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COLLECTION — Box: 1 Identifier: MS Thr 2115

Marshall P. Wilder letters to Alice

Content Description

13 letters, most sent from Boston (Mass.), to a woman named Alice with whom Wilder seems to have been romantically involved.

The letters chiefly concern his work as a journalist; they occasionally refer to Wilder's dwarfism and the related opinions of publicists and others.

Dates

  • Creation: 1889-1891 and undated

Creator

Condition Description

In good condition.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Extent

.4 linear feet (1 box)

Biographical / Historical

Marshall P. Wilder, born with dwarfism, was an American actor, monologist, humorist, sketch artist and journalist, best known for his performance. During the period covered by the letters, Wilder was working as a journalist for the New York Recorder, possibly as a theater critic.

Arrangement

Collection is in order as received.

Custodial History

Ownership prior to this acquisition is unknown.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

2021MT-49. Purchased from Ian Brabner Rare Americana LLC with the Robert Gould Shaw Fund, 2021 May 20.

Processing Information

This collection was processed to a basic level with minimal rehousing, organization, and preservation. (Melanie Wisner, 2021)

Title
Wilder, Marshall P. (Marshall Pinckney), 1859-1915. Marshall P. Wilder letters to Alice, 1889-1891 and undated (MS Thr 2115). Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Status
completed
Author
Houghton Library, Harvard University
Date
2021 June 21
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
hou03389

Repository Details

Part of the Houghton Library Repository

Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.

Contact:
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Harvard University
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