Brent (Duncan and Fredrika) Collection, ca. 1669-1983, bulk 1958-1983

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Summary

Title:
Duncan and Fredrika Brent Collection
Dates:
ca. 1669-1983, bulk 1958-1983
Abstract:
Correspondence from Duncan Brent to Lawrence Clark Powell, as well as a typescript draft and other materials pertaining to Powell's publication of Le monde passé [a remembrance of Brent]. Also, a collection of the Brents' books, mainly 19th-20th century literature and Californiana. A highlight of this collection is the two volume Hollinshed's Chronicles [of England, Scotland, and Ireland] (London, 1587), one of William Shakespeare's sources for his historical plays.
Extent:
0.4 linear feet (1 document box).
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Duncan and Fredrika Brent Collection. Mss 9. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

These materials were donated by Lawrence Clark Powell in 1984. They include correspondence from Duncan Brent to Powell, as well as a typescript draft and other materials pertaining to Powell's publication of Le monde passe, la figure de ce monde passe: a remembrance of Duncan Brent in a memoir and commentary on his correspondence with Lawrence Clark Powell (privately printed, 1983) [Spec Printers Z239.H4823 B74 1983].

Special Collections also has a collection of Duncan and Fredrika Brent's books, donated by Duncan's sister Hally Brent Dame in their memory and mainly containing 19th-20th century literature and Californiana. These have been cataloged separately and may be searched on Pegasus, the UCSB Libraries online catalog. One of the highlights of this collection is the two volume Hollinshed's Chronicles [of England, Scotland, and Ireland] (London, 1587), one of William Shakespeare's sources for his historical plays.

Biographical / historical:

Joseph Duncan Kenner Brent (ca. 1907-1981) was born and reared in Baltimore, and was a graduate of the Gilman School and the University of Virginia. His grandfather was Joseph Lancaster Brent, who came to southern California before the Civil War and after whom Brentwood (in Los Angeles) is named.

Fredrika (Freddie) Chase Brent (1904-1981) was a Connecticut native, graduate of St. Timothy's School and Bryn Mawr College. She was a painter.

The Brents were married on October 21, 1929 and lived abroad for a number of years, where they pursued their studies. After returning to the U.S., Duncan worked for the Justice Department and served in the Army during World War II. Around 1949 the Brents moved to Malibu, California, where they were neighbors and became close friends with Lawrence Clark Powell, University Librarian at UCLA, and his wife.

In the 1960s Powell helped Duncan publish his manuscript Of the Seer and the Vision (Amsterdam, Menno Hertzberger, 1967) in a limited edition of 100 copies. As Powell described it in his Le monde passé, the book contained "...erudite discussions of Oriental and European philosophy, explicitly footnoted, and was apparently written years before when Brent was undertaking an unfinished Columbia University doctorate in philosophy. What was really unexpected is the inclusion of a short four-act play, a searching morality on adulterous love."

In the latter 1970s the Brents moved to Montecito, California (by Santa Barbara). Duncan served as a member of the executive board of the Santa Barbara Mission Archives and as a fellow of the Huntington Library, in San Marino.

The Brents remained together until December 14, 1981, when they ended their lives in their Montecito home.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Lawrence Clark Powell, 1984.
Physical location:
Del Sur.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Arrangement and description by Special Collections staff; latest revision by D. Tambo
Date Prepared:
© 2011
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid created by A. Demeter. Date of source: June 15, 2011.

Access and use

Restrictions:

None.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

Preferred citation:

Duncan and Fredrika Brent Collection. Mss 9. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
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