Frank Arthur Swinnerton Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS Sw62

Staff Only
Select files to request

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence, literary manuscripts, clippings, scrapbooks and other materials pertaining to the life, literary career and works of the English novelist and critic Frank Arthur Swinnerton.

Dates

1899-1964

Creator

Swinnerton, Frank, 1884-1982 (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Access restrictions apply; restricted materials have been separated.

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

No Use Restrictions Apply.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17)

Biographical Information

Frank Arthur Swinnerton (1884-1982) was an English novelist and critic.

Swinnerton authored more than fifty books in addition to reviews, essays, short stories, and other writings. Swinnerton was an acquaintance of George Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, John Middleton Murry, and Katherine Mansfield, among others, and a close friend of H. G. Wells, Arnold Bennett, Hugh Walpole and other literary figures.

Extent

27 Linear Feet (48 boxes and 1 oversize item)

Additional Description

Arrangement of the Papers

The Collection is divided into two series: 1) Correspondence and 2) Manuscripts and Miscellaneous Items. The Correspondence is further divided into three subseries: A. General Correspondence; B. Bennett Trust Correspondence; and C. Publishers' Correspondence. Similarly, there are four subseries of Part II of the Collection: A. Shorter Non-Fiction Prose, which is further subdivided into sub-subseries; B. Shorter Fiction; C. Longer Non-Fiction Prose; and D. Longer Fiction.

Series 1. Correspondence
Series 1, Subseries A. General Correspondence
Series 1, Subseries B. Bennett Trust Correspondence
Series 1, Subseries C. Publishers' Correspondence
Series 2. Manuscripts and Miscellaneous Items
Series 2, Subseries A. Shorter Non-Fiction Prose
Series 2, Subseries A, Sub-subseries 1. Miscellaneous Pieces
Series 2, Subseries A, Sub-subseries 2. "Letters to Gog and Magog" Series
Series 2, Subseries A, Sub-subseries 3. John o' London's Weekly Clipping Collection
Series 2, Subseries A, Sub-subseries 4. The Evening News Clipping Collection
Series 2, Subseries A, Sub-subseries 5. The Nation Clipping Collection
Series 2, Subseries A, Sub-subseries 6. The Observer Clipping Collection
Series 2, Subseries A, Sub-subseries 7. The Publishers' Weekly Series
Series 2, Subseries B. Shorter Fiction
Series 2, Subseries C. Longer Non-Fiction Prose
Series 2, Subseries D. Longer Fiction

Acquisition Information

The Frank Arthur Swinnerton Papers were purchased from the creator, Frank Arthur Swinnerton, by the University of Arkansas Libraries in 1964. This purchase was facilitated by University of Arkansas professor H. Blair Rouse, who wrote a critical biography of Swinnerton for the Twayne English Authors Series.

Related Materials

Processing Information

Processed by Special Collections staff, including Samuel Sizer; completed August 1971. A catalog to the collection was created by Jesse Franklin McCartney in 1971; that catalog was lightly edited when adapted into a finding aid in 2021.

An annotated index to the Swinnerton correspondence was created by Claude Louis Gibson in 1976 as part of his doctoral dissertation; that index is available separately as MS G357, Claude Louis Gibson "An Annotated Index to the Frank Arthur Swinnerton Correspondence."

List of Abbreviations

I. Abbreviations Used To Designate Length:

Col(s). Column, or columns. Used to designate the number of whole or partial columns in indicating the length of newspaper clippings and extracts from journals printed in columns.

L. Leaf, or leaves. An unfolded sheet of paper with writing on only one side. No designation of length in the catalogue means that the item consists of one leaf.

p. Page, or pages. Used to designate each side of an unfolded sheet of paper or each part (page) of a folded sheet.

II. Abbreviations Used to Describe Individual Pieces.

A. L. Autographed Letter Unsigned. Used to designate letters written in the hand of the correspondent but which are unsigned or to designate fragments or letters from which the signature has been cut away. The designation is rarely used and is usually followed by a further description of the piece which explains the individual case.

A. L. S. Autographed Letter Signed. Used to designate letters written in the hand of and signed by the correspondent. In the few cases in which the letter is in the hand of an amanuensis but is signed by the correspondent—that is, is not strictly a holograph—a note will explain that fact; otherwise, it may be assumed that the term "autographed" is synonymous with "holograph."

A. N. Autographed Note Unsigned. Corresponds to A. L. "Note" here does not designate length but is used to single out those pieces of correspondence such as invitations which treat briefly only one or two topics. The term is admittedly an arbitrary designation but, it is hoped, a useful one.

A. N. S. Autographed Note Signed. Corresponds to A. L. S.

A. P. Autographed Postcard Unsigned. Corresponds to A. L.

A. P. S. Autographed Postcard Signed. Corresponds to A. L. S.

C. Carbon copy.

Cor. Corrected. Used to designate copies of materials (usually carbon copies) which contain hand-written revisions or corrections.

Df. Draft. Used to designate drafts of letters. The designation usually indicates a draft of a letter by Swinnerton which, it may be assumed, was then typed for mailing. Such pieces are known to be drafts in that they usually appear on the back of the correspondence being answered.

Enc(s). Enclosure, or enclosures. Used to designate pieces originally enclosed with correspondence which remain attached to that correspondence in the collection. Correspondence which originally carried enclosures such as contracts or cheques or books which are no longer attached to the correspondence are not customarily marked with this abbreviation; in some exceptional cases, however, the abbreviation is used but a note explains that the enclosure is missing from the collection.

Mimeo. Mimeographed. Used to designate mimeographed materials, either enclosures or mimeographed correspondence.

Ms. Manuscript.

Photocopy Photographic copy. Material reproduced by xerox or other photographic processes.

Pmk. Postmarked. Used to indicate that a date assigned to a piece of correspondence is derived from the postmark rather than from the correspondence itself.

Pr. Printed matter. Used to designate printed materials such as programmes, notices, etc., but not generally used to describe clippings or extracts from journals.

T. L. Typed Letter Unsigned. Corresponds to A. L.

T. L. S. Typed Letter Signed. Corresponds to A. L. S.

T. N. Typed Note Unsigned. Corresponds to A. N.

T. N. S. Typed Note Signed. Corresponds to A. N. S.

T. P. Typed Postcard Unsigned. Corresponds to A. P.

T. P. S. Typed Postcard Signed. Corresponds to A. P. S.

Tel. Telegram

Ts. Typescript.