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Combs (Tram) Papers
MSS 0123
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Table of contents
Languages:
English
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Tram Combs Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0123
Physical Description:
4 Linear feet
(10 archives boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1946-1964
Abstract: Papers of Tram Combs, writer and bookseller. Combs lived in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1940s and was associated
with many well-known writers. In 1951 he moved to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, where he owned and operated a bookstore. Combs
was active in Gay literary circles and contributed to early Gay periodicals such as the
Mattachine Review and
One. Materials in the collection date from the late 1940s through 1964 and include correspondence, writings, and photographs.
Scope and Content of Collection
Dating from the late 1940s through 1964, the papers document the life, writings, and thought of Tram Combs. The collection
includes Combs' personal revelations about his life as a writer and Gay person in the 1950s and early 60s. In addition, the
papers provide unusual insights into Gay politics and literary infighting in the United States and the Virgin Islands.
Combs himself organized his own papers quite thoroughly. He often wrote notes explaining how the papers were originally created
and how and why the materials were arranged as they were. Arranged in six series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) NOTEBOOKS AND WORKING
SHEETS, 3) TYPESCRIPTS OF VERSE, 4) AUTHOR'S COLLECTION OF SERIALS, 5) WRITINGS OF OTHERS, and 6) PHOTOGRAPHS.
Elisha Trammel (Tram) Combs, Jr. was born 25 September 1924 in Riverview, Alabama, the son of Elisha Trammel, a cotton mill
superintendent, and LaFaye Hunt Combs. Elisha Jr. was educated in Southern schools until 1936, when his family moved to San
Francisco.
As a young man, Tram was primarily interested in botany, physics, and chemistry. While serving in the U.S. Army Air Force
he attended University of Washington in 1943 and 1944. He received a certificate of professional competence in meteorology
from University of Chicago in 1945. Combs left the air force in 1946 after serving as a meteorologist and becoming a second
lieutenant. For the next two years he attended Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (studying electronics
engineering) and the University of California, where he received an A.B. in physics in 1948.
From 1948-51 Combs worked as an oil chemist at the Tidewater-Associated Oil Company in Avon, California. Also during the
late 1940's he began to write poetry under the guidance of Kenneth Rexroth, Lawrence Hart and Josephine Miles. Discovering
his inclination towards writing and the arts, Combs abruptly changed careers in 1948, becoming the owner and manager of Island
Studios, a photographic studio in the Bay Area.
In 1951 Combs moved to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. There, using his talents as a bibliophile, linguist, and poet, he managed
and owned Tram Combs Books - a bookshop specializing in the literature and history of middle and southern Americas. Combs
also involved himself in community, cultural and political activities in St. Thomas. He served as a founder and trustee of
the Virgin Islands Art Museum (1955-56), helped to develop a Boy Scouts of America chapter, worked on building a local Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and participated in disaster relief work. He was an active member of the Gay literary
community, both in the Virgin Islands and the U.S., and he regularly submitted articles and suggestions to Gay periodicals
such as
Mattachine Review and
One.
Combs earned the respect of noted contemporary poets such as Kenneth Rexroth and William Carlos Williams -- both of whom
wrote forewords to Combs' first book. However, Combs' writing never received public acclaim or commercial success. Some critics
complained of his verse's sentimental tone, overabundance of private references, and modifying clauses. Others praised his
verbal compression, his unusual typography, his detailed attention to nature and fellow human beings, and his honest, intense,
but quiet voice. As William Carlos Williams wrote, "It is in the construction of a verse about an island sunset, that the
reader will find what is hidden for him there; not what he thinks he will find but something surprising, amazingly simple
and altogether delightful."
Tram Combs Papers, MSS 0123. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Acquired 1987.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Gay liberation movement -- United States
American poetry -- 20th century
Virgin Islands of the United States -- Photographs
Photographic prints -- 20th century
Combs, Tram, 1924- -- Archives
Auerhahn Press
Mattachine Society
May, James Boyer -- Correspondence
Nesmith., Robert I. -- Correspondence
Priest, Alan, 1898-1969 -- Correspondence
Stern, Gerd -- Correspondence
Stiles, Knute, 1923-2009 -- Correspondence