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Letters, manuscripts, notes, proofs, course materials, and printed matter. The letters are chiefly from his colleagues at Columbia University, other literary critics, a few publishers and, single letters from several American authors. There is a series of lengthy letters from Chase to his wife, Frances Marie Walker Chase, dated 1938 and 1949-1961; letters from his colleagues and friends to Mrs Chase, 1962-1967, mostly letters of condolence on Chase's death, and a few related to his publications. The manuscripts and proofs of his writings include typescripts on Herman Melville and Walt Whitman. Also included are notes on American and Englisgh literature, course materials for his Columbia courses, articles and reviews by him, articles, reprints and reviews by others, most of which are inscribed to Chase, and three dozen volumes of his own works, including foreign translations. In addition, there are 250 volumes from Chase's library, many with his annotations and marginalia. 1984 ADDITION: Letters from friends dealing with the contemporary literary world between 1948-1955. The main body of material is from Robert Willard Flint, a sometime poet and critic, who was a graduate student at Columbia in 1946 and later worked at the Harvard Library. 1986 ADDITION: Letters to Richard Chase from colleagues in the literary world, 1948-1971, with 2 letters to his wife after his death. 114 of these letters are from Robert Flint, 25 from Lionel Trilling, and 3 letters from Robert Penn Warren

The files of Curtis Brown, Ltd. literary agency include correspondence with authors, publishers, and other agents and deal with the editing and publishing of trade and textbooks, serial rights, reprints, dramatic rights, translations and foreign rights, promotion and copyright registration. For each author there are contracts, royalty statements, tax statements, and other financial materials. There is also a contract file, including cancellations and related correspondence, from 1914 to 1988. Among the cataloged correspondents are: Louis S. Auchincloss, W.H. Auden, Erle Stanley Gardner, Robert Graves, Ogden Nash, Ayn Rand, and Sloan Wilson.

The materials that comprise the Historical Biographical Files have been collected and added to from a variety of sources over the years by current and previous staff. The files consist of materials related to people who have a connection to the University whether as student, alumni, administrator, faculty, staff, guest lecturer, or honorary degree recipient. Materials generally consist of newspaper and magazine clippings, press releases, programs, ephemera, printed matter, lists, reports, and pamphlets.

The General Manuscript Collection is an artificial collection of correspondence, diaries, lecture notes, class work, essays, administrative documents, minutes, and other documents collected by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Single items or very small collections are generally classified as part of the general manuscript collection rather than assigned an individual manuscript number. Additionally, small additions to existing RBML manuscript collections may be classified as part of the General Manuscript Collection.

This collection consists of Robert G. Davis papers both as a faculty member and actively engaged member of the University community.

A group of literary manuscripts, including three letters written to Professor Robert Gorham Davis by Ezra Pound, the holograph draft by Dorothy Parker of her address delivered at the Esquire Magazine Symposium in October 1958, and two manuscripts of James T. Farrell, one containing holograph drafts of poems, and the other being a carbon copy typescript of various chapters from WHAT TIME COLLECTS. Also, approximately 65 letters from Ella Winter in the late 1930s, discussing politics, writing, and their social circle; approximately 25 letters from Laura Riding written in the late 1970s on language and, in particular, her book RATIONAL DEFINITION; and letters from James T. Farrell, Granville Hicks, Richard Rovere, and others.