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4. WALTER AND LOUISE ARENSBERG PAPERS

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A significant portion of these papers consists of Walter Arensberg's cryptographic research notes and files, circa 1920 to 1954. His notes demonstrate his conviction that he would eventually unlock the key to the ciphers in Shakespeare's texts despite unsuccessful results and contrary opinion. There are many typescripts by Arensberg, but also research work done by his staff, at his direction. The titles of his research subject files give a good idea of the topics of interest to Arensberg, many related to mythology and symbolism. There are a few letters with private researchers or librarians dealing with specific topics in the subject files. The research work was carried on by the staff for approximately six years after his death in January 1954.

Also included here is personal correspondence with family, friends and other Baconians, and some of Walter's early and experimental poetry.

Walter's letters to Louise in 1923 and 1924 are an account of his first visit to Lichfield, England, where he hoped to convince local authorities of his theory that Bacon was buried there.

The letters of Walter's father, Conrad Christian Arensberg, demonstrate his pride in Walter's books of the 1920s. Letters to his brother Charles F. C. Arensberg, to whom he appeared to be close, contain some accounts from Walter about his Baconian theories. Also of note are letters from Helen Keller (to Charles F. C. Arensberg); writer Henry Miller; film director John Huston; noted World War II cryptologist William F. Friedman; and Clyde Wolfe, a California Institute of Technology professor whom Arensberg hired, along with Friedman, to assist with his cipher work.

Personal items include family photographs, two of Walter Arensberg's passports, medical and financial records, and copies of the Arensbergs' wills.

The collection also includes family photographs of the Arensberg and [Louise] Stevens families, including Walter and Louise.

Correspondence, Arensberg, Louise Stevens to Walter Conrad Arensberg, 1922

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The five series are: Library Records; Personal Papers given to the Library; Francis Bacon Foundation Records; the Walter and Louise Arensberg Papers; and the Art and Artifacts Collection. The Library records include administration and collection records, gifts and acquisitions, exhibit records, and a large portion of correspondence. The correspondence, almost entirely written by library director Elizabeth Wrigley, is with students, other organizations, scholars, and, notably, interested Baconians (supporters of the theory that Francis Bacon was the true author of the plays attributed to Shakespeare). There are also records of gifts to the library, including books, ephemera and papers of Baconians and other scholars studying the Shakespeare authorship question. These papers comprise the Personal Papers series, and are organized by owner name: Isabelle Kittson Brown, Eugene Dernay, George Drury, Johan Franco, R. W. (Reginald Walter) Gibson, Olive Woodward Hoss, Karl [Richards] Wallace, and A. Allen Woodruff. The Francis Bacon Foundation papers contain articles of incorporation, financial and legal documents, and some correspondence of the board members. There are also clippings and photostats on Shakespeare, Bacon and Elizabethan history that were collected for research purposes. This represents only a portion of the Foundation records; the remainder are in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The personal and family papers of Walter and Louise Arensberg include Walter Arensberg's cryptographic research files, charts and notes; personal papers; drafts of his poems and books; correspondence with Baconians; photographs; and letters of Arensberg and [Louise] Stevens family members. The letters between Walter and his brother Charles F. C. Arensberg are particularly personal and informative. This portion of the Arensbergs' personal papers does not include their correspondence with artists or their art-collecting activities. Those papers (the Arensberg Archives) were given by the Francis Bacon Foundation to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which also holds the Arensberg Art Collection of Modern and pre-Columbian art. The last series of the archive is a group of art objects and historical artifacts that belonged to the Foundation and library. Some were collected by the Arensbergs, and some were acquired by the library after their deaths. They are listed with their original descriptions kept by the Foundation. The collection is organized into these series and subseries: Series 1. Library Records1.1 Administrative records1.2 Collection records1.3 Correspondence 1.3.1. General 1.3.2. Colleges, Universities and Schools 1.3.3. Foundations, Societies, etc. 1.3.4. Libraries and Related Institutions 1.3.5. Correspondence with Baconians 1.4 Exhibits 1.5 Financial records. Series 2. Personal Papers 2.1. Isabelle Kittson Brown Papers, circa 1880-19282.2. Eugene Dernay Papers, 1861-1960 2.3 George Drury Papers, 1960-1964 2.4. Johan Franco Publication plates, undated 2.5. R. W. (Reginald Walter) Gibson Papers, circa 1940-1959. 2.6. Olive Woodward Hoss Papers, circa 1920-1969. 2.7. Karl [Richards] Wallace Papers, circa 1960-1973. 2.8. A. Allen Woodruff Papers, circa 1893-1949. Series 3. Francis Bacon Foundation Records. Series 4. Walter and Louise Arensberg Papers 4.1. Correspondence. 4.1.1. General. 4.1.2. Correspondence with Baconians. 4.1.3. Arensberg Family correspondence. 4.1.4. Stevens Family correspondence. 4.2. Personal 4.3. Writings 4.4. Financial 4.5. Legal. 4.6. Research 4.7. Photographs. Series 5. Art and Artifacts Collection. Arrangement: The arrangement and titles of the files have been kept as much as possible in the original order of the records maintained by the Arensbergs and the library staff. Folders are arranged alphabetically by title within series. Documents within folders are arranged in chronological order by date with undated materials residing at the end of each folder. One exception is research files, which have been kept in their original order, which was not always chronological, but often by topic.

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4. WALTER AND LOUISE ARENSBERG PAPERS

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