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Harrison M. Hayford (1916-2001) Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 11/3/11/34

  • Staff Only
  • No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

The Harrison Hayford papers fill seventy-two boxes, spanning the years 1916 to 2002. The bulk of the papers consist of correspondence files, Northwestern University teaching files, research notes and drafts, Northwestern University student files, papers and speeches, publications, and projects--including, most significantly, the Herman Melville Editing Project files.

Hayford's correspondence documents the wide variety of interests he held as well as his lifelong engagement with American literature. The teaching and student files reveal much about Hayford's approach to teaching various American literature topics and show that his teaching career was marked by an active interest in his students and in the teaching profession. A significant portion of Hayford's papers consists of the project files that document his work on the Melville Editing Project, other editing projects, and his involvement with the Center for Editions of American Authors (CEAA). These files illuminate the complex nature of these editorial projects, from their initial funding and staffing as well as the many years it took to complete them. They also show the respect Hayford and his colleagues had for appropriate editing standards, and the devotion and commitment that such a project required of its participants.

Biographical materials range from Hayford's birth certificate (1916) to obituaries, with the bulk dating from the 1930s to the 1980s. Early materials include a yearbook poem (1933), short stories from the 1930s, and Hayford's reading journals for the years 1935, 1936, and 1938. One folder documents Hayford's military service from 1943 to 1944. Hayford's career at Northwestern University is documented in biographical data forms, vitae and vitae supplements. Newspaper clippings date between 1933 and 1999. There are also two folders containing material relating to Hayford's wife, Josephine Hayford, including general correspondence and correspondence regarding an entry she wrote for Encyclopedia Britannica. Various tributes and testimonials to Hayford include a memorial written by his daughter, Deborah Weiss.

Hayford's education is documented in files spanning the years 1934 to 1945 and include his high school and university diplomas, undergraduate papers, and notes Hayford took while taking courses toward his doctoral degree. There is also an early draft of Hayford's Yale University dissertation on the relationship between Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Hayford's correspondence files include both incoming letters and carbons of outgoing letters. The personal correspondence files, dating between 1924 and 1997, consist mainly of correspondence with family members and friends. Also included is correspondence relating to Hayford's Northwestern University faculty appointments and salaries, teaching position offers that Hayford received from other universities, and several of the many visiting professor positions and fellowships he received.

Northwestern University correspondence files span the years 1942-1990 and include official University correspondence and English department correspondence. Two files contain correspondence regarding English department planning for American Literature courses--one file dating from 1959-1963 and the other nearly twenty years later, 1981-1982. One file includes correspondence regarding a self-review the English Department undertook in 1986.

The subject correspondence files span the dates 1934-1999 and consist of correspondence with colleagues, former students and organizations. Hayford had long and extensive correspondence with many scholars and colleagues throughout the country and around the world regarding his own scholarly work and projects, their scholarly work and projects, and academic issues in general. He also corresponded with many former students who went on to hold academic positions, writing letters of support and expressing interest in their continuing scholarly work. Also included is correspondence regarding Hayford's bookselling business, with one folder titled "Booksellers" and other files titled by the organization or company that Hayford dealt with. One file contains correspondence and records of Hayford's work in support of George McGovern's campaign for the presidency in 1972-73. Three folders contain correspondence relating to various projects and committees that Hayford worked on in support of the Newberry Library. Six folders contain correspondence between Hayford and Northwestern colleague Walter B. Scott, including letters, parodies, humorous sketches and miscellaneous materials, many of which are signed under various pseudonyms that they adopted (see also Hayford's correspondence with George Cohen and Richard Ellmann).

Hayford's teaching career at Northwestern University is documented in teaching files spanning the years 1937-1988.

Teaching files from the University of Maine (1972) and the Sorbonne (1975-79), where Hayford held visiting professorships, include correspondence, teaching notes and course records.

The research notes and drafts files span the dates 1941-1986.

The papers and speeches files span the dates 1950-1993.

The publications files span the dates 1937-1996 and are divided into general publications files, publications relating to Herman Melville, and reviews written by Hayford. The general publications files include originals and reprints of articles on various subjects, correspondence regarding articles and books (published and unpublished), and drafts of articles and books. The Herman Melville publications files include correspondence and drafts relating to articles and books (published and unpublished) that Hayford wrote about Herman Melville. The reviews by Hayford files includes drafts and correspondence relating to several book reviews (published and unpublished) written by Hayford.

The projects files span the dates 1905-1996 and document four major projects: Herman Melville Editing Project, Ralph Waldo Emerson Journals Project, Film Projects and Center for Editions of American Authors. The Melville Editing Project Files are further divided into correspondence, working files, project records and notes. Included in the Melville Editing Project files are letters from Hayford to fellow editors and publishers; working files from each year that he was involved in an editing project; budgets, grant applications and reports from the project; and notes on several of the volumes that he edited.

The Emerson Journals Project files are divided into working files and project records. The working files contain both correspondence and project notes; the project records include grant applications and budgets for the project.

The Film Projects files contain correspondence, contracts and scripts. They include some organizational records of Viewfinder Films, the company that employed Hayford for these projects.

The Center for Editions of American Authors (CEAA) files include correspondence, minutes, budgets and grant proposals for the Center. Hayford served on the Executive Committee of the Center for several years. They also include the early publications through which the Center established its rules and procedures for editing projects under its banner.

Addition, Box 73:

The addition to the Harrison Hayford Papers, housed in Box 73, consists of two items related to Leon Forrest, author, Northwestern professor and friend of Harrison and Jo Hayford. One signed and dedicated reprint of Forrest's story "Sugar Groove" (published in the literary journal Callaloo) was added to Box 8, folder 9 (Leon Forrest Subject File). The other item, a signed copy of Forrest's Divine Days (Chicago: Another Chicago Press, 1992), with Harrison Hayford's name and the date "March, 1993" written on the first page, is very heavily annotated. It is not clear who did the annotation; a letter in the Leon Forrest correspondence file contains a 1995 letter from author John Cawelti (University of Kentucky) asking Hayford to contribute an essay to a book about Forrest, but the book as eventually published in 1997 does not include a contribution from Hayford. The annotations may include some by Forrest and some by Hayford.

Dates

  • 1916-2002
  • Agreement Received: 2001-01-07

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is stored off-site and requires two business days advance notice for retrieval. Please contact the McCormick Library at specialcollections@northwestern.edu or 847-491-3635 for more information or to schedule an appointment to view the collection.

Extent

73.00 Boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Harrison Hayford papers fill seventy-two boxes, spanning the years 1916 to 2002. The bulk of the papers consist of correspondence files, Northwestern University teaching files, Northwestern University student files and, most significantly, the Herman Melville Editing Project files.

Arrangement

The Hayford Papers are divided into eleven major subseries: biographical materials, education, personal correspondence, Northwestern University correspondence, subject correspondence, Northwestern University teaching files, teaching files from other universities, research notes and drafts, papers and speeches, publications, and projects, including, most significantly, the Melville Editing Project.

The biographical files are arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically within each folder.

The education files are arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically within each folder.

Hayford's personal correspondence files fall into three categories: personal, Northwestern University, and subject correspondence. These files are arranged chronologically within each folder.

The Northwestern University correspondence files are arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically within each folder.

The subject correspondence files are arranged alphabetically by the surname of correspondent, name of company or organization, or otherwise by subject, and then chronologically within each folder. At the beginning of each letter of the alphabetized files are folders of correspondence with individuals whose surname or corporate name begin with that letter. Individuals whose correspondence is placed in these folders had only one or infrequent interactions with Hayford.

Materials from Hayford's teaching career at Northwestern University is divided into the following categories: lecture notes, teaching notes, exams, course records, Northwestern University course files, and Northwestern University student files. Lecture notes are arranged alphabetically by topic and include notes for specific lectures, including notes on a Herman Melville lecture and on Moby Dick. Teaching notes are arranged alphabetically by subject and include class handouts and informational sheets regarding various authors and subjects, with material on 19th century American authors comprising the bulk of the folders. Exams are arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically within each folder, and include both undergraduate and graduate American Literature exams, and M.A. and Ph.D. exams. Course records are arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically within each folder, and include Hayford's grade books from many of his early years as a teacher, and grade sheets from some of his years at Northwestern University. Northwestern University course files are arranged numerically by course number (occasionally including the course title), and then chronologically by year, and include teaching notes, student papers and records. Hayford maintained separate folders for many of his students, both undergraduate and graduate. Spanning nearly forty years of Hayford's teaching career--1947 to 1985--these folders fill seventeen boxes and are arranged alphabetically by the surname of the student. These files are in the order that Hayford kept them and include student papers, correspondence, and grade sheets. Folders containing unidentified student works and recommendation letters are placed after the final alphabetical file.

Teaching files for other universities are arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically within each folder.

The research notes and drafts files are divided into those that pertain to Hayford's work on Herman Melville and general files that pertain to his work on various authors and subjects. These files are arranged alphabetically by subject.

The papers and speeches files are divided into general papers and speeches files, and papers and speeches regarding Herman Melville. These files are arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically within each folder.

The publications files are divided into general publications files, publications relating to Herman Melville, and reviews written by Hayford. These files are arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically within each folder.

The Melville Editing Project correspondence files are arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically within each folder. The working files are arranged chronologically and are kept in the order that Hayford left them. The project records and notes are arranged by subject and then chronologically within each folder.

The project records include grant applications and budgets for the project and are arranged by subject and then chronologically within each folder.

The Emerson Journal Project working files are arranged chronologically and left in their original order within each folder; the project records are arranged by subject and then chronologically within each folder.

The Film Projects are arranged by subject and then chronologically within each folder.

The Center for Editions of American Authors files are arranged by subject and then chronologically within each folder.

Method of Acquisition

The Harrison Hayford papers were acquired by the Northwestern University Archives in nine separate accessions between 1979 and 2001. Accession #79-90 was transferred to the University Archives from the University Library Special Collections Department on May 22, 1979. Harrison Hayford donated Accessions # 87-246 and #87-263 (August 14, 1987), #95-145 (August 22, 1995), #98-90 (June 4, 1998), #98-94 (June 9, 1998), Carolyn Keats (English Department) donated Accession #93-126 (September 1, 1993), and Charles Hayford donated Accessions #00-323 (December 13, 2000) and 01-218 (December 19, 2001). Materials from the University Archives faculty biographical files were incorporated into this series.

The additions were donated to the University Archives by Charles Hayford on May 3, 2005, as Accession Number 05-32.

Separated Materials

Nine cubic feet of duplicate and extraneous materials were separated and discarded. Forty-nine photographs were added to the University Archives Photographic Files.

Other Descriptive Information

Researchers should be aware that the subjects they are interested in may be found in more than one place within the Hayford Papers. The Papers have for the most part been kept in the order in which Hayford organized them because the original order reflects the way he organized the documentary record of his many interests and projects. This presents something of a challenge for researchers, as correspondents and subject matter may be covered in more than one of the subseries that the collection is divided into. For example, many of his academic colleagues were friends as well as coworkers on various projects, and he kept his correspondence with them in separate files relating to their role at the time. Also, for both the Melville Editing Project and the Emerson Journals Project, Hayford kept working files that were organized by date rather than by subject.

Processing Information

Lori J. Osborne, Summer 2003-Winter 2004.

Addition processed by Janet Olson, June 2005.

Title
Guide to the Harrison M. Hayford (1916-2001) Papers
Author
Lori J. Osborne
Date
01/07/2003
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Library Details

Part of the Northwestern University Archives Repository

Contact:
Deering Library, Level 3
1970 Campus Dr.
Evanston IL 60208-2300 US
847-491-3635