Harry Crosby Papers, ca. 1919-1955

John Hay Library , Special Collections
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2146
email: hay@brown.edu

Published in 2013

Collection Overview

Title:	Harry Crosby Papers
Date range:	ca. 1919-1955
Creator:	Crosby, Harry, 1898-1929
Extent:	0.25 Linear feet
Abstract:	Harry Crosby (1898-1929) was an American poet and publisher. The Harry Crosby Papers consist of correspondence, notebooks, manuscripts, photographs, legal documents, and a biography.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library , Special Collections
Collection number:	Ms.88.3

Scope & content

The Harry Crosby Papers include 19 letters to Constance Atherton, Comtesse de Jumilhac; letters from Atherton and related correspondence; 2 notebooks with letter and unpublished aphorisms addressed to Atherton; book belonging to Harry and Caresse Crosby; 10 manuscript notebooks; page proofs (bound) for Shadows of the sun and for Chariot of the sun; other writings; two albums of photographs; and Caresse Crosby's correspondence with several writers, editors, and publishers. The collection also includes Crosby's last will and testament; typescript (carbon) of his The De Geetere Maldoror; and a biographical sketch of him written by his wife, Caresse Crosby.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Atherton, Constance, Comtesse de Jumilhac
• Boyle, Kay, 1902-
• Brown, Edward R.
• Crosby, Caresse, 1892-1970
• Crosby, Harry, 1898-1929
• Crowninshield, Frank, 1872-1947
• Damon, S. Foster (Samuel Foster), 1893-1971
• Hanley, Hugh
• Johns, Richard, 1904-1970
• Jonah, David Alonzo, 1909-1981

Subject Organizations

• American Field Service
• Black Sun Press
• Bruce Humphries (Firm)
• Rebel Poets (Organization)

Subject Topics

• Poets, American--Correspondence--20th century
• World War, 1914-1918

Occupations

• Poets
• Publishers

Document Types

• biographies
• Letters (Correspondence)
• Manuscripts for publication
• Notebooks
• page proofs
• Photographs
• Telegrams
• Wills

Subject Topics

• Language and Literature

Arrangement

This collection is organized in 3 series.

• Series 1. Correspondence and related material
• Series 2. Writings and photographs of Harry Crosby
• Series 3. Papers of Caresse Crosby relating to Harry Crosby

Within each series, items are arranged by type of material.

Biographical/Historical note

Harry Crosby (1898-1929) was an American poet and publisher born in Boston, Massachusetts to a wealthy and socially prominent family. In 1922 Crosby married Mary Phelps Jacob Peabody, a Boston socialite and divorcee, then called "Polly", later known as Caresse Crosby. As members of the American expatriate community in Paris in the 1920s, they founded the Black Sun Press, publishing noted limited editions of James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, D. H. Lawrence and other major authors of the 1920s. Crosby's own writings, both published and in his notebooks, reflect his fascination for the cult of the sun. Crosby committed suicide with his mistress, Josephine Rotch, in New York on December 10, 1929.

Caresse Crosby continued Black Sun Press and Crosby Continental Editions in to the 1940s.

Constance Atherton, the "Comtesse de Jumilhac", was sometimes referred to by Harry Crosby by the nickname "Queen of Pekin". In the 1932 San Francisco Social Register, her name and that of her husband appear as "Rogers, Mr. & Mrs. Eliot (Atherton-de Jumilac-Constance C. COOLIDGE), Santa Barbara, Cal.".

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:	Harry Crosby Papers, Ms. 88.3, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library , Special Collections Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Tel: 401-863-2146 email: hay@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The Harry Crosby Papers were a gift to Brown University from Caresse Crosby and received in 3 installments on Sept. 25, 1955 (A88-24, accession numbers HA4579-4587), Feb. 6, 1973 (A88-24, accession numbers HA23787-90), and Jan. 12, 1981 (A81-5). Additional material was purchased from George Robert Minkoff on June 3, 1988 (A88-24).
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013-02-05

Additional Information

Other information:

Brown University Library catalog record for this collection: Harry Crosby Papers

Inventory

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