Literary Pursuits

Daniel K. Richter taught history and American studies at Dickinson College from 1985 to 1998. This collection includes papers presented by Richter at conferences, as well as book reviews and title pages of scholarly articles written by him. In addition, the collection contains reviews of books authored by Richter, newspaper clippings, press releases, and a small amount of correspondence.

The Sarah L. Rowe Collection is composed of books authored by Pearl S. Buck, as well as correspondence to and from both Buck and Sarah Rowe. This collection was acquired through a bequest of Rowe. The books are individually cataloged and accessible through the online library catalog; a list of these books is also included as an appendix at the end of this collection register. A number of these books have been signed by Pearl Buck, and some include marginal notes penned by Sarah Rowe.

Spencer Bauman Smith (1911-1984) graduated from Dickinson College in 1934. He then attended the Princeton Theological Seminary and served as pastor of the Camp Hill (PA) Presbyterian Church for 34 years. This collection contains correspondence and memorabilia from his college days.

Wilbur Morris Stine (1863-1934) graduated with Dickinson College's class of 1886 and later received advanced degrees from both Dickinson College and Ohio University. He served on the engineering faculty at Ohio University, the Armour Institute of Technology, and Swarthmore College. Stine also received national recognition for his research with x-rays. These papers include documents dealing with his 1891 battery patent application and clippings of articles written by Stine on electricity, x-rays, and science education. The collection also includes some correspondence pertaining to Stine's short involvement with the Swarthmore College Press, as well as 30 literary notebooks containing typescripts of essays, poems, speeches, and stories written by Stine.

Charles Lowe Swift enrolled at Dickinson College in 1900 with the class of 1904, but left in Fall 1903 to become a journalist for the Baltimore Herald.  He taught English at Dickinson's Conway Hall and later at the Hill School in Pottstown, PA before joining Dickinson's English Dept. faculty in 1935.  Swift retired in 1947 and passed away in 1956. This collection consists primarily of correspondence from writer H. L. Mencken and John Charles Thomas, a noted concert baritone who had attended Conway Hall. An article about the letters from Mencken to Swift appeared in the Nov. 1979 alumni magazine.

These images are from the collection of Illinois-born pianist Allen C. Tanner (1898-1987) who lived in France from 1924 to 1934. This collection reflects Tanner’s interactions with members of his family, as well as with musicians, artists, and literary figures, such as Margaret Anderson, Georgette Leblanc, and Pavel Tchelitchew.

Allen C. Tanner (1898-1987) was an Illinois-born pianist. At fifteen he was awarded a scholarship to study music in Chicago. There he met Margaret Anderson, editor of the Little Review. Tanner then moved to New York City where he performed in musical salons and accompanied many musical greats of the era including Marguerite Namara and Marguerite d'Alvarez. In 1922, Tanner left for Berlin, where he met Russian artist Pavel Tchelitchew and the two men became lovers. In 1924 the pair moved to Paris to pursue their artistic careers. There they became friends with literary greats Gertrude Stein and Edith Sitwell. Tanner and Tchelitchew ended their relationship in 1934. Tanner returned to the United States where he coached piano students in concert repertory. In 1967 he released the album Allen Tanner Plays Bach, Debussy, Scriabin, Granados, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, and Steinert. The collection contains correspondence, writings, programs and publicity, news clippings, financial documents, sheet music, sound recordings, photographs, and books. The correspondence comprises the bulk of this collection. In addition to Tanner's correspondence with fellow musicians and cultural figures, Tanner also exchanged letters with authors and publishers who were interested in his memories of individuals such as Tchelitchew, Gertude Stein, Edith Sitwell, and Margaret Anderson.

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University also holds a collection of Allen Tanner papers. 

Paul Walker (1896-1985) was a 1921 graduate of Dickinson College and a longtime contributing editor and columnist with the Harrisburg Patriot-News; his column "Roundabout" appeared for over ten years. This collection is comprised of diaries, commonplace books, newspaper articles and other materials donated by Mrs. Paul R. Walker in 1985.

This collection is comprised of letters written to Isaac Wayne, Dickinson College Class of 1792 and Pennsylvania statesman, on various subjects ranging from biographical information on his father (General Anthony Wayne) to Wayne's service in Congress. Also included are a few letters written by Wayne to others; of note are the letters of 1797 dealing with the settlement of his father's estate. Also included are miscellaneous items pertaining to family matters, including a map of the family estate at Waynesborough.

The Willoughby collection is divided into three series and housed in four document boxes. It is comprised mostly of drafts of literary works, contained in the Literary Productions series, as well as correspondence, mostly relating to his librarian work, and miscellaneous other materials. The materials date from 1928 to 1965, with the majority of materials dating from the 1940s and 1950s.

This collection is mostly comprised of correspondence received by Philadelphia printer William Young from Charles Nisbet, President of Dickinson College. Young was a scotsman who settled in Philadelphia and set up a bookshop, a printing press, and later, a paper mill. As the president of a fledgling college, fellow scotsman Nisbet wrote frequently to Young upon a wide variety of topics, ranging from Nisbet's transactions with Young as a printer and book dealer, to local events and world news. The collection also contains other letters to Young from various clients, as well as one letter from Young to his wife.

The collection includes correspondence, speeches, essays, notebooks, bills, printed materials, and notes on debates and other such topics as the Light Street Institute and the Washington Temperance Society. The collection spans three main time periods in Zug's life: his enrollment at Dickinson College from 1836 until 1839, his formation of and participation in the Light Street Institute from 1839 until 1840, and his involvement in the Washington Temperance Society from 1840 to 1842. Other time periods are included, but not as extensively. The collection contains no large gaps in documentation. One item of interest is a manuscript entitled "An Old Bachellor's[sic] Mountain Musings." The opening line of the piece, which is not dated, states that the author, presumably Zug, is forty-seven years old. However, this is not possible, as Zug died on September 5, 1843, at the age of twenty-five.