Guide to the Sonia H. and Nathaniel A. Davis papers, 1879-1972

(bulk 1930-1965)

John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2014

Collection Overview

Title:	Sonia H. and Nathaniel A. Davis papers
Date range:	1879-1972, (bulk 1930-1965)
Creator:	Greene, Sonia H. (Sonia Haft), 1883-1972
Extent:	7.0 Linear feet
Abstract:	Consists of correspondence, manuscripts, personal and administrative records, printed materials, photographs, ephemera, and a few artifacts belonging to or associated with Nathaniel A. Davis (1866-1945) and his wife Sonia H. Davis (1883-1972). Mr. Davis, of Jewish and Portuguese heritage, was writer, editor, educator, social activist, entrepreneur, world traveler, publisher, journalist and founder of Planetaryan, a humanitarian organization devoted to world peace. Mrs. Davis, of Jewish and Ukrainian heritage, was a business woman, milliner, writer, editor, amateur journalist and publisher. She was married briefly to H.P. Lovecraft with whom she collaborated on several literary projects. This collection, dating from 1879 to 1972-- the bulk of which ranges from 1930 to the early 1940s--is a good source of documentation for anyone interested in U.S. social, political and religious history, especially around the period of World War II. It is also a good source for those who are interested in American literature, especially in religious poetry and didactic literature. It is also a good secondary source of biographical information about Lovecraft due to Mrs. Davis' previous marriage to him; it does not include any primary source materials originating from Lovecraft himself, nor does it contain much by way of direct documentation about him except for a published memoir of him written by Mrs. Davis ( Books at Brown, vol. XI, nos. 1-2), a copy of which is included in this collection.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	MS.2012.003

Scope & content

This collection dates from 1879 to 1972, with the bulk between the early 1930s to the mid-1940s. It contains correspondence, handwritten and typescript manuscripts, personal documents, ephemera, artifacts, and printed materials covering a wide range of social and political topics. It also includes the administrative records of what appears to have been the short-lived humanitarian organization, Planetaryan, which was founded by Mr. Davis, and in which Mrs. Davis was chief administrator.

The materials that comprise the collection were gathered and arranged by Sonia H. Davis in the years following her husband's death in 1945. In the process, Mrs. Davis annotated materials with autographs, notes and attached clippings.

Series 1. Sonia H. Davis, dating from 1922 to 1971, contains materials created by or associated with Mrs. Davis. It includes correspondence mostly sent to her, some of which are from Mr. Davis and a few other from family members. (It should be noted here, however, that none of these are from or addressed to H.P. Lovecraft). This series also includes her financial and medical records, citizenship certificate, business cards, and burial plans. Most importantly, it contains a substantive collection of her writings, predominantly in manuscript form, including her play, "Alcestis;" a few of her poems; a substantial collection of her essays and editorials, many of which reflect her concern for the welfare of children; and some of her autobiographical writings. The autobiographical writings include a history of Mrs. Davis' family from the time they lived in Russia to her life after Nathaniel Davis' death. One manuscript was purchased and was transferred to this collection from the Howard P. Lovecraft papers: "I do not quite remember how and exactly when I had met Jamed Ferdinand Morton..." (A56758). This manuscript was probably written about 1969, since Mrs. Davis mentions her eighty-fifth birthday. It contains only passing references to Howard P. Lovecraft. Also included in the autobiographical writings are scattered remembrances of Mr. Davis and a copy of her brief memoir of H.P. Lovecraft, "Howard Phillips Lovecraft as His Wife Remembers Him", which was published in Books at Brown (vol. XI, nos. 1-2).

Series 2. Nathaniel A. Davis, dating from 1918 to 1964, comprises materials created by or associated with Mr. Davis. It includes correspondence sent to him and many copies of letters composed by him. Personal documents include his photo identification card, citizenship and death certificates, and curriculum vitae. What makes this series particularly significant is its comprehensive collection of Mr. Davis' prodigious writings in both manuscript and published form. It includes his poetry, essays and plays, all covering a wide variety of political, religious and social topics. Also of special note in this series are a few colorfully illustrated broadsides of Davis' poetry, not to mention a rare monograph of a selection of his patriotic poetry, entitled Faith, Hope, Tradition and Heritage of America, which was published posthumously by Mrs. Davis. Lastly, this series incorporates a collection of Mr. Davis' notebooks, some organized by topic or genre, of his various writings - much of it didactic in nature, most of it affirming his patriotic or religious views.



Series 4. Printed Materials,dating from 1908 to 1972, is mainly an obscure collection of a few scattered items in print, including small press periodicals, bulletins, newsletters, local trade journals, and a few monographs. Some of these contain editorials and essays by Sonia and Nathaniel, and a few include assorted inscriptions, annotations and marginalia. Items of note in this series include the medical study The Barrett Harmonic System for Perfect Eyesight, which was composed by Mr. Davis under the pseudonym Wesley M. Barrett; an issue from Child Security, which includes an article by Mrs. Davis; and also an issue from The California Welfare Journal, which was edited by Mr. Davis and includes both a short editorial piece and an article by him.

Series 5. Photographs, dating from 1893 to 1968, consists of mostly undated portraits and snapshots of Sonia and Nathaniel, family, friends, and associates. Of note are the many formal studio portraits, as well as a small photograph album comprised of a potpourri of pictures of family gatherings, travel landscapes, and other items.

Series 6. Ephemera, dating from 1879 to 1971, includes such items as newspaper clippings, blank greetings cards, and a collection of various invitations, programs, and brochures. Of note are a few astrological charts drawn up for the Sonia and Nathaniel.

Series 7. Artifacts, dating from 1938 to 1949, is comprised of an eclectic array of objects, including a few illustrated hand-made greeting cards by Mr. Davis, as well as an abstract portrait of an unidentified person done in pencil by an unidentified artist. It also contains a small collection of printing paraphernalia--printing blocks, printing plates, and printing proofs--connected to Mr. Davis' publishing endeavors, including the broadside of his poem, "The Swallows of San Juan Capistrano," and the score to "Stars and Stripes for Me," which includes lyrics by Mr. Davis. The most striking aspect of this series is its colorful collection of scrapbooks consisting of various materials including invitations; brochures; book reviews; drawings; clippings from magazines and newspapers; and articles by the Davis' and others. Many, if not most of them, contain writings by Mr. Davis and reflect his religious and social convictions, as well as his patriotic fervor.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Davis, Nathaniel A., d. 1945

Subject Organizations

• American Defense Society of the United States (Planetaryan).
• Planetaryan.

Subject Topics

• American poetry--20th century.
• Authors, American--20th century
• Jews--United States--Biography
• Jews--United States--History--20th century
• Peace movements--United States--History
• Peace-building--Religious aspects
• Women authors--United States--Biography

Document Types

• Broadsides (notices)
• Clippings (information artifacts)
• Drama
• Ephemera
• Essays
• Greeting cards
• Letters (Correspondence)
• Manifestoes
• Manuals (Instructional materials)
• Manuscripts
• Newspaper clippings
• Poetry
• Printing blocks
• printing plates
• Prints (Visual works)
• Short stories
• Writings (Document genre)

Subject Topics

• Language and Literature

Arrangement

The collection is divided into 7 series. All the files within each series are topically arranged.

• Series 1. Sonia H. Davis
• Series 2. Nathaniel A. Davis
• Series 3. Planetaryan
• Series 4. Printed materials
• Series 5. Photographs
• Series 6. Ephemera
• Series 7. Artifacts

Biographical note

Sonia H. Davis

Sonia Haft Davis, of Jewish ancestry, was born on March 16th, 1883 in Ichnya in the Ukraine. In 1892 she emigrated to the United States from England where she had lived since 1890. For several years she lived in New York, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1932 while in residence there. She eventually settled in Los Angeles, California in 1933, living there for the rest of her life.

At the age of 16, Mrs. Davis married Samuel Greene (whose original surname may have been Seckendorff). They had two children: a son who was born in 1900, but died shortly after his birth; and a daughter, Florence Carol, who was born on March 19, 1902. Greene died in 1916, thus ending their marriage of seventeen years. In 1921, she met H.P. Lovecraft at a Boston convention of the Amateur Journalists held shortly after the death of Lovecraft's mother. They eventually got married on March 3, 1924 at St. Paul's Cathedral in Manhattan and took up residence in New York. Their marriage ended two years later. In 1933, Mrs. Davis moved to California, where, in 1936, she married Nathaniel A. Davis, by then a resident in Los Angeles. Their marriage ended ten years later when Mr. Davis passed away.

In additional to being a single mother, Mrs. Davis' professional life included work as an executive in a women's wear department store. She was also an entrepreneur, milliner, writer, journalist, and publisher. She created and published a lavish, but short-lived magazine called The Rainbow which included writings by both Mrs. Davis and Lovecraft. The Rainbow only had two issues: October, 1921 and May, 1922. Her best-known story, "The Invisible Monster" (a.k.a., The Horror at Martin's Beach), was revised and edited by Lovecraft, and published in Weird Tales in November of 1923. She penned the story "Four O'Clock" (not revised by Lovecraft) which was first printed in Something About Cats and Other Pieces, a collection which also includes "The Invisible Monster" and her Lovecraft memoir "Lovecraft as I Knew Him". From May of 1924 to July of 1925 she was also President of the United Amateur Press Association (along with Lovecraft, who was one of the editors).

Sonia Davis died on December 26th, 1972.

Nathaniel A. Davis

Nathaniel Abraham Davis, of Portuguese and Jewish ancestry, was born in Brazil on October 30, 1866 where his father, Dr. Henry L. Davis owned and operated gold and diamond mines. As a child, Davis was sent to Bermuda to live with relatives where he began his early education and learned to speak both English and Hebrew.

Obituaries, correspondence and other materials indicate Davis graduated from the University of Coimbra in Portugal with an M.D.; did postgraduate work at Westminster Polytechnic in London; and earned his PhD from Yale. He was also a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. After completing his education, he traveled extensively, exploring various countries around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, the Far East and the Canadian Arctic. He eventually settled in California, obtaining United States citizenship in 1919. After a previous marriage, Davis married Sonia Haft Greene Lovecraft in 1924.

In his early professional years Davis was a director of the Pacific Chamber of Commerce and of the Pacific Coast Lecture Club. He was also managing director of the San Francisco Foreign Trades Club and editor of the magazine Pacific Ports. He was trade correspondent of the New York Commercial and the Manchester Guardian. Davis taught economics at the Armstrong School in Berkeley, a branch of the University of California, and at the Western States University School of Law in Los Angeles. He was also a general manager for the Frank Waterhouse Company in San Francisco. He owned and edited the Pan Pacific Magazine, Scenic America, and the World Trade Weekly. He was a member of the Sojourner Truth Club and the World Race Research Historical Society, and an honorary member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was also a member of the Haym Salomon Day Committee and executive chairperson of the American Committee to Aid Korean Refugees.

Davis founded the non-profit humanitarian organization, Planetaryan and its affiliate, American Defense Society of the United States. Both were designed to promote peace, justice, liberty, and understanding across ethnic, racial and religious lines, and to uphold the underlying principles of the Constitution of the United States. It is uncertain how successful they were, but the documentation from this collection suggest that both were short-lived -- members enrolled appear to be few in number and affiliated periodicals short in duration.

Davis wrote poetry and prose, as well as polemical tracts on a range of topics including anti-Semitism, racism, and world politics. He edited a number of periodicals, including California Welfare Journal and World Trade and published two periodicals affiliated with Planetaryan called One Nation, and The Torch, neither of which appear to have survived beyond the first issue.

Nathaniel Davis died in Los Angeles, April 6, 1945.

Sources:

Davis, Sonia H. "Howard Phillips Lovecraft as His Wife Remembers Him." Books at Brown. 11 (nos.1-2, Feb 1949) : 1-13.

Joshi, S. T. and David E. Schultz. An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia. Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Press, 2001.

"Sonia Greene," last modified 2 March 2013 at 07:18, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Greene

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Sonia H. and Nathaniel A. Davis Papers, Ms.2012.003, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148 Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	This collection was received as a gift from Sonia H. Davis, circa 1967. One folder of autobiographical writings, "I do not quite remember how and exactly when I had met James Ferdinand Morton..." (Box 9, Folder 2) was a purchase (A56758). It was transferred to this collection from the Howard P. Lovecraft papers.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Robert Rosa.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2014-04-02
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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