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Marcella Miller du Pont
A Register of Her Papers in the Library of Congress
Prepared by Nan Thompson Ernst
with the assistance of Susie H. Moody
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
1996
Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress
Manuscript Division, 2002
Collection Summary
Title: Papers of Marcella Miller du Pont
Span Dates: 1861-1976 (bulk 1935-1965)
ID No.: MSS61970
Creator: Du Pont, Marcella Miller
Size: 12,000 items; 34 containers plus 1 oversize;
14 linear feet
Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress,Washington,
D.C.
Abstract: Poet and socialite. Correspondence, diary
transcripts and notes, drafts of writings, notes, publication
records, legal documents, scrapbook, Miller family genealogical
records, photographs, and other papers relating to Marcella
Miller du Pont's poetry and other writings, literary
matters, and affairs of the du Pont and Miller families.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description
of this collection in the Library's online catalog.
They are grouped by name of person or organization,
by subject or location, and by occupation and listed
alphabetically therein.
Names:
Du Pont, Marcella Miller
Bianchi, Martha Dickinson, 1866-1943
Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886
DuPont, Alfred I. (Alfred Irénée), 1864-1935
Du Pont, Alfred V. (Alfred Victor), 1900-1970
Eichenberg, Fritz, 1901-
Hampson, Alfred Leete
Hergesheimer, Joseph, 1880-1954
Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis), 1880-1956
Wecter, Dixon, 1906-1950
Du Pont family
Miller family
Miller, Arthur Scott. Papers of Arthur Scott Miller
Miller, Emma Ellwood. Papers of Emma Ellwood Miller
Subjects:
American poetry
Banks and banking--Florida
Frontier and pioneer life--Colorado
Literature
Real estate business--Colorado
Real estate business--Florida
Occupations:
Poets
Socialites
Administrative Information
Provenance: The papers of Marcella Miller du Pont, poet,
writer, and socialite, were given to the Library of
Congress by her estate in 1986.
Transfers: Items have been transferred from the Manuscript
Division to other custodial divisions of the Library.
Some books have been transferred to the Rare Book and
Special Collections Division. Sound recordings have
been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting,
and Recorded Sound Division. All transfers are identified
in these divisions as part of the Marcella Miller duPont
Papers.
Copyright Status: Copyright in the unpublished writings
of Marcella Miller du Pont in the custody of the Library
of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
Preferred Citation: Researchers wishing to cite this
collection should include the following information:
Container number, Marcella Miller DuPont Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
1903, Sept. 9
Born, Denver, Colo.
1923
B.A. degree, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
1924
Married Alfred V. du Pont, Denver, Colo. (divorced 1948)
1929-1930
Lived in Paris, France, while her husband studied architecture
at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts
1939
Built residence, "Calmar," in Wilmington, Del., and
entertained literary friends there
1942-1945
Lived in Washington, D.C.; wrote radio scripts as a
volunteer for the American Red Cross and the American
Women's Voluntary Services
1949
Moved from Delaware to Washington, D.C.
1950
Published Sonnets and Lyrics (New York: Spiral Press.
56 pp.)
1956
Published Poems: Folio Two (New York: Spiral Press.
60 pp.)
1965
Published Definitions and Criteria (Denver, Colo.:
Alan Swallow. 28 pp.)
1985, Sept.
Died, Washington, D.C.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Marcella Miller du Pont (1903-1985) span
the years 1861-1976 with the bulk of the material concentrated
in the period 1935-1965. The collection includes correspondence,
writings and publication records for her books of poetry
and aphorisms, legal documents, photographs, a guest
book, school and travel records, genealogical records,
diary transcripts, and memoirs. The papers are organized
into three series: Family and Biographical Files, General
Correspondence, and Literary File.
The Family and Biographical Files include substantial
correspondence with du Pont's father-in-law, Alfred
Irénée duPont (1864-1935), of the prominent industrial
family in Delaware. Alfred I. duPont became one of the
principals in the family company, battled for and lost
control of the firm, and then made a new private fortune
in Florida real estate and banking ventures. His correspondence
with Marcella Miller du Pont concerns family and business
matters during his years in Florida and touches upon
the architectural work undertaken by his son, Alfred
Victor du Pont (1900-1970), at "Nemours," Alfred I.
duPont's estate in Wilmington, Delaware, and other building
projects.
The Family and Biographical Files also include extensive
genealogical records of the Miller family in Denver,
Colorado, and their ancestors in the Midwest and New
England. Marcella Miller's parents were pioneers in
Denver. Her father, Arthur Scott Miller, migrated to
Colorado after the Civil War as a legal clerk and became
a prominent citizen and real estate investor. He was
an energetic diarist, and typescripts for four volumes,
dated 1871-1879 and 1886-1887, record matters of daily
business and personal affairs. His wife, Emma Ellwood
Miller, wrote a memoir, "We Went West," working drafts
of which are included in the family file of the series.
The General Correspondence series includes Marcella
du Pont's correspondence with literary associates and
other friends, most prominently with H. L. Mencken and
Joseph Hergesheimer. Mencken and his wife, Sara, met
Marcella and Alfred du Pont in 1932 on a Caribbean cruise
and became instant friends. Their earliest letters are
not entirely preserved, but after 1936 the correspondence
between Mencken and Marcella du Pont is fairly complete.
After Mencken's stroke in 1948, their correspondence
dwindled to a few notes dicatated by Mencken to his
secretary, Rosalind Lohrfinck. Marcella du Pont considered
publishing the correspondence a number of times after
Mencken's death in 1956 and made preliminary arrangements
by copying and dating the letters, but publication plans
were never completed. Much of the Mencken correspondence
touches only lightly on literary matters and more often
concerns arrangements for visits, travels, and news
of mutual friends such as Lillian Gish and Joseph Hergesheimer.
Copies of selected Mencken letters have been available
for research at the libraries of the University of Denver
and Princeton University and at the New York Public
Library. The originals are preserved with du Pont's
papers where the context of her other correspondence
and literary files amplify the Mencken record. The correspondence
with Hergesheimer, for instance, is heavily weighted
with literary, political, and philosophical topics and
contains commentary on family and friends such as Mencken.
The Literary File also includes notes on the correspondence
and the working file for du Pont's essay on Mencken
that appeared in the summer 1966 number of Menckeniana.
Correspondence with Betty Adler, editor of Menckeniana,
includes reminiscences of Mencken. He is also a subject
of du Pont's correspondence throughout the 1940s in
his role as sage and boon companion.
Other literary correspondents include Dixon Wecter,
critic and commentator on American civilization known
for such works as The Saga of American Society (1937)
and Hero in America (1941). His work is mentioned, but
for the most part their correspondence is a record of
his critiques of her poetry. When she published her
first book, Sonnets and Lyrics, he wrote the introduction,
but the book was not yet in print at the time of his
sudden death in 1950.
Emily Dickinson was du Pont's favorite poet. Du Pont
made a pilgrimage to Amherst, Massachusetts, and there
met Dickinson's niece, Martha Dickinson Bianchi. Bianchi
was compiling and publishing her aunt's poetry and letters,
and her correspondence with du Pont details these efforts
and future plans for the Dickinson family home and papers.
Du Pont thought of publishing the Bianchi correspondence
and toward that end prepared typescripts and copies
of the letters which are preserved with the originals.
After Bianchi left the estate to her collaborator, Alfred
Leete Hampson, Hampson's correspondence picked up where
Bianchi's left off in documenting the disposition of
the family papers and Dickinson scholarship in the 1940s
and 1950s. Hampson sent Bianchi's incomplete memoir
to du Pont for editing. Only a portion of it is preserved
in the General Correspondence series; the fate of the
remainder is unknown. Du Pont's correspondence with
literary and film critic Jay Leyda also includes notes
and letters concerning Emily Dickinson.
Marcella du Pont's poetry and prose are documented in
the Literary File. The series includes drafts of writings,
working notes and jottings, correspondence, and publication
records for du Pont's books, single poems, essays, criticism,
newspaper articles, short stories, an opera libretto,
and radio scripts, along with unpublished works of poetry
and fiction. Scrapbooks compiled by du Pont to document
the publication of her books include correspondence
from literary friends and from the artist Fritz Eichenberg
who created the woodcuts used in her books by Spiral
Press. A file of miscellaneous notes is sorted into
categories such as philosophy, parapsychology, religion,
and politics. Unsorted notes concern her family, friends
and acquaintances, readings, and ideas for stories,
characters, names, and titles. Although a diary is not
included among the papers, du Pont makes frequent reference
to one in her correspondence and elsewhere. Her notes,
diary addenda, and unpublished fiction and poetry are
rich in references to her former husband, Alfred V.
du Pont, and the complicated antagonisms of the Alfred
I. duPont family.
Organization of the Papers
The collection is arranged in four series:
Family and Biographical Files, 1861-1974, n.d.
General Correspondence, 1932-1976, n.d.
Literary File, 1914-1973, n.d.
Oversize, 1920
Container List
Box 1-7
Family and Biographical Files, 1861-1974, n.d.
Correspondence, genealogical records, diary transcripts,
memoirs and other writings, photographs, guest book,
school and travel records, and printed material.
Arranged alphabetically by subject or type of material.
Box 1
Family file
du Pont family
duPont, Alfred Irénée (father-in-law), 1927-1935
(4 folders)
du Pont, Alfred Victor (husband), 1942-1945
duPont, Bessie (mother-in-law), 1928
duPont, Jessie Ball (step-mother-in-law), 1928-1940,
1967
Genealogy, 1949, 1958, 1972-1973, n.d.
Box 2
Miller family
Genealogy
Data, 1907-1930, n.d.
Printed matter, 1911-1917, 1946-1951
(4 folders)
Miller, Arthur Scott (father)
Correspondence, 1882-1890, 1919
Diaries
Correspondence and notes concerning, 1942-1956, n.d.
Transcripts
1871-1874
(2 folders)
Box 3
1877-1879, 1886-1887
(4 folders)
Photographs and printed matter, 1914, n.d.
Writings
Miscellany, 1914, n.d.
Vida: An Historical Romance, bound typescript of book-length
poem, n.d.
Box 4
Miller, Emma Ellwood (mother)
Correspondence, miscellaneous writings and clippings,
1920-1943, n.d.
"We Went West" (memoir)
Drafts, n.d.
(2 folders)
Outlines and miscellany, 1944, n.d.
Miller, George W. (grand-uncle), 1861-1862
Miller, Victor Arthur (brother)
Genealogical material collected by, 1920-1941, n.d.
(2 folders)
Letter to, 1920
Memorabilia and unidentified photographs, 1861-1866,
n.d.
Miscellaneous correspondence and papers, 1920-1969
Box 5
Biographical file
Gardening, 1933-1947
Guest book, 1963-1974
Miscellaneous
Clippings, 1944-1959, n.d.
Printed matter, 1921-1973, n.d.
(2 folders)
Theater programs, 1919-1923
Passport records, 1929-1964
Box 6
Photographs
Miscellaneous, n.d.
(2 folders)
Portraits, ca. 1940s-1950s
Political interests, 1951-1952, 1969
School records
Corona School, Denver, Colo., 1914-1915
Miscellany, 1922-1923
Box 7
Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
Class notes, 1922, n.d.
Miscellany, 1924-1925, 1957-1960, n.d.
(2 folders)
Wolcott School, Denver, Colo.
Miscellany, 1916-1920, n.d.
(2 folders)
Scrapbook, 1920 See Oversize
Trip, USSR, 1937
Box 8-19
General Correspondence, 1932-1976, n.d.
Letters to and from du Pont with enclosed or related
material including photographs, notes, legal documents,
printed matter, and writings.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent and
chronologically thereunder.
Box 8
Academy of American Poets, 1959-1960
Adler, Betty, 1965-1971
(3 folders)
Arnold, Thurman Wesley and Frances, 1945-1957
Bianchi, Martha Dickinson
Correspondence
1934-1939
(6 folders)
Box 9
1940-1943, n.d.
(6 folders)
Related material
Emily Dickinson Foundation, 1940
"Life Before Last: Reminiscences of a Country Girl,"
excerpt from memoir, n.d.
Phi Delta Gamma, Zeta chapter, memorial brochure project,
1946
Bowles, Kay, 1969
Boyd, Julian P., 1942-1951
Box 10
Cairns, Huntington and Frances, 1946-1966
(2 folders)
Coleman, Elliott, 1948-1971
Crèt, Marguerite ("Margo" or "Cricket"), 1936, 1956-1961
(3 folders)
Crèt, Paul P., 1940, n.d.
Dixon, Jeanne
Correspondence, 1951-1974
(3 folders)
Box 11
Related material
Appearance, Wilmington, Del., 1967
Clippings, 1967-1975, n.d.
Notes and jottings, 1967-1972, n.d.
Speech, Wilmington Sales and Marketing Executives, Wilmington,
Del., 1969
Eisenhower, Dwight D.
Dulles, John Foster, 1952-1953
Presidential inauguration
Floor Committee, 1952-1953
(2 folders)
Vice chairman, Hostess and Hospitality Committee, 1957,
n.d.
(2 folders)
Eisenhower, Mamie Doud, 1969-1973, n.d.
Fletcher-Cooke, John, 1971-1972
Geissler, Leonor, 1969
Gish, Dorothy and Lillian, 1941-1964
Graves, Louise, 1947-1948
Hamilton, Edith, and Doris Fielding Reed, 1950-1973
Hampson, Alfred Leete
Correspondence
1938-1946
(2 folders)
Box 12
1947-1951
(2 folders)
Sale of Emily Dickinson material, 1949-1952
Hampson, Mary
Correspondence, 1946-1967
(8 folders)
Naming du Pont as heir, 1952-1958, n.d.
Research material on Dickinson family, 1935-1960, n.d.
(1 folder)
Box 13
(1 folder)
Hanighen, Frank C.
Correspondence, 1958-1963
Memorial fund, 1964
Hawthorne, Hazel and Joseph, 1958-1970
Hearst, Austine, 1948-1974, n.d.
Hergesheimer, Dorothy
Correspondence about, with Hemphill relatives, 1964-1971
Correspondence with
1932, 1942-1957
(4 folders)
Box 14
1958-1967, n.d.
(2 folders)
Hergesheimer, Joseph
Correspondence, 1936, 1942-1954, n.d
(4 folders)
Related material
Bibliography of works, 1954
Napier, James, critical study, 1959
(2 folders)
Box 15
Obituaries and mementoes, 1954-1956, n.d.
Sale of his personal papers, 1956-1959
Stappenbeck, Herb, library catalog and biographical
study, 1968-1973
Hoover, Herbert, 1955
James, Marquis
Correspondence with
du Pont, Alfred V., 1941
du Pont, Marcella, 1939-1941
Papers collected for biography of Alfred I. du Pont,
1934-1935, n.d.
Johnson, Thomas H., 1950-1958
Leyda, Jay, 1952-1961, n.d.
(2 folders)
Luce-Romeike Press Clipping Service, 1965
Mary James, Sister, 1946
Masséna, Gabriel, Martha, Mimi, Noelle, and Dede
1945-1958
(2 folders)
Box 16
1959-1965, 1975
(2 folders)
Masters, Edgar Lee, 1939
McCarthy, Joseph and Jean, 1954-1957
Mencken, August, 1949-1951, n.d.
Mencken, H. L.
Correspondence about
Bode, Carl, 1963-1976
Miscellaneous, 1938-1972, n.d.
Correspondence with
du Pont, Alfred V., 1936-1947
du Pont, Marcella
Copies of selected letters, 1934-1952
(2 folders)
Originals
1932-1937
(3 folders)
Box 17
1938-1948
(11 folders)
Box 18
1949-1952
Related notes and photograph, 1932, 1963, n.d.
Mencken, Sara, 1932-1934
Miscellaneous, 1931-1972, n.d.
(2 folders)
National Society of Arts and Letters, Washington, D.C.,
Chapter, poetry contest, 1962-1963
Nixon, Richard M.
Inflation, 1969-1970, n.d.
Presidential inaugurations, 1968-1973
Women for Nixon-Agnew, 1968
Box 19
Puharich, Henry K., Round Table Foundation, 1949-1956
(2 folders)
Thaddeus, Victor, 1940-1943, 1957
Thibault, Conrad and Mary Clare, 1943-1965
(2 folders)
Wecter, Dixon and Elizabeth, 1936-1951
(4 folders)
Williams, Herschel, 1952-1961
Williams, Oscar, correspondence about Dylan Thomas,
1952-1959
Wilmington, Del., Poetry Society, 1961-1962
Box 20-34
Literary File, 1914-1973, n.d.
Drafts and notes for writings, diary and journal notes,
galleys and other publication material, promotion and
distribution records, legal documents, correspondence,
photographs, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of publication and thereunder
by title, subject, or type of material.
Box 20
Diary and journal notes, 1919, 1925, 1944-1956
(3 folders)
Poetry
Books
Poems: Folio Two
American Institute of Graphic Arts, Fifty Books of the
Year award, 1956
Correspondence
Criterion Books, 1954-1956
Devin-Adair Co., 1955-1956
Editors, 1955-1961
Miscellaneous, 1956-1963
Spiral Press, 1956-1960, n.d.
(2 folders)
Gift books, 1956-1959
Jacket, blurbs, title page, ca. 1956
Notes, n.d.
Notices and related clippings, 1957
Orders and sales, 1956-1958
Promotion, 1956-1962
(3 folders)
Scrapbook, dismantled, 1956-1957, n.d.
(3 folders)
Box 21
Text
Drafts, 1955-1956, n.d.
(4 folders)
Box 22
(4 folders)
Galleys, edited by du Pont, ca. 1956
Sonnets and Lyrics
American Institute of Graphic Arts, Fifty Books of the
Year 1950, award, 1951
Correspondence
Editors and publishers, 1949-1950, n.d.
Miscellaneous, 1945-1951
Spiral Press, 1950-1955, n.d.
(3 folders)
Box 23
Gift books and inscriptions, ca. 1950-1951
Notices, reprints, and clippings, 1950-1951
Orders
Bookshops, 1950-1951
(3 folders)
Individuals, 1950-1952
Promotion and distribution, 1950-1951, n.d.
(3 folders)
Box 24
Scrapbooks
Vol. 1, 1950-1955
(3 folders)
Vol. 2, 1950-1951
(3 folders)
Text
Drafts, n.d.
(4 folders)
Box 25
Galleys, edited by du Pont, ca. 1950
Wilmington Poetry Society and Delaware Writer's Inc.,
1948-1952, n.d.
(3 folders)
Miscellaneous publications
Audio recordings list, 1951-1968, n.d.
Correspondence and tear sheets, 1938-1962
Library of Congress recordings, 1968-1973, n.d.
Unpublished and preliminary texts
"Early poetry," ca. 1918-ca. 1930
(3 folders)
Miscellaneous
Drafts, ca. 1931-ca. 1970
(3 folders)
Box 26
(7 folders)
Notes and partial drafts, 1948-1956, n.d.
(3 folders)
Box 27
Prose
Book, Definitions and Criteria (aphorisms and analects)
Correspondence
Alan Swallow, Publisher, 1964-1970, n.d.
(2 folders)
Gift book recipients and readers, 1965-1967
Notices and clippings, 1965
Orders
Jeane Dixon's fifty copies, 1965
Miscellaneous, 1965-1966
Publication announcements and reception, 1965
Text
Final draft, 1964
Preliminary drafts, 1964, n.d.
(5 folders)
Box 28
Essays
Autobiographical sketches, n.d.
"Apology for the Sonnet," ca. 1945
"Attention Delaware!" (Pre-Raphaelite exhibit), 1934
"Business Man for President," 1944
"C'Est L'Habitude: Paris, 1929," ca. 1930
"A Colonel Garfinkel," 1943, 1957, n.d.
Dickinson, Emily, projects, 1946-1950, n.d.
"The Endless Study: The Years and Hours of Emily Dickinson,
compiled by Jay Leyda, and The Complete Poems of Emily
Dickinson, edited by Thomas H. Johnson," review essay,
New Republic (28 Nov. 1960)
Correspondence, 1960-1961
Text and notes, 1960
"Firm's Record of Growth True to Best American Tradition:
Masséna and du Pont, Architects, Celebrate Tenth Anniversary,"
ca. 1940
"Gabriel Francois Masséna, 1902-1945," Journal of the
AIA (Feb. 1946), ca. 1945
"Heroic Days and Hours with Henry Mencken," Menckeniana
(Summer 1966), 1964-1970, n.d.
(2 folders)
Miscellaneous, 1927-1934, n.d.
Nabokov, Vladimir, parody, 1952
"Nemours Carillon Tower," Architectural Concrete, 1936,
n.d.
"North to Asia: The Big Road by Norman Rosten," review,
Voices, A Quarterly of Poetry (Autumn 1946), 1946, n.d.
Box 29
"Notes on a Russian Visit," 1937, n.d.
"Preface," for biography of Emily Dickinson by Martha
Dickinson Bianchi, 1941, n.d.
"Their Last Hearth," ca. 1932
Journalism
Miscellany, 1947-1953
News Sheet of the Junior League of Buffalo, N.Y., 1927
Juvenilia, 1914-1921
Miscellaneous notes
Fine arts, 1941, n.d.
"New King-Smith School," 1945-1946
Russian visit and political sketches, 1937, 1944, 1954
Sorted by category, 1942-1964, n.d.
(2 folders)
Box 30
(5 folders)
Box 31
Unsorted, ca. 1930s-1968, n.d.
(8 folders)
Box 32
(7 folders)
Novella, "Return to Chambray," ca. 1948-1952
(4 folders)
Box 33
Scripts
Opera libretto, "Blossom Rock"
Notes, 1958-1959, n.d.
Text drafts, 1968, n.d.
(2 folders)
Radio
"Billy Mitchell, Pioneer and Prophet of the Air," for
Cavalcade of America," ca. 1942
"Broadcast for American Women's Voluntary Services on
War Photography," 1943, n.d.
Miscellaneous
Notes, ca. 1940s
Texts, 1936, n.d.
"The Test of Courage," n.d.
"That They Might Live -- Red Cross Nurse Recruitment
Campaign," 1943
Short stories
"Doctor of Finance," Junior League Magazine, 1933, n.d.
"Geraldon Haddonby, With Gestures," 1925
"The Gifted Guest," 1948, n.d.
"Green Bay," n.d.
Box 34
"Horse-Kissers," n.d.
"Letter to Saint-Exupery," n.d.
"The Long Burney Races," n.d.
Miscellaneous notes, 1927, n.d.
"Pattern for Murder," n.d.
"Reprise," n.d.
"The Roan Inn"
Notes, 1948-1952, n.d.
Text, 1951, n.d.
"Sophomore Carnival: The Adventures of Little Follo,"
1925
"Soviet Chiaroscuro," 1937
"The Story of Marit," n.d.
Box OV 1
Oversize, 1920
Scrapbook.
Box OV 1
Family and Biographical Files
Biographical file
School records
Wolcott School, Denver, Colo.
Scrapbook, 1920 (Container 7)
September 10, 2003
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