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Guide to the David Gascoyne Library Collection

Collection Title: David Gascoyne Library Collection
Dates: 1980-2001
Identification: MS 167
Creator: Gascoyne, David, 1916-2001
Extent: 1 Boxes
Language of Materials: English
Abstract: David Gascoyne was born October 10, 1916 in Harrow, London, England. He published his first book of poetry in 1932 at the age of 16, and his subsequent publications quickly established his reputation as one of a small group of English surrealists.

The collection includes greeting cards, postcards, letters, pamphlets, and various ephemera removed from books that were part of Gascoyne’s personal library, and were purchased by the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections.
Acquisition Information: Purchase, 2011.
Separated Materials: The books from which these materials have been removed are cataloged and reside in the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections.
Conditions Governing Access: There are no restrictions on use of the materials in the department for research; all patrons must comply with federal copyright regulations.
Repository: Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections
Deering Library, Level 3
1970 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL,
URL: http://www.library.northwestern.edu/spec
Email: special.collections@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-491-3635

Biographical/Historical Information

David Gascoyne was born October 10, 1916 in Harrow, London, England. He published his first book of poetry in 1932 at the age of 16, and his subsequent publications quickly established his reputation as one of a small group of English surrealists.

Gascoyne spent the years just before World War II in Paris, where he became friendly with Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, André Breton, Paul Éluard and Pierre Jean Jouve. His poetry of this period was published in Poems 1937-1942 (1943) with illustrations by the artist Graham Sutherland.

It was in Whitecroft Hospital on the Isle of Wight that Gascoyne met his wife, Judy Lewis. They married in 1975. David Gascoyne died on 25 November 2001 at the age of 85.

Scope and Content

The collection includes greeting cards, postcards, letters, pamphlets, and various ephemera removed from books that were part of Gascoyne’s personal library, and were purchased by the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections. The container list includes the publication from which the items were removed, as well as a description of the items themselves. The greeting cards and letters fall mostly within the 1980s-1990s, and many are addressed to both Gascoyne and Judy Lewis.

Subjects

Personal Name

Gascoyne, David, 1916-2001

Gascoyne, David, 1916-2001--Correspondence

Subjects

Poets, English--20th century

Surrealism (Literature)--Great Britain


Container List / Contents

  • "Early Poems," David Gascoyne, Greville Press, 1980Box 1, Folder 1
    • Letter, Anthony Astbury (publisher) to Gascoyne, 1981Box 1, Folder 1
    • Letter, Judy Gascoyne to David Gascoyne, n.d.Box 1, Folder 1
  • "A Salute to British Surrealism, 1930-1950"Box 1, Folder 2
    • Letter, Mel Gooding to David and Judy Gascoyne, January 8, 1986Box 1, Folder 2
  • "Border Pass," Jeremy Reed, 1986Box 1, Folder 3
    • Letter, Jeremy Reed to Gascoyne, October 7, 1986Box 1, Folder 3
  • "De La Chimere a la Merveille," Pascaline Mourier-Casile, 1986Box 1, Folder 4
    • Various ephemera, n.d.Box 1, Folder 4
  • “Elizabeth Smart memorial service”, 1986Box 1, Folder 5
    • Newsclipping of obituary and invitation to commemoration ceremony hosted by Roy McMurtry, High Commissioner for Canada, July 3, 1986Box 1, Folder 5
  • "Extracts from a Kind of Declaration," David Gascoyne, Greville Press, 1986Box 1, Folder 6
    • Postcard, Anthony Astbury to David and Judy Gascoyne, n.d.Box 1, Folder 6
    • Letter, Astbury to Gascoynes, August 11, 1987Box 1, Folder 6
  • "Spanish Front: Writers on the Civil War," ed. Valentine Cunningham, Oxford, 1986Box 1, Folder 7
    • Pamphlet, “Poesia Hispano-Britanica de la Guerra Civil Espanola”, n.d.Box 1, Folder 7
  • "Trees: Poems by Michael Hamburger," Embers Handpress, 1988Box 1, Folder 8
    • Postcard, Hamburger to David Gascoyne, April 20, 1989Box 1, Folder 8
  • "The Temple," Stephen Spender, Faber & Faber, 1989Box 1, Folder 9
    • Letter, Spender to David Gascoyne, August 9, 1989Box 1, Folder 9
  • "An Enitharmon Anthology," ed., Stephen Stuart-Smith, Enitharmon Press, 1990Box 1, Folder 10
    • Poem, “Whales and Dolphins,” n.d., postcard, photographBox 1, Folder 10
  • "Lamps Hurled at the Stunning Algebra of Ants," Franklin Rosemont, Surrealist Editions, 1990Box 1, Folder 11
    • Newsclippings, Surrealist Group and Chicago Sun-Times, 1989Box 1, Folder 11
  • "Marginal Places and the Necessary Angel," Iain Biggs, 1992Box 1, Folder 12
    • Postcard, July 1993Box 1, Folder 12
  • "Lawrence Durrell," David Gascoyne, 1993Box 1, Folder 13
    • Postcards, Penelope Durrell Hope to David Gascoyne, March 3, 1993Box 1, Folder 13
    • Francoise Kestsman to the Gascoynes, December 15, 1992Box 1, Folder 13
  • "For David Gascoyne’s 80th Birthday," Jeremy Reed, 1996Box 1, Folder 14
    • Birthday cards and postcards, n.d.Box 1, Folder 14
  • "Menavelins," Robin Waterfield, 1999Box 1, Folder 15
    • Letter, Waterfield to David Gascoyne, n.d.Box 1, Folder 15
    • Letter, Waterfield to the Gascoynes, August 7, 1999Box 1, Folder 15
  • "Richard Roe’s Last Response," Robin Waterfield, 2000Box 1, Folder 16
    • “Bookselling as occupational therapy,” Bookdealer, July 6, 2000Box 1, Folder 16
  • "Poems by David Gascoyne," selected by Judy Gascoyne, Greville Press, 2001Box 1, Folder 17
    • Card, inscribed by Judy Gascoyne “Final list of poems” (for a reading), n.d.Box 1, Folder 17
    • Bookshop photograph of Judy Gascoyne with copies of "Poems", n.d.Box 1, Folder 17
    • Letter, Judy Gascoyne to Anthony Astbury, c. 2002Box 1, Folder 17
    • 7 Letters, Judy Gascoyne to Rupert Besley, Richard Burns, David Whiting, and others, 2001-2002Box 1, Folder 17