Finding Aid for the William McFee Papers, ca. 1927-1942

Processed by Manuscripts Division staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2001
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Note

Arts and Humanities--Literature--American Literature Geographical (By Place)--United States

Finding Aid for the William McFee Papers, ca. 1927-1942

Collection number: 652

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Manuscripts Division



Los Angeles, CA

Contact Information

  • Manuscripts Division
  • UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
  • Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
  • Box 951575
  • Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
  • Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
  • Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
  • URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
Processed by:
Manuscripts Division staff
Encoded by:
Caroline Cubé
Text converted and initial container list EAD tagging by:
Apex Data Services
Online finding aid edited by:
Josh Fiala, August 2002
© 2001 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: William McFee Papers,
Date (inclusive): ca. 1927-1942
Collection number: 652
Creator: McFee, William, 1881-
Extent: 1 box (0.5 linear ft.)
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: William McFee (1881-1961) was born at sea en route to England from India. He was an engineer before becoming a full-time writer in 1923. He wrote novels, short stories, and essays, almost all of which concerned the sea. He also wrote reviews and columns for the New York Sun and New York Times, and incidental pieces for magazines. The collection consists of holograph manuscripts of McFee's article After Seven Years and McFee's reviews of the novels Lives of a Bengal Lancer and East Southeast.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.

Additional Physical Form Available

A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:
  • Public Services Division
  • UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
  • Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
  • Box 951575
  • Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
  • Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
  • Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], William McFee Papers (Collection 652). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 2221394 

Biography

McFee was born on June 15, 1881 at sea en route to England from India; attended schools in London and the East Anglian School, Bury St. Edmunds, West Suffolk; furthered his education by evening study of technical subjects at Northampton Institute and by reading at the British Museum; apprenticed in McMuirland's Engineering Shops, London, 1897-ca. 1900, and then worked as a mechanical engineer; went to sea as junior engineer in 1906, and began to write while at sea, completing two books before moving to the U.S. to write; served as an engineer in British Navy during World War I; returned to U.S. after the war, working as an engineer at sea for the United Fruit Company; left the sea and became a full-time writer in 1923, producing novels, short stories, and essays, almost all of which concerned the sea; became U.S. citizen in 1925; wrote reviews and columns for the New York Sun and New York Times, and incidental pieces for magazines; received honorary MA from Yale University in 1936; elected to National Institute of Arts and Letters, 1941; died on July 2, 1966 in New Milford, Connecticut.

Scope and Content

Collection consists of holograph manuscripts of McFee's article After Seven Years and McFee's reviews of the novels Lives of a Bengal Lancer and East Southeast. In addition there are 86 letters to Harold Kamp, to whom all the above manuscripts were presented, and a mounted clippings file.

Organization and Arrangement

Arranged in the following series:
  1. Manuscripts.
  2. Letters.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
McFee, William, 1881- --Archives.
Authors, American--20th century--Archival resources.


 

Manuscripts

Box 1

381 After Seven Years. (article), Signed by the author.

Physical Description: (7pp. Original autograph manuscript, in a slip-case).

Note

25
For James Bone. The Manchester Guardian. (Presentation cancelled by McFee, followed by) For Mr. Harold Kamp who may like this souvenir of my trip to England. W.M.
Box 1

382, 382A Book review of East Southeast by F.V. Morley, September 3, 1929.

Physical Description: (5pp. Autograph Manuscript Signed, in a 1/4 morocco binding).

Note

To Harold Kamp with a copy of the book. W.M.
25
Box 1

383, 383A Book review of Lives Of A Bengal Lancer by F. Yeats-Brown.

Physical Description: (Autograph manuscript, in a half morocco case).

Scope and Content Note

A letter of McFee inserted (5pp. autograph signed).
 

Letters, December 7, 1927-February 13, 1942

Box 1

384 85 Letters from William McFee to Harold Kamp, from December 7, 1927-February 13, 1942.

Physical Description: (Holograph and typewritten, about 250pp. Enclosed in large quarto leather-backed dropcase).
 

Clippings, v.d., 1941

Box 1

Miscellaneous clippings re William McFee.

Physical Description: (In folder).