Collection Summary
Marcia Davenport Papers
1929-1970
(bulk 1932-1960)
1929-1970
(bulk 1932-1960)
MSS17806
Davenport, Marcia,
1903-1996
4,000
items
35 containers
13 linear feet
English
Czech
Collection material in
English with some in
Czech.
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Author and music
critic. Correspondence, drafts, galley proofs, typescripts, notes, and press
clippings relating to Davenport's books and novels.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Brandt, Carol, 1904-1984--Correspondence.
Cather, Willa, 1873-1947--Correspondence.
Davenport, Marcia, 1903-1996.
Davenport, Marcia, 1903-1996. Constant image. 1960.
Davenport, Marcia, 1903-1996. East side, west side. 1947.
Davenport, Marcia, 1903-1996. Garibaldi; father of modern Italy. 1957.
Davenport, Marcia, 1903-1996. Mozart. 1932.
Davenport, Marcia, 1903-1996. My brother's keeper. 1954.
Davenport, Marcia, 1903-1996. Of Lena Geyer. 1936.
Davenport, Marcia, 1903-1996. Valley of decision. 1942.
Kolodin, Irving, 1908-1988--Correspondence.
Meyer, Wallace--Correspondence.
Moses, Montrose Jonas, 1878-1934--Correspondence.
Perkins, Maxwell E. (Maxwell Evarts), 1884-1947--Correspondence.
Scribner, Charles, 1890-1952--Correspondence.
Subjects
Authors and publishers.
Occupations
Authors.
Music critics.
Provenance
The papers of Marcia Davenport, author and music critic, were
deposited in the Library of Congress in 1968 and 1973. The deposits were
converted to a gift in 1992.
Processing History
The papers of Marcia Davenport were arranged and described in 1969.
The collection was expanded in 1983. The finding aid was revised in 2011.
Additional Guides
The Marcia Davenport Papers are described in
Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress
26, no. 4 (Oct. 1969): 247.
Related Material
A related collection in the Manuscript Division includes the papers of
her husband,
[Russell
Wheeler Davenport] .
Copyright Status
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Marcia Davenport in these
papers and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress is
reserved. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division for further
information.
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Marcia Davenport are open to research. Researchers are
advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many
collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these
items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Marcia Davenport Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1903, June 9
Born, New York, N.Y.
1915
1923
Educated at Friends School, Philadelphia, Pa.; Shipley School,
Bryn Mawr, Pa.; Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.; and received B.A. from
Grenoble University, Grenoble, France
1923
Married Frank D. Clarke (divorced 1924)
1924
1928
Advertising copy writer, New York, N.Y.
1928
1931
Editorial staff,
The New Yorker
1929
Married Russell W. Davenport (divorced 1946)
1932
Published
Mozart
. New York, N.Y.: Scribner
1934
1939
Music critic,
Stage Magazine
1936
Published
Of Lena Geyer
. New York, N.Y.: Scribner
1936
1937
Commentator, Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts
1940
Active in presidential campaign of Wendell L. Willkie
1941
1945
Active in relief work for Czechoslovakia
1942
Published
Valley of Decision
. New York, N.Y.: Scribner
1945
1948
Lived in Prague, Czechoslovakia
1947
Published
East Side, West Side
. New York, N.Y.: Scribner
1950
Lived alternately in Europe, chiefly Italy, and New York,
N.Y.
1954
Published
My Brother's Keeper
. New York, N.Y.: Scribner
1957
Published
Garibaldi: Father of Modern Italy
. New York, N.Y.: Random House
1960
Published
The Constant Image
. New York, N.Y.: Scribner
1967
Published
Too Strong for Fantasy
. New York, N.Y.: Scribner
1991
Published
Jan Masaryk: Last Portrait
. Panorama
1996, Jan. 16
Died, Monterey, Calif.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Marcia Davenport (1903-1996) span the years 1929-1970,
with the bulk of the material dating from 1932 to 1960. The papers are mostly
in English with a typescript in Czech and are organized into the following
series:
[
Correspondence
](corr),
[
Literary
Manuscripts
](lit), and
[
Addition
](add).
The
[
Correspondence
](corr) largely relates to the preparation and
publication of her books and novels and there are numerous drafts and copies of
Davenport's outgoing letters. A significant group of correspondence consists of
letters from Maxwell E. Perkins, editor-in-chief at Charles Scribner's Sons,
from 1931 until his death in 1947. Included among the more than thirty letters
from Perkins is a ten-page letter, dated April 28, 1947, concerning revisions
of Davenport's novel
East Side, West Side
. Other correspondents include Carol Brandt, Davenport's literary
agent, Charles Scribner, Jr., and Wallace Meyer who succeeded Perkins as
Davenport's editor at the Scribner publishing house. There are also individual
letters from Willa Cather, Irving Kolodin, and Montrose Jonas Moses. Further
correspondence is in the
[
Addition
](add).
The
[
Literary
Manuscripts
](lit) relate to her works published from 1929 to 1960 including
Mozart
,
Of Lena Geyer
,
Valley of Decision
,
East Side, West Side
,
My Brother's Keeper
,
Garibaldi: Father of Modern Italy
, and
The Constant Image
. Notes and early material relating to her 1967 autobiography
Too Strong for Fantasy
and the original typescript for
My Brother's Keeper
are in the
[
Addition
](add).
Included with the manuscripts are notes, typescripts, press clippings,
typescripts, galley proofs, page proofs, drafts, and fragments.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged in three series:
-
[
Correspondence,
1929-1959
](corr)
-
[
Literary
Manuscripts, 1932-1960
](lit)
-
[
Addition,
1936-1970
](add)
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78017806]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Correspondence,
1929-1959
1929-1959
Incoming and outgoing letters relating to Davenport's
publications.
Arranged into special correspondence of Maxwell E. Perkins and
general correspondence.
1
Special correspondence, Maxwell
E. Perkins,
1931-1947
1931-1947
1
General correspondence,
1929-1959, undated
1929-1959, undated
2-33
Literary Manuscripts,
1932-1960
1932-1960
Drafts, notes, typescripts, galley proofs, page proofs, and press
clippings.
Arranged by title of work and thereunder by type of material.
2
Mozart
,
1932
1932
2
Notes, fragments, and early
drafts
3
Fragments of manuscript and
typescript
4
Manuscript and
typescript
5
Typescript (copy), press
clippings, and preface to revised edition
6
Of Lena Geyer
,
1936
1936
6
Early draft manuscript and
original manuscript
7
Typescript (copy) and galley
proof (fragment)
8
Galley proof
9
Press clippings
10
Valley of Decision
,
1942
1942
10
Research notes, drafts,
fragments, and working notes
11
Original manuscript
12
Cuts from original
manuscript
13
Revised original
manuscript
14
Revised original
manuscript
14
Editorial
typescript
15
Editorial
typescript
16
Galley proof
17
Galley proof
18
Press clippings
19
Press clippings
20
Press clippings
21
Czech translation
(typescript)
22
East Side, West Side
,
1947
1947
22
Notes and working material and
original manuscript
23
Author's typescript
23
Press clippings
24
My Brother's Keeper
,
1954
1954
24
Working notes, early drafts,
and original manuscript
25
Editorial
typescript
26
Revised manuscript and page
proof
27
Press clippings
28
Garibaldi: Father of Modern Italy
,
1957
1957
28
Notes and original
manuscript
28
"So Help Me God," fragment of
drama
29
The Constant Image
,
1960
1960
29
Notes and fragments, original
manuscript, editorial typescript, and page proof
30
Press clippings
31
Early drafts, fragments, and
original manuscript
32
Editorial
typescript
33
Galley proof and page
proof
34-35
Addition,
1936-1970
1936-1970
Correspondence, literary manuscripts, clippings, notes,
typescripts, and fragments.
Arranged by type of material or title of work.
34
Correspondence,
1936-1969
1936-1969
34
Letter to the editor,
circa 1947
circa 1947
34
Notes with clippings,
1967-1968
1967-1968
34
Clippings
34
Charles Scribner's
Sons
34
Literary Clipping
Service
34
Clippings and printed
matter
35
My Brother's Keeper
, original typescript and carbon copy,
1954
1954
35
Too Strong for Fantasy
, rough notes and early material,
1967
1967
35
Fragments