Dreiser mss. IV, 1894-1951
Summary Information
Repository
Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Lilly Library
Indiana University
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-5500
Phone: 812-855-2452
Fax: 812-855-3143
Email: liblilly@indiana.edu
Creator
Dreiser, Theodore, 1871-1945.
TitleDreiser mss. IV,1894-1951
Collection No.
LMC 1289
Extent
60 items
Language
Materials are in English.
Abstract
The Dreiser mss. III, 1928-1945, consist of materials pertaining to author Theodore Dreiser, 1871-1945.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Biographical Note
Dreiser was born the twelfth of thirteen children in Terre Haute, IN and attended
Indiana University in Bloomington briefly before dropping out in 1890. He married
Sara White in 1898, and they separated in 1909 although never formally divorced.
Dreiser became a renowned author of literary naturalism (other American writers in
the movement included Jack London, Edith Wharton, Frank Norris, and Stephen Crane).
His best known novels are
Sister Carrie (although a
commercial failure at the time in 1900),
Jeannie
Gerhardt
(1911), and
An American Tragedy
(1925). Politically, Dreiser was involved in socialist causes and wrote a
non-fiction book,
Dreiser Looks at Russia (1928), based
on his experiences visiting the Soviet Union. He did not officially join the
American Communist Party until shortly before his death in 1945.
Scope and Content Note
Correspondents include: Mme. Chiang Mei-ling; Henry Louis Mencken; Dudley Nichols.
The manuscripts of articles and stories by Theodore Dreiser are: "An Address All to
Electrons, Protrons, Neutrons, Deutrons, Quantums"; "Art"; "As the Hart Panteth
After the Roe"; "Backward Asiatics"; "Challenge to the Creative Man"; "Come All Ye
Who Are Weary and Heavy Laden"; "Cyrelle's Mother had the quiet unassuming manner of
a gentle soul."; [Economy of America]; "England"; "The Fairy"; "Intellectual
Unemployment"; "Let the Dead Bury the Dead"; "Life's Little Ironies"; "The Lost
Father"; "The Man Who Changed the World, or Men Who Saved the World"; "The Man Who
Wanted to be a Poet"; "My Idea of a Balanced Issue Would Be"; Notes; Notes for a
Story; Popular Periodicals; Possible Story Plot; "The Problem of the Artist in the
Present Day"; Short Stories; "The Stoic" (including drafts of chapters 38, 67, 76,
81, 83, 87, 88, 89, and 90, the publisher's introduction, a synopsis of the novel, a
list of persons, places, business firms, etc., and summaries of five characters);
"Transubstantiation"; "Why Capitalists Praise Democracy"; [World War II].
Also included are four galleys with holographic corrections of Theodore Dreiser's Today
(February 7, 1934).
Related Material
Related materials exist in the following collections also located at the Lilly Library, Indiana
University, Bloomington, Indiana: Dreiser mss. I, Dreiser mss. II, Dreiser mss. III, and Dreiser mss. V.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Purchase. Robert Wian III, Glendale, California. 1966
Usage RestrictionsPrior arrangements are not necessary before coming to the Library, however,
patrons from out of town are encouraged to communicate with the Library in
advance of their visits to ascertain availability of materials.
Photocopying permitted only with permission of the Curator of Manuscripts, Lilly
Library.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Dreiser mss. IV, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington,
Indiana.
Processing Information
Processed by staff.
Box 1
Correspondence, 1939-1951
"Backward Asiatics" undated.
"As the Heart Panteth After the Roe,"undated.
"Come All Ye Who Are Weary and Heavy Laden,"undated.
Untitled Story. [First line: "Cyrelle's Mother had the quiet unassuming manner of a gentle soul..."], undated.
"Challenge to the Creative Man", undated.
["Economy of America"], undated.
"England", undated.
"Intellectual Unemployment", undated.
"The Fairy", undated.
"Let the Dead Bury the Dead", undated.
"The Lost Father", undated.
"Life's Little Ironies", undated.
"The Man Who Changed the World, or The Men Who Saved the World", undated.
"The Man Who Wanted to be a Poet", undated.
"My Idea of a Balanced Issue Would Be", undated.
Notes, undated.
Notes for a story, undated.
"Popular Periodicals", undated.
Possible story plot, undated.
Outline. "The Problem of the Artist in the Present Day", undated.
Short stories, undated.
"The Stoic", undated.
"Transubstantiation", undated.
[World War II], undated.
Miscellaneous, undated.
Printed matter by and about Dreiser, undated.
Printed matter on various subjects, undated.
"Why Capitalists Praise Democracy", undated.
"Art", undated.
"An Address to Electrons, Protons, Neutrons, Deutrons, Quantums", undated.
Box 2
Today. Four galleys with holograph corrections, February 7, 1934
