Overview
Letters sent to Harvard professor of English, Hyder Edward Rollins, from his former students and colleagues. Especially includes letters sent during, and shortly after, World War II.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1944-1946
- Creation: 1927-1946
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
This collection is not housed at the Houghton Library but is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine retrieval policies and times.
Extent
.5 linear feet (1 box)The bulk of these letters are from Harvard men who were taught by Rollins as undergraduates or doctoral students. Most of these students moved on to other universities to pursue academic careers in the field of literature. The bulk of letters are from the World War II time period (ca. 1944-1946) and primarily span topics of the war, military service, as well as their career concerns.
Some folders were marked "From Harvard servicemen" and contain letters specifically about World War II military service. This designation was retained in the notes below. A few items have autograph annotations by Rollins.
Biographical / Historical
Hyder Edward Rollins (1889-1958) was born in Abilene, Texas. In 1910 he received a B.A. from Southwestern University, an M.A. from the University of Texas in 1912, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1917. In 1919 he went to Europe on a Harvard Sheldon Traveling Fellowship and in 1920 he was appointed assistant professor at New York University, becoming a full professor four years later. In 1926 he returned to Harvard, later succeeding George Lyman Kittredge as the Gurney Professor of English (1939-1956). Rollins never married, died in 1958, and was buried in Abilene, Texas.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Immediate Source of Acquisition
46M-422. Gift of Professor Hyder Edward Rollins, 1 Waterhouse Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts; received: 1946 November 4.
Processing Information
Processed by: Bonnie B. Salt
Formerly restricted; restriction removed 2007 April 26.
- Title
- Rollins, Hyder Edward, 1889-1958, recipient. Letters sent to Hyder Edward Rollins, 1927-1946: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou01871
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.
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