Manuscripts
Correspondence: 1907-July 1909
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Ambrose Bierce Correspondence File
Manuscripts
The Ambrose Bierce Correspondence File consists of letters written by Bierce between 1871 and 1913. Much of the letters are concerned with details of Bierce's multi- volume Collected Works, and a majority are written to the editor of that project, Walter Neale. The letters contain discourse about the contents of the volumes, transportation of proofs, and deadlines. A good number of the remaining letters are written to Bierce contemporary Silas Orrin Howes (1867- 1918), who edited another collection of Bierce's work, The Shadow on the Dial and Other Essays (1909). These letters are largely concerned with that book and the process of assembling and publishing the Collected Works, although personal details are also present. The File also contains twenty-three letters to the California author Charles Warren Stoddard (1843-1909). These letters are less business-oriented and more personal, detailing matters such as invitations to dinner and various relationships with literary figures of the era. Many of the letters feature examples of Bierce's trademark dry wit. Writing to Howes on his birthday, Bierce comments "This is my birthday – I am 366 years old" (HM 7304). Apologizing to Neale for a long-winded reaction to criticism, Bierce writes "You happen to be standing in the channel of my verbal flood" (HM 10254). And, writing to Neale on December 26, 1909, Bierce says "I trust you had a Christmas. Fill in your own adjective" (HM 10275). Bierce was also prone to insightful quips, such as "The least one can do is what one commonly does" (HM 10237), "The conviction that all men are rogues is quite as disastrous to one's interest as the conviction that no one is" (HM 10282), and "Good substitutes for truth are not so plentiful as some persons imagine" (HM 10207). Almost all the letters are autographed and signed, and some include the envelope. The File also contains an annotated printer's copy of Volume VIII of Bierce's Collected Works, which consists of "Negligible Tales" and "Kings of Beasts" (HM 10458).
mssHM 7294-7308
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Correspondence: 1871-1906 and Collected Work, Vol. VIII – Negligible Tales. Printer's copy
Manuscripts
mssHM 7294-7308
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Correspondence, Stevens, Wallace to Stevens, Elsie (1907-February 1909)
Manuscripts
Collection is primarily made up of letters written to Stevens, his carbon copy replies, and autograph manuscripts and poems. Also included is an extensive collection of genealogical material, in form of letters, documents, typescripts, and photographs. Other individuals represented in the collection include: E. E. Cummings, Alfred A. Knopf, Robert McAlmon, Thomas MacGreevy, Archibald MacLeish, Marianne Moore, Jose Rodriguez Feo, and John Orley Allen Tate.
mssWAS 1-4262