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Personal Correspondence

Archives of American Art

Object Details

Collection Creator
McCoy, Esther
See more items in
Esther McCoy papers
Esther McCoy papers / Series 2: Correspondence
Sponsor
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Date
1908-1989
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.mccoesth, Subseries 2.2
Type
Archival materials
Collection Citation
Esther McCoy papers, circa 1876-1990, bulk 1938-1989. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement note
Folders are arranged alphabetically; within folders, material is chronological.
Collection Rights
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Existence and Location of Copies
This subseries has been scanned in its entirety.
Scope and Contents note
This subseries contains personal correspondence between McCoy and her friends, lovers, and colleagues. The letters concern McCoy's personal and love relationships, her views on politics, culture, and the literary world, and her struggles as a writer. Correspondence between McCoy and lovers, including Geoffrey Eaton, John Mitchell, John Vick, Albert Robert (also known as "Timmie"), and her husband, Berkeley Tobey, is especially well represented. Much of the extensive correspondence between McCoy and Albert Robert is undated. A few letters between McCoy and her lovers include photographs. There is also significant correspondence with fellow writers, including Theodore Dreiser, Ray Bradbury, Millen Brand, John Collier, John Cowper Powys, and historian Lewis Mumford. Correspondence with Ray Bradbury includes discussions of theater, art and architecture. Letters from Helen Dreiser include Dreiser's opinions on manuscripts written by McCoy. Theodore Dreiser's letters provide insight into the research assignments McCoy carried out for Dreiser and his opinions of her writing. The letters include the typescript of a poem, possibly written by Dreiser. William A. Swanberg, who wrote a book on Dreiser, sought McCoy's opinions and impressions of the author, and their correspondence includes many observations and theories concerning Dreiser's personal life. Also of note is extensive correspondence between McCoy and her close friend Katheryn (Kay) Metz.
Collection Restrictions
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of audiovisual recordings without access copies requires advance notice.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1503510360064-1503510360133-1
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f94b5c01-7ebf-45a5-9003-f2ee321b14a6

Related Content

  • Esther McCoy papers

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