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Collection of Robert Frost Letters and Poems: Finding Aid
mssHM 1201, etc.  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Overview of the Collection
  • Access
  • Administrative Information
  • Biographical Note
  • Scope and Content
  • Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms

  • Overview of the Collection

    Title: Collection of Robert Frost Letters and Poems
    Dates (inclusive): Approximately 1891-1958
    Bulk dates: 1894-1916
    Collection Numbers: mssHM 1201, etc.
    Collection Numbers (complete list): mssHM 1201; mssHM 7237; mssHM 7638-7657; mssHM 10799; mssHM 13810; mssHM 25337-25368; mssHM 47622; mssHM 48305; mssHM 59545
    Creator: Frost, Robert, 1874-1963
    Extent: 59 pieces in 1 box
    Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department
    1151 Oxford Road
    San Marino, California 91108
    Phone: (626) 405-2129
    Email: reference@huntington.org
    URL: http://www.huntington.org
    Abstract: This collection contains 59 pieces of correspondence and poems of American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963), chiefly consisting of handwritten poems and letters sent by Frost to Susan Hayes Ward (1835-1916), poetry editor for The Independent, from the mid 1890s to the 1910s.
    Language: English.

    Access

    Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

    Administrative Information

    Publication Rights

    The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item]. Collection of Robert Frost Letters and Poems, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Provenance

    Received from various sources.
    The bulk of the collection was purchased from P. K. Foley in 1923 (HM 1201, HM 7237, HM 7638-7657, and HM 25337-25368).

    HM 13810, purchased from A.A.A. Conant Sale (Lot #25), November 1923.

    HM 10799 was presumably transferred from Reference Department Files.

    HM 47622 was transferred from Reference Department Files, January 1981.

    HM 48305 was transferred from Manuscript Department Files, February 5, 1982.

    HM 59545 was removed from North of Boston by Robert Frost (Call number 491731)   in June 1991.

    Biographical Note

    Robert Lee Frost (1874-1963) was an American poet. Frost sold his first poem, "My Butterfly. An Elegy" to the Independent, a weekly New York magazine, where it appeared in the November 8, 1894, issue. Frost was married to Elinor (White) Frost from 1895 until her death in 1938.

    Bibliography

    For more information about The Huntington Library's Robert Frost Collection, see Leslie Monsour, "Robert Frost at The Huntington," Huntington Frontiers (Spring/Summer 2017)

    Scope and Content

    This collection contains 59 pieces of correspondence and poems of American poet Robert Frost, chiefly consisting of handwritten poems and letters sent by Frost to Susan Hayes Ward (1835-1916), poetry editor for The Independent, from the mid 1890s to the 1910s.
    Items consist of:
    • Thirty letters from Robert Frost to Susan Hayes Ward (HM 7656, HM 25338-25366)
    • Eighteen loose poems signed by Robert Frost (HM 7638-7646, HM 7648-7655, HM 7657)
    • Two poems whose authorship was repudiated by Frost; apparently in the hand of Elinor M. Frost (HM 1201, HM 7647)
    • A collection of 17 handwritten poems presented by Frost to Ward for Christmas 1911 (HM 7237)
    • A letter from Robert Frost to William Hayes Ward, the editor of The Independent (HM 25337)
    • Two letters from Elinor Frost to Susan Hayes Ward (HM 25367-25368)
    • Three letters from Frost to Huntington Library staff authorizing access to his papers (HM 10799, HM 47622, HM 48305)
    • Two letters from Frost related to autographs (HM 13810, HM 59545)

    Arrangement

    Arranged in one box in call number order.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

    Subjects

    Frost, Robert, 1874-1963 -- Archives.
    Frost, Elinor, 1873-1938 -- Archives.
    Poets, American -- 20th century -- Archives.

    Forms/Genres

    Letters (correspondence) -- United States.
    Manuscripts -- United States.
    Poems -- United States.

    Alternate Authors

    Frost, Elinor, 1873-1938.
    Haselden, R. B. (Reginald Berti), 1881-1952, addressee.
    Ward, William Hayes, 1835-1916, addressee.
    Ward, Susan Hayes, 1838-1924, addressee.