Edna Ferber Papers, 1910-1977


Summary Information
Title: Edna Ferber Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1910-1977

Creator:
  • Ferber, Edna, 1887-1968
Call Number: U.S. Mss 98AN; Disc 104A; Audio 1028A; MCHC82-008; M2006-126

Quantity: 10.6 c.f. (26 archives boxes and 1 flat box), 1 disc recording and 1 tape recording; plus additions of 0.2 c.f.

Repository:
Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Contact Information

Archival Locations:
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:
Papers of Edna Ferber, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, manuscript drafts, research material, notes and reviews of some of her novels, short stories, and autobiographical writings. Of these, Cimarron (1929), Giant (1952), Great Son (1944), and Ice Palace (1958) are best represented. Also included are materials related to theatre scripts such as collaborations with George F. Kaufman and George V. Hobart, as well as adaptations (including many film adaptations) of her work by others. Prominent correspondents include Louis Bromfield, Noel Coward, Jay N. Darling, Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle Hart, Malcolm Johnson, Daniel Longwell, Kenneth D. McCormick, H.L. Mencken, William Lyon Phelps, Robert Sherwood, Louis Untermeyer, Alexander Woollcott, Rebecca West, and William Allen White.

Note:

There is a restriction on use of this material; see the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.

Ferber's collection of her own works and inscribed copies of books presented to her by others is available in Memorial Library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.



Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0098an

Arrangement of the Materials

This collection was received in multiple parts from the donor(s) and is organized into 3 major parts. These materials have not been physically interfiled and researchers might need to consult more than one part to locate similar materials.

Administrative/Restriction Information
Use Restrictions

Literary property and other literary rights relating to the final manuscript of the novel Giant are reserved to Miss Ferber's co-proprietors. Literary rights to all other material are reserved to Miss Ferber's “heirs, legatees, and assigns.”


Acquisition Information

Placed on deposit by Edna Ferber and her estate, 1959-1968; and presented by Greenbaun, Wolff and Ernst, New York, New York, 1977-1982; and Janet Fox Goldsmith, Palm Beach, Florida, 1989. Accession Number: MCHC61-085, MCHC61-200, MCHC63-125, MCHC68-079, MCHC68-085, MCHC77-058, MCHC82-008, MCHC82-030, M89-186, M2006-126


Processing Information

Processed by AK-KJ, 1973; reprocessed and additions added by Sheila Ryan and Menzi Behrnd-Klodt, 1983; Additions added by Angela Curry and Carolyn J. Mattern, 1991.


Contents List
U.S. Mss 98AN
Part 1 (U.S. Mss 98AN, Disc 104A, Audio 1028A): Original Collection, 1910-1977
Physical Description: 10.6 c.f. (26 archives boxes and 1 flat box), 1 disc recording and 1 tape recording 
Scope and Content Note

The Edna Ferber Papers are divided into five series: GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, BOOKS AND ARTICLES, THEATRE, MOTION PICTURES, and MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS.

The Edna Ferber Papers, presented to the University of Wisconsin by Miss Ferber, her estate, and her family, are divided into two parts, with her large library (approximately 1300 volumes) housed at Memorial Library and her papers held by the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research at the Wisconsin Historical Society. (Memorial Library's Special Collections Department holds one folder of correspondence and one typed script acquired from other sources.)

Ferber's library includes not only several shelves of her own works which are housed with the general collection, but also inscribed copies of books by many of her many literary friends and associates that are held in a restricted area.

The papers held by the Historical Society document over a half century of Ferber's life, but the coverage is uneven and for many periods, such as the 1920s when she achieved her greatest commercial and critical success, the collection is disappointingly thin. In 1958 when Miss Ferber was first contacted by a representative of the Historical Society she stated that many of her early papers had been given away, auctioned off, or otherwise disposed of. Unlike the draft material which documents well only one book written during the 1920s, the correspondence in the papers is best for the earlier period of Ferber's career, with the majority of the items concerning her personal life rather than her literary work. Later correspondence, however, chiefly consists of extensive and detailed exchanges with her literary agents and editors.

The GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1910-1969, contains letters from Ferber's friends and acquaintances, including many notables. The collection includes an extensive exchange with William Allen White that begins with their coverage of the 1912 political conventions. There is also documentation of her frequent exchanges with Louis Bromfield, Noel Coward, Jay N. Darling, Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle Hart, Malcolm Johnson, Daniel Longwell, Kenneth D. McCormick, H.L. Mencken, William Lyon Phelps, Robert Sherwood, Louis Untermeyer, Alexander Woollcott, and Rebecca West. Also represented, but less extensively are Winthrop Ames, James M. Barrie, Russell Crouse, Lynn Fontanne, Zona Gale, Jeannette Gilder, Lillian Gish, Edgar Guest, Richard Halliday, Lillian Hellman, Katharine Hepburn, Leland Heyward, Harry Houdini, George S. Kaufman, Helen Keller, Jerome Kern, Sinclair Lewis, Westbrook Pegler, John Reed, Richard Rodgers, Theodore Roosevelt, Adele Rogers St. John, Upton Sinclair, and Howard Teichmann.

Original letters written to her sister and nieces (“the Foxes”) are interspersed among the general correspondence, and they provide the most comprehensive coverage of the day-to-day events of Ferber's life, although this correspondence seldom touches on literary matters. Also scattered through the general correspondence are letters from readers concerning their reactions to her work. Some of the letters from prominent correspondents noted above were apparently received for this reason.

A large part of the correspondence (including some items from the prominent correspondents noted above) consists of photocopied material. When the collection was reviewed in 1991 in order to incorporate new material the provenance of the photocopied material was not apparent. Although this material is not attributed, it is suspected that some of the original documents may be on deposit elsewhere. It is possible that they were collected by Ferber's great-niece for her 1978 biography, although this cannot be determined, as the book contains no footnotes or bibliography. It is known that the segregated file of William Allen White correspondence in the Ferber Papers consists of copies of her letters to him held by the Library of Congress.

Also filed separately with the correspondence series are letters that Ferber received in reaction to her account of the Bruno Hauptman trial, which appeared in the New York Times on January 28, 1935; as well as letters sparked by her 1953 attack on the grimy condition of New York City streets. The correspondence also documents in detail Ferber's efforts to help her Jewish relatives emigrate from Hitler's Germany to the United States.

BOOKS AND ARTICLES form the largest segment of the collection. Organized chronologically, the series begins in 1914 and ends with material concerning the novel on American Indians that she was researching at the time of her death. Included in the series are correspondence, research materials, manuscript drafts and corrected galley pages, notes, reviews, all filed by the title of the work to which they pertain. Researchers interested in the development of individual works will find Cimarron, Giant, and Ice Palace to be among the most extensively documented of her novels. Of her two-volume autobiography, the second, A King of Magic, is also well represented.

The THEATRE file consists primarily of scripts and reviews of productions, together with related correspondence. For some productions there are also financial and box office statements. It includes a typed script of her collaboration with George V. Hobart on Roast Beef Medium (Memorial Library Rare Book Room holds a typed version of Our Mrs. McChesney, also done with Hobart), and manuscripts of Bravo! and The Royal Family documenting her relationship with George S. Kaufman. Also included are variant drafts by Morton DaCosta for Saratoga. Notable in the WCFTR photo file are stills of a production of The Royal Family in which Ferber starred.

The MOTION PICTURE series contains material on the screen adaptation of many of Ferber's novels, with the best material relating to the production of Giant. For this title, there are synopses, character profiles, and numerous variant drafts. Other titles are represented by reviews, correspondence, and financial material.

The file of MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS includes speeches, clippings, personal financial records, photographs and memorabilia. There are also correspondence and notes related to Ferber (1978), a biography by Ferber's great-niece, Julie Goldsmith Gilbert. For the book Gilbert interviewed a numer of Ferber's friends and associates and summaries of these interviews are included, as well as a taped interview with Frances Charnock.

Photographs received with the papers consist of formal portraits; candid shots of her personal life and travel; her family; her work as a correspondent during World War II; and her Connecticut home. These have been separated for storage in the WCFTR Name File.

Series: General Correspondence
General
Box   1A
Folder   1-4
1910 November 14-1919 December 6
Box   1
Folder   1-6
1920 January 23-1957 December 4
Box   2
Folder   1-6
1958 January 27-1968 April 9, undated
Box   3
Folder   1
White, William Allen, 1915-1938
Note: Copied from collections of the Library of Congress.
Box   3
Folder   2
Hauptman trial article, 1935-1938
German relatives
Box   3
Folder   3-6
1936 November 8-1943 September 29
Box   4
Folder   1
1944 January 8-1951 September 4
Box   4
Folder   2-3
New York City clean-up article response, 1953 April 22-July 18
Box   4
Folder   4
Correspondence regarding estate and proposed biography, 1968-1969
Series: Books and Articles
“The Gay Old Dog” , (1914)
Box   4
Folder   5
Notes
Disc 104A
Recording
Note: User copy available as Audio 651A.
U.S. Mss 98AN
“Fanny Herself” , (1917)
Box   4
Folder   6
Correspondence, 1916-1968
So Big (1925)
Box   4
Folder   7
Correspondence, 1923-1967
Box   4
Folder   8
Reviews and clippings
“Every Other Thursday” , (1926)
Box   4
Folder   9
Notes
Show Boat (1926)
Box   4
Folder   10
Source material
Box   4
Folder   11
Notes on origin
Disc 104A
An incident from Show Boat, read by Ferber, undated
Note: User copy available as Audio 651A.
U.S. Mss 98AN
Cimarron (1929)
Box   4
Folder   12-14
Correspondence, 1929-1963
Notes
Box   5
Folder   1
Dixie Lee
Box   5
Folder   2
Osage Indians, Watonga, Yancey Cravat, Mrs. Ferguson, early newspaper office, Pete Pitchlynn
Box   5
Folder   3
Saloons and gambling, Indians, early West, Victor Murdock, peddler, oil, Tulsa
Box   5
Folder   4
Source material, notes, and chronologies
Box   5
Folder   5-7
Draft
Box   5
Folder   8
Revisions
Box   5
Folder   9
Notes on origin
Box   5
Folder   10
Reviews and clippings
American Beauty (1931)
Box   5
Folder   11
Correspondence, 1931
Box   5
Folder   12
Clippings and note on origin
They Brought Their Women
Box   5
Folder   13
Correspondence, 1932-1933
Box   5
Folder   14
Reviews
Come and Get It (1935)
Correspondence
Box   6
Folder   1
1933-1934
Box   6
Folder   2
Polish-American protest, 1934
Box   6
Folder   3
Notes
“Trees Die at the Top” , (1937)
Box   6
Folder   4
Notes, Cosmopolitan reprint, and correspondence, 1956
A Peculiar Treasure (1939)
Box   6
Folder   5-6
Notes and notebook
Correspondence
Box   6
Folder   7
Woman's Home Companion serialization, 1938
General
Box   6
Folder   8-12
1939 April-June
Box   7
Folder   1-7
1939 July-1965
Box   8
Folder   1
Reviews and clippings
Box   8
Folder   2
British reviews
Box   8
Folder   3
Inserts for second and revised editions, 1960
Box   8
Folder   4
Television adaptation by Virginia Mazer, 1974
“Life Boat” , (1942)
Box   8
Folder   5
Typescript, Published story
“Grandma Isn't Playing” , (1943)
Box   8
Folder   6
Two typescript versions
Great Son (1943)
Box   8
Folder   7
Correspondence, 1944-1945
Box   8
Folder   8-9
Notes and notebook
Box   8
Folder   10
Typescript
Box   8
Folder   12-13
Typescript
Box   8
Folder   11
Page proofs for introduction
Box   26
Folder   2-3
Galley pages with corrections
Box   9
Folder   1
Reviews
Box   9
Folder   2
Notes on origin
Box   9
Folder   2A
Publicity photographs
One Basket (1947)
Box   9
Folder   3
Correspondence, 1956-1967
Box   9
Folder   4
Reviews
Giant (1952)
Use Restrictions: Literary property and other literary rights relating to the final manuscript of the novel Giant are reserved to Miss Ferber's co-proprietors.
Box   9
Folder   5
Notes on sources
Correspondence
Box   9
Folder   6-11
1948-1957 August 23
Box   10
Folder   1
1957 October-1976 May 3
Box   10
Folder   2-4
Source material
Box   10
Folder   5-7
Notes and notebooks
Draft manuscripts
Box   11
Folder   1-10
Early version, pp. 1-510
Second version
Box   11
Folder   11-14
pp. 1-447
Box   12
Folder   1
pp. 448-564
Box   12
Folder   2-3
Third version
Box   12
Folder   4-6
Compositor's copy
Box   26
Folder   4-5
Galley pages with corrections
Box   12
Folder   7-8
Reviews
Box   13
Folder   1
Clippings and publicity
Box   13
Folder   2
Bibliography cards for foreign language editions
Box   13
Folder   3
Notes on origin
Ice Palace (1958)
Box   13
Folder   4-5
Correspondence, 1954-1967
Box   13
Folder   6
Source material and clippings
Box   13
Folder   7-9
Notes and notebooks
Box   13
Folder   10
Working papers and revisions
Box   13
Folder   11
Notes on origin
Box   14
Folder   1
Typescript, pp. 1-166
Box   14
Folder   2
Revised typescript, pp. 1-212
Box   14
Folder   3-6
Rewrite material
Box   14
Folder   7
Manuscript fragments
Box   15
Folder   1
Manuscript fragments, continued
Box   15
Folder   2-4
Compositor's typescript, pp. 1-141
Box   26
Folder   6-7
Galley pages with corrections
Box   15
Folder   5
Ladies Home Journal serialization
Box   15
Folder   6
Reviews and publicity
A Kind of Magic (1963)
Box   15
Folder   7
Correspondence, 1961-1967
Box   15
Folder   8
Notes and source material
Box   16
Folder   1
Notes and inserts
Box   16
Folder   2
Chapter 1 drafts
Box   16
Folder   3
Chapter 2 and 3 drafts
Box   16
Folder   4
Draft fragments
Box   16
Folder   5
Incomplete draft (near-final draft)
Box   16
Folder   6
Inserts
Manuscript drafts
Box   16
Folder   7
Typescript 1
Typescript 2
Box   16
Folder   8-9
pp. 1-219
Box   17
Folder   1-3
pp. 220-423
Box   17
Folder   4-7
Typescript 3
Compositor's copy
Box   17
Folder   8
pp. 1-141
Box   18
Folder   1-2
pp. 142-423
Box   26
Folder   8
Galley pages with corrections
Box   18
Folder   3
Reviews and publicity
Box   18
Folder   4
First printing, with Ferber notes on typos
American Indian Novel (unfinished)
Box   18
Folder   5-6
Correspondence, 1959-1968
Source material
Box   18
Folder   7
Arizona Indians research by Narcissa M. Espinoza
Box   19
Folder   1
Phoenix Indian School
Box   19
Folder   2
Indian students writings
Box   19
Folder   3
United States Indian policy
Box   19
Folder   4-5
Notes
Box   19
Folder   6
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous
Box   19
Folder   7
“Fraulein” typescript, undated
Box   19
Folder   8
Russian story notes, undated
Box   19
Folder   9
Miscellaneous manuscript fragments and notes
Box   19
Folder   10
Miscellaneous manuscript reviews, 1917-1941
Box   19
Folder   11
List of Ferber stories, indicating availability of motion picture rights, undated
Earnings statements and related correspondence
Box   19
Folder   12
1921-1933
Box   20
Folder   1-3
1934-1963 November; undated
Box   20
Folder   4
Columbia records, 1953 January 22-1967 December 31
Series: Theatre
Roast Beef Medium (1913)
Box   19
Folder   5
Typescript of script by Ferber and George V. Hobart
The Gay Old Dog (1914)
Box   20
Folder   6
Typescript of script
Show Boat (New York, 1927)
Box   20
Folder   7
Typescript of script, annotated
Box   20
Folder   8
Reviews and program
Box   20
Folder   9
Clippings and programs for revivals
Box   20
Folder   10
Financial statements, New York revival, 1946
Box   21
Folder   1
Box office statements, New York revival, 1946
Box   21
Folder   2
Reviews, 1957 Jones Beach revival
The Royal Family (New York, 1927)
Box   21
Folder   3
Typescript, annotated by Ferber and George S. Kaufman, Acts I and II
Box   21
Folder   4
Typescript, annotated, Acts I and II
Box   21
Folder   5
Typescript, annotated
Box   21
Folder   6
Typescript, annotated, Act I
Box   21
Folder   7
Script, Act II
Box   21
Folder   8
Correspondence, clippings, program
Dinner at Eight (New York, 1932)
Box   21
Folder   9
Reviews, programs
Box   21
Folder   10
Financial statements, 1932
Box   21
Folder   11
Reviews and programs for non-New York City productions, 1933
Box   21
Folder   12
Programs, memorabilia, 1966 revival
Stage Door (1938)
Box   21
Folder   13
Correspondence, 1950-1963
The Land is Bright (New York, 1941)
Box   21
Folder   14
Typescript (partial)
Box   21
Folder   15
Reviews, clippings, program
Box   22
Folder   1
Financial statements, 1941-1942
Bravo! (New York, 1948)
Box   22
Folder   2
Correspondence, 1948-1949
Box   22
Folder   3
Typescript by Ferber and George F. Kaufman
Box   22
Folder   4
Financial statements, 1948
Box   22
Folder   5
Box office statements, 1948
Box   22
Folder   6
Clippings, program
Saratoga (New York, 1959)
Box   22
Folder   7
Correspondence, 1954-1959
Box   22
Folder   8
Typescript by Morton DaCosta
Box   22
Folder   9-10
Typescript with revisions by Ferber
Box   22
Folder   11
Typescript by DaCosta “Third draft,” 1959 July
Box   22
Folder   12
Ferber notes on Philadelphia production
Box   22
Folder   13
Miscellaneous insertions
Box   23
Folder   1-2
Earnings statements and correspondence, 1956-1967
Series: Motion Pictures
Cimarron (1931)
Box   23
Folder   3
Reviews
Come and Get It (1936)
Box   23
Folder   4
Reviews, clippings
Nobody's In Town (unproduced)
Box   23
Folder   5
Typescript treatment by Sidney Howard, 1939
Saratoga Trunk (1945)
Box   23
Folder   6
Reviews
Giant (1956)
Box   23
Folder   7
Character profiles
Box   23
Folder   8
Synopsis
Box   23
Folder   9
Typescript, 1954 August 23
Box   23
Folder   10
Mimeo script, 1954 December 1
Box   24
Folder   1
Mimeo script, 1954 April 4
Box   24
Folder   2
Clippings, reviews
Box   24
Folder   3
Publicity
Ice Palace (1960)
Box   24
Folder   4
Correspondence, 1958
Box   24
Folder   4
Financial statements, 1961
Box   24
Folder   5
Clippings and reviews
Cimarron (1961)
Box   24
Folder   6
Correspondence and clippings, 1957-1961
Box   24
Folder   7
Miscellaneous clippings, reviews, and financial statements, 1925-1960
Series: Miscellaneous Papers
Box   24
Folder   8-9
Speeches and articles by Ferber, 1918-1962
Box   24
Folder   10
Articles about Ferber
Box   24
Folder   11
Clippings
Box   22
Folder   14
Clippings, reviews, programs for theatrical productions, 1924-1956
Gilbert biography
Box   24
Folder   12
Correspondence, 1969-1977
Box   24
Folder   13
Notes
1028A/1
Recorded interview of Frances Charnock, 1975
U.S. Mss 98AN
Financial records (personal)
Box   24
Folder   14
Bank statements (Barclays), 1934-1956
Box   25
Folder   1
Treasure Hill daybook and miscellaneous receipts, 1940-1949
Box   25
Folder   2
Investments, 1948
Box   25
Folder   3
Partnership in A.I.P. Company, 1953-1967
Box   25
Folder   4
Memorabilia
Box   25
Folder   5
Obituary and memorial speeches by Marc Connelly and others, 1968
Photographs
WCFTR Name File
Portraits
Candid photographs of Ferber
Candid photographs of Ferber as a World War II correspondent
Portraits and candid photographs of the Ferber/Fox family
Photographs of Treasure Hill, Connecticut
Photographs relating to research trips for Cimarron, Ice Palace, and Showboat
Miscellaneous and unidentified photographs
WCFTR Title File
Still photographs of Ferber in The Royal Family
MCHC82-008
Part 2 (MCHC82-008): Additions, undated
Physical Description: 0.1 c.f. (1 folder) 
Scope and Content Note: Posters created primarily to promote books by Ferber. Also includes posters from MCHC82-030.
M2006-126
Part 3 (M2006-126): Additions, 1960-1962
Physical Description: 0.1 c.f. (1 folder) 
Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1960-1962, consisting of correspondence to Ralph Newman from Edna Ferber relating to the details involved in donating Edna Ferber's papers for which Newman acted as middle-man.