven Arts .Consists of six letters from Brooks to Matthews, as well as six drafts of letters from Matthews to Brooks
Includes two letters from Burke to Matthews and one letter from Matthews to Burke
Consists of one note from Cannan to Matthews.
Consists of three letters from Codman to Matthews and drafts of three letters from Matthews to Codman
Consists of two letters from Coleman which have enclosed two poems by Coleman. The poems are titled "The Sleep of Heaven" and "To My Dead Father." Also includes a draft of a letter from Matthews to Coleman.
Consists of one letter from Cowley to Matthews, as well as a draft of her original query dated December 16, 1938
One of novelist Clifton Cuthbert's early books was a novel titled
Thunder Without Rain , published in 1933.Consists of one letter from Cuthbert with an enclosed review of his novel,
Thunder Without Rain , as well as a draft of Matthew's reply to this letterConsists of nine letters from Dell to Matthews. The March 14th letter includes a page of suggested changes in a manuscript which Matthews submitted for publication in
The Masses . Also includes three drafts of letters from Matthews to Dell, with one enclosed poem, "Psyche," by Matthews.Includes Matthew's poem, "Psyche"
Includes one letter to Matthews from Erskine, as well as a copy of Matthews' letter to Erskine and a copy of a letter to Melville Cane, also from Matthews
The letters indicate that Matthews was attempting to mediate difficulties between Alma and Waldo Frank.
Consists of seven letters from Mrs. Frank to Matthews and five copies of letters from Matthews to Mrs. Frank. Also includes a letter from Mrs. Frank to Waldo Frank and a copy of a letter from Matthews to a Miss Nadya Ornstein.
Consists of two letters from Margaret Frank to Matthews
This extensive correspondence consists of eighty-eight letters from Waldo Frank to Matthews, as well as copies of twenty-one letters from Matthews to Frank. It includes Matthews' comments on Frank's novel,
Summer Never Ends , published in 1941.Includes a letter of introduction for Waldo Frank from The Paul Cornell Company, Inc. to Mr. A.H. Huesmann.
Includes Matthews' comments on Frank's novel,
Summer Never Ends .Consists of four letters from Talbot Hamlin to Matthews and three sonnets written by Hamlin and dedicated to Matthews. Also includes a copy of a letter from Matthews to Talbot Hamlin, as well as a copy of a letter from Matthews to Jessica Hamlin (Mrs. Talbot Hamlin). A letter from Jessica and Mary Hamlin to Matthews is also found here.
Consists of one letter from Kirstein to Matthews.
Consists of six letters from Jacques Maritain to Matthews, as well as drafts of sixteen letters from Matthews to Maritain. Some of the letters are in French.
Consists of three letters from Raissa Maritain to Matthews, as well as nine letters to Raissa Maritain from Matthews. Also included in this folder are a photograph of Jacques Maritain, several clippings, and a poem and essay concerning Chagall (written by Matthews). One of Matthews' letters to Raissa Maritain is also to Vera Oumancoff. The letters are in French.
Consists of five letters from Munson to Matthews, as well as two drafts of letters from Matthews to Munson.
Consists of one letter from Nock to Matthews, as well as a copy of a letter from Matthews to Nock.
The correspondence is in French. Consists of thirteen letters from Oumancoff to Matthews and sixteen drafts of letters from Matthews to Oumancoff.
Consists of twelve letters from Mrs. Stillman to Matthews, as well as three drafts of letters from Matthews to Stillman. Also includes a poem, "To Elva," by Mildred Stillman.
Includes poem, "To Elva," by Stillman.
Consists of seven letters from Taggard to Matthews, as well as eight copies of letters from Matthews to Taggard.
Consists of twenty-eight letters from Troy to Matthews, as well as fifty-four copies of letters from Matthews to Troy. Also included are two letters from Leonie Adams (William Troy's wife) to Matthews and two letters from Matthews to Leonie Adams. Also includes a poem titled "Line Written on Shelton Terrace, S.F." by Matthews, clippings, a typescript of the article, "De Jacques Riviere à Alain-Fournier 1905," by Troy and several other manuscripts described below.
Includes a copy of a program titled "Semaine Memoriale Isadora Duncan" (Paris, June 1928) and a poem, "Line Written on Shelton Terrace, S.F.," written by Matthews.
Includes a poem by Matthews titled "First Snow."
Includes a carbon copy of an article in French titled "De Jacques Riviere à Alain-Fournier 1905."
Includes one clipping, a transcript of Edmund Wilson's "The Fable of the Three Limperary Cripples," and an essay in French by Matthews.
Includes a clipping of an obituary for William Troy, as well as the correspondence between Matthews and Leonie Adams. Also includes a poem by Matthews titled "Réponse au Conseil."
Includes calling cards, a clipping, and diary entries.
Includes a calling card for Rowena Matthews (daughter of Elva de Pue Matthews) and Mr. and Mrs. Warren Shepard Matthews (1923), as well as an undated clipping concerning Matthews. Also includes ten pages of diary entries by Matthews.
This series consists of drafts of three manuscripts by Matthews. Two are untitled novels and the third is the draft for a novel titled "White River." Portions of "White River" were published in the October 1927 issue of
The Figure in the Carpet . The other manuscripts were never published.Consists of one typescript draft in four parts. Part one is titled "Love Apples," which may have served as a preliminary title to the novel.
Typescript with autograph revisions of seven chapters. Consists of pages 1-127.
Typescript with extensive autograph revisions of thirteen chapters. Consists of pages 128-327.
Typescript with autograph revisions of thirteen chapters. Consists of pages 328-489.
Typescript with autograph revisions of seven chapters. Consists of pages 490-581.
Consists of one typescript draft of this novel, as well as notes on the characters and layout of the home, music for a sonata used in the story, and descriptions and sketches of the characters. The novel is arranged in four parts. Excerpts of "White River" were published in the October 1927 issue of
The Figure in the Carpet .Typescript and carbon pages with a few autograph corrections of five chapters. Consists of pages 1-91.
Typescript and carbon pages with a few autograph corrections of six chapters. Consists of pages 92-192.
Typescript and carbon pages with a few autograph corrections of seven chapters. Consists of pages 193-254.
Typescript pages with a few autograph corrections of ten chapters. Consists of pages 255-336.
Includes pencil and ink sketches of the characters in the novel, a design for the home, music for a sonata, and notes on the history of the Eustace family. 14 pp.
This series includes drafts and notes toward an untitled novel. The notes provide character descriptions, notes for rewrites, as well as drafts and ideas for certain chapters.
Consists of a typescript of a rough draft, bearing extensive autograph revisions and notes.
Consists of a typescript with extensive autograph revisions of chapters 5-11.
Consists of typescript and autograph notes describing the characters and other ideas for the novel.
Includes typescript notes for a "Section III" on sexuality in China, autograph notes on Liboux, and autograph notes for chapter 10b titled "Twin Peaks."
Includes three issues of
The Figure in the Carpet and notes removed from a copy of Les Grandes Amitiés: Souvenirs .Consists of three issues of this magazine of prose published by The New School for Social Research, New York, with Hansell Baugh as editor, William Troy and Matthews as associate editors. It was published as
The Figure in the Carpet from October 1927 through May 1928. From December 1928-May 1929 it was titled Salient . The fourth issue of The Figure in the Carpet is available in Special Collections (Spec PN 3311 .S25). In addition to editing the magazine, material by Matthews is included in each of these issues: October 1927, "White River"; November 1927,"Reading with a Purpose"; February 1928, "Almighty Bird" and "Plotting a Curve."Consists of notes by Matthews which were laid in a copy of Raissa Maritain's
Les Grandes Amitiés: Souvenirs (New York: Editions de la Maison Française, Inc., 1941). This volume is inscribed by the author to Matthews. Autograph notes by Matthews appear on the back flyleaf and on some pages. This volume was transferred to the printed collections in Special Collections.Consists of one page of autograph notes by Matthews originally laid in a copy of Waldo Frank's
The Re-Discovery of America (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1929). The book is inscribed to Matthews by Frank and bears autograph notes by Matthews throughout the text. This volume is cataloged for Special Collections (Spec E 169.1 .F824).Consists of three pages of autograph notes concerning Emily Dickinson made by Matthews and originally laid in a copy of Genevieve Taggard's
The Life and Mind of Emily Dickinson (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930). This book is inscribed to Matthews by Taggard and bears autograph notes by Matthews in the back. This volume is cataloged for Special Collections (Spec PS 1541 .Z5 T3).Consists of two clippings from issues of
Contempo: A Review of Books and Personalities (1932). One clipping is a review by Gorham Munson of Waldo Frank's America Hispana (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1931) and the other is a response by Waldo Frank to Munson's review. The clippings were laid in a copy of America Hispana inscribed to Matthews by Frank. This volume is cataloged for Special Collections (Spec F 1408.3 .F86).