Finding Aid to the Collection of Charles Warren Stoddard Papers, 1867-1918

Finding Aid written by Alison E. Bridger
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
© 2007
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Finding Aid to the Collection of Charles Warren Stoddard Papers, 1867-1918

Collection Number: BANC MSS C-H 53

The Bancroft Library



University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, California
Finding Aid Written By:
Alison E. Bridger
Date Completed:
April 2007
© 2007 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Collection Summary

Collection Title: Collection of Charles Warren Stoddard papers
Date (inclusive): 1867-1918
Collection Number: BANC MSS C-H 53
Creators : Stoddard, Charles Warren, 1843-1909
Extent: Number of containers: 4 boxes and 1 carton Linear feet: 2.85
Repository: The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Abstract: Contains correspondence, writings, scrapbooks and clippings. Correspondents include Japanese author Yoné Noguchi and editor Frank Putnam, as well a letter or two from his many fellow authors. Writings include journals and notebooks, poems, autobiography entitled Confessions of a Reformed Poet and collection of poems by Stoddard put together by Ina Coolbrith following his death.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.

Information for Researchers

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94270-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html .
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Collection of Charles Warren Stoddard Papers, BANC MSS C-H 53, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Alternate Forms Available

Part of the collection is available on microfilm, see container list or catalog record for more detail (BANC FILM 2693; BANC FILM 2768; BANC FILM 3026)

Related Collections

Albert Shumate collection of Charles Warren Stoddard papers (BANC MSS 70/108)
Charles Warren Stoddard letters and manuscripts: to Frank Putnam (BANC MSS 82/2)
Yoné Noguchi papers: additions (BANC MSS 71/39)
Benjamin Parke Avery papers (BANC MSS C-H 61)
Milicent Washburn Shinn papers (BANC MSS 68/152)
A.M. Robertson collection (BANC MSS 2002/203)
Bret Harte papers (BANC MSS 79/47)
Jules Simoneau letters: Monterey, Calif., to Charles Warren Stoddard (BANC MSS 86/131)
Poems of Charles Warren Stoddard / collected by Ina Coolbrith (PS2930.A3 1917)
Charles Warren Stoddard papers at the University of Notre Dame Archives.

Separated Material

Pictorial materials including original drawings by Isobel Field, Toby E. Rosenthal, Edgar A. P. Newsomb, Henry Chapman Ford, Austin Strong, Joseph Strong and others (in pen, water color and pencil), made for or collected by Charles Warren Stoddard, and photographs have been transferred to the Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library. (BANC PIC 1954.011 AX)

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Stoddard, Charles Warren, 1843-1909
Stoddard, Charles Warren, 1843-1909--Correspondence
Stoddard, Charles Warren, 1843-1909--Diaries
Noguchi, Yoné, 1875-1947--Correspondence
Putnam, Frank Arthur, 1868--Correspondence
Authors, American--Correspondence
Manuscripts for publication
Poems
Harte, Bret, 1836-1902
Coolbrith, Ina D. (Ina Donna), 1842?-1928
Norris, Thomas W. (Thomas Wayne). Thomas W. Norris collection

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The Collection of Charles Warren Stoddard Papers were given to and/or purchased by The Bancroft Library at various times with the most recent being in 2007. Some folders are annotated with information with respect to provenance. Most of the original materials were acquired in the T.W. Norris Collection in 1954.

Accruals

No additions are expected.

Processing Information

Re-processed by Alison E. Bridger in 2006.

Biographical Information

Charles Warren Stoddard was born on August 7, 1843, in Rochester, New York. In 1855, his family moved to San Francisco. Two years later, Stoddard went back to New York with his older invalid brother. After his return to San Francisco in 1859, he attended school for a time but soon left his schooling to clerk in a bookstore. It was there that he first began writing verses, contributing them to the local newspapers. After the establishment of the Overland Monthly, Stoddard became one of its main standbys, and his poetry appeared in almost every number.
He became better known, however, as a writer of prose, particularly for his sketches picturing the beauty of the South Seas. In 1864, he made the first of his several voyages there, and this resulted in the publication of South Sea Idyls in 1873. In 1873 also, he went abroad as special correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle, traveling in Europe, Asia and Africa.
He became a Roman Catholic in 1867 and in 1884 began a teaching career as professor of English literature at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. In 1889 he took the chair of English literature at the newly founded Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and taught there until 1902.
He then moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, intending to devote himself to creative work. An almost fatal illness sent him back to California, however, and he settled in Monterey in 1905. It was there that he died in April 1909.
Among his better known works, in addition to the South Sea Idyls, are The Lepers of Molokai, (1885); A Cruise Under the Crescent, (1898 ); In the Footprints of the Padres, (1902); For the Pleasure of His Company, (1903); and The Island of Tranquil Delights, (1904).

Scope and Content of Collection

Contains correspondence, writings, scrapbooks and clippings. Correspondents include Japanese author Yoné Noguchi and editor Frank Putnam, as well a letter or two from his many fellow authors. Writings include journals and notebooks, poems, autobiography entitled Confessions of a Reformed Poet and collection of poems by Stoddard put together by Ina Coolbrith following his death.

 

Series 1 Correspondence 1867-1909

Physical Description: Box 1

Arrangement

Arranged into 3 subseries: Outgoing; Incoming; Regarding Charles Warren Stoddard

Scope and Content Note

The bulk of the correspondence is from 1900-1909.
 

Subseries 1.1 Outgoing 1882-1907

Physical Description: Box 1, folders 1-6

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content Note

Contains a small amount of letters written by Charles Warren Stoddard. For letters to Ina Coolbrith see BANC MSS 70/108; to Yoné Noguchi see BANC MSS 71/39; to Frank Putnam see BANC MSS 82/2.
Box 1, Folder 1

Bank of San Jose 1907

Box 1, Folder 1

Beard, John L. 1901

Box 1, Folder 1

Biven, Mille S., Mrs. 1906

Box 1, Folder 2

Brown, F. F. 1887, 1889

 

Coolbrith, Ina and niece Ina L. Cook

Scope and Content Note

SEE: BANC MSS 70/108
Box 1, Folder 1

Cooper, Sarah B. 1882

Box 1, Folder 1

English, Thomas Dunn 1901

Box 1, Folder 1

Gibson, ? 1884

Box 1, Folder 3

Gleason, Joseph M., Rev. 1893-1895

Box 1, Folder 1

Gross, ? 1894

Box 1, Folder 1

Hardy, W. B. 1887

Box 1, Folder 4

Mackay, Robert 1903 Sept. 18

 

Noguchi, Yoné

Scope and Content Note

SEE: BANC MSS 71/39
Box 1, Folder 1

Pease, Lute 1907

 

Putnam, Frank

Scope and Content Note

SEE: BANC MSS 82/2
Box 1, Folder 1

Thomas, Gus 1893

Box 1, Folder 5

Sutherland, Howard 1901-1905, undated

Box 1, Folder 1

unknown recipient, incomplete letter undated

Box 1, Folder 6

My Dear Bliss 1900 Jan. 11

 

Subseries 1.2 Incoming 1867-1909

Physical Description: Box 1, folders 7-19

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content Note

Contains a small amount of incoming correspondence from various friends and fellow authors. The largest amount of correspondence here is from Japanese author Yoné Noguchi. For correspondence from Ina Coolbrith to Stoddard see BANC MSS 70/108.
Box 1, Folder 7

Aiken, Charles Sedgwick 1907

Box 1, Folder 7

Armes, Ethel Marie undated

Box 1, Folder 7

Ballard, Robert 1904-1907

Box 1, Folder 7

Bell, Mary 1896

Box 1, Folder 7

Blake, Marie 1908

Box 1, Folder 8

Clark, Susie C. 1906-1907

 

Clemens, Samuel Langhorne

Scope and Content Note

SEE: Twain, Mark
Box 1, Folder 8

Cole, Frederick W. 1906

 

Coolbrith, Ina

Scope and Content Note

SEE: BANC MSS 70/108
Box 1, Folder 8

Crabtree, Lotta Mignon 1892

Box 1, Folder 8

Crawford, Harold 1906, 1908

Box 1, Folder 8

Dorgan, Frederick J. 1907

Box 1, Folder 8

Drake, James F. 1907

Box 1, Folder 8

Du Bois, George 1906

Box 1, Folder 9

Eaton, Rose undated

Box 1, Folder 9

Field, Isabel (Osbourne) 1893, 1900

Box 1, Folder 9

Fletcher, Londa 1907

Box 1, Folder 9

Frabasilis, Josephine (Countess of Castelvechio) 1908

Box 1, Folder 9

Garnett, Porter 1907

Scope and Content Note

includes manuscript of "The Sea" by Frederick M. Clapp
Box 1, Folder 9

Gilman, Daniel Coit 1900

Box 1, Folder 9

Guiney, Louise Imogen 1900

Box 1, Folder 10

Hansel, Howell 1906-1907

Box 1, Folder 10

Hardy, Iza Duffus 1906

Box 1, Folder 10

Harte, Bret undated

Scope and Content Note

ALSO AVAILABLE ON MICROFILM (BANC FILM 2693)
Box 1, Folder 10

Hatton, Joshua (pseudonym Guy Roslyn) 1908

Box 1, Folder 10

Hobart, Clara 1907

Box 1, Folder 10

Hopper, James 1907

Box 1, Folder 11

Kipling, Rudyard 1892

Box 1, Folder 11

Kline, Burton 1905-1907

Box 1, Folder 11

Kuge, Issio 1905-1909

Box 1, Folder 11

Landers, John 1908

Box 1, Folder 11

Lightner, Elizabeth Gray 1906

Box 1, Folder 12

McComb, John undated

Box 1, Folder 12

McGorgee, Ned 1901

Box 1, Folder 12

Mackay, Robert 1904

Box 1, Folder 12

MacKaye, Arthur L. 1905

Box 1, Folder 12

MacKaye, Percy 1905-1908

Box 1, Folder 12

Mason, M. Louise 1907

Box 1, Folder 12

Maynard, ? 1908

Box 1, Folder 12

Miller, Joaquin 1900

Box 1, Folder 12

Morrow, Lydia (Houghton) 1905

Box 1, Folder 13

National Institute of Arts and Letters 1905

Box 1, Folder 13

Nicholson, Meredith 1908

Box 1, Folder 13

Noguchi, Leonie (Gilmour) 1906

Box 1, Folder 14

Noguchi, Yoné 1897, 1900-1907

Scope and Content Note

ALSO SEE: BANC MSS 71/39
Box 1, Folder 13

O'Conner, Corrine 1906

Box 1, Folder 13

O'Neil, Nance 1905-1907, undated

Box 1, Folder 13

Osbourne, Lloyd 1901

Box 1, Folder 13

O'Sullivan, J. M. 1906

Box 1, Folder 15

Peet, Herbert 1907

Box 1, Folder 15

Pemberton, Mary Elizabeth (Townley) 1905

Box 1, Folder 15

Putnam, Frank Arthur 1905-1906

Box 1, Folder 15

Robertson, Peter 1906

Box 1, Folder 16

Savage, Anna Josephine (Scheible) 1907

Box 1, Folder 16

Schribner's (Charles) Sons Publishers 1907

Box 1, Folder 16

Spencer, Belle (Mrs. J. R. Spencer) 1906-1907

Box 1, Folder 16

Sterling, George 1906-1909

Box 1, Folder 16

Stoddard, Frederick 1906

Box 1, Folder 17

Thayer, William Roscoe 1905

Box 1, Folder 17

Twain, Mark 1867

Scope and Content Note

typescript copy of letter made by Ina Coolbrith
Box 1, Folder 17

Unger, Frank L. 1909

Box 1, Folder 18

Walter, Carrie (Stevens) 1906-1907

Box 1, Folder 18

Watt, A. S. undated

Box 1, Folder 18

Wetmore, Charles undated

Box 1, Folder 18

Whitaker, Herman 1909

Box 1, Folder 18

Woodman, Walter 1907

Box 1, Folder 19

Unidentified correspondents 1908

 

Subseries 1.3 Letters about Stoddard circa 1905-1909

Physical Description: Box 1, folder 20

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content Note

Contains letters discussing Stoddard.
Box 1, Folder 20

Aiken, Charles Sedgwick to William McMichael Woodworth 1909 Dec 9

Box 1, Folder 20

Converse, Elizabeth to Ethel Armes 1905

Box 1, Folder 20

Fennell, J. F. to Charles Phillips

 

Series 2 Writings circa 1866-1909

Physical Description: Boxes 2-4

Arrangement

Arranged into 2 subseries: Journals and notebooks; Manuscripts
 

Subseries 2.1 Journals and notebooks 1866-1907

Physical Description: Boxes 2-3

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content Note

Contains writings in journals and notebooks, some while Stoddard was away at school. Many of Stoddard's journals were given titles by the author and a few of the journals were written in book dummies. Transcripts included for a few writings.
Box 2, Folder 1

"A Thought Book for the Free Disclosure of My Musings" circa 1866

Box 2, Folder 2

transcript (partial) circa 1866

Box 2, Folder 3-4

"School Days at Notre Dame" 1885 April-October

Scope and Content Note

Only includes volumes 2-3.
Box 2, Folder 5

"Notes Wise, Unwise and Otherwise" 1900-?

Scope and Content Note

In book dummy "Michael O'Donnell or the Fortunes of a Little Emigrant" by Mary E. Mannix. ALSO AVAILABLE ON MICROFILM (BANC FILM 3026, reels 2-3)
Box 2, Folder 6

"A Life's Labyrinth" 1901-1902

Scope and Content Note

In book dummy "A Life's Labyrinth" by Mary E. Mannix.
Box 2, Folder 7

typescript 1901-1902

Box 3, Folder 1

"Island Heights: New Jersey" 1901-1907

Box 3, Folder 2

"The Resurection [sic] and Life of Chas. Warren Stoddard" circa 1903

Scope and Content Note

In book dummy "A Royal Son and Mother" by the Baroness Pauline Von Hugel.
Box 3, Folder 3

typescript

Box 3, Folder 4

"My Zellons Journal" 1904-1906

Box 3, Folder 5

untitled in Exercise book 1905-1907

Scope and Content Note

ALSO AVAILABLE ON MICROFILM (BANC FILM 3026, reels 2-3).
Box 3, Folder 6-7

untitled (6 v.) circa 1906

 

Subseries 2.2 Manuscripts undated

Physical Description: Box 4, folders 1-13

Arrangement

Arranged hierarchically.

Scope and Content Note

Contains the manuscripts and typescripts of poems, a collection of poems put together by Ina Coolbrith following Stoddard's death for a book, autobiography entitled "Confessions of a Reformed Poet" and other writings by Stoddard.
Box 4, Folder 1

Poems (manuscripts) undated

Box 4, Folder 2

in unknown hand undated

Box 4, Folder 3-4

Ina Coolbrith collection of Charles Warren Stoddard poems undated

Box 4, Folder 5

Poems (typescripts) undated

 

"Confessions of a Reformed Poet"

Carton 4, Folder 6

typescript undated

Scope and Content Note

ALSO AVAILABLE ON MICROFILM (BANC FILM 2798)
Box 4, Folder 7-8

manuscript undated

Box 4, Folder 9

Manuscript relating to Hawaiian Royalty undated

Box 4, Folder 10

Miscellaneous writings undated

Box 4, Folder 11

Manuscript fragment undated

Box 4, Folder 12-13

Biographical sketch of Charles Warren Stoddard undated

Scope and Content Note

ALSO AVAILABLE ON MIRCOFILM (BANC FILM 2798)
 

Series 3 Scrapbooks, autograph books, published writings, clippings and miscellaneous papers circa 1867-1918

Physical Description: Carton 1; Box 4, folders 14-16

Arrangement

Arranged hierarchically.

Scope and Content Note

Contains scrapbooks with Stoddard's poems, Stoddard's autograph books, published works, clippings on Stoddard, the documents that relate to Stoddard's pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Carton 1, Volume 1

scrapbook undated

Scope and Content Note

(dark blue/black binding)
Carton 1, Volume 2

scrapbook undated

Scope and Content Note

(green binding) ALSO AVAILABLE ON MICROFILM (BANC FILM 3026, reel 1)
Carton 1, Volume 3

Scrapbook undated

Scope and Content Note

(red and black binding) ALSO AVAILABLE ON MICROFILM (BANC FILM 3026, reel 1)
Carton 1, Folder 1

autograph books 1871-1875

Carton 1, Folder 2-6

published works 1868-1914, undated

Carton 1, Folder 7-16

clippings 1878-1918, undated

Box 4, Folder 14

Documents relating to pilgrimage to Holy Land 1876-1877

Box 4, Folder 15

Poems to Charles Warren Stoddard undated

Box 4, Folder 16

Invitation to banquet honoring "Galaxy Magazine" 1909