Guide to the

Edna Ferber Collection

Collection number: LU-ARC010

University Archives

Seeley G. Mudd Library

Lawrence University

Appleton, Wisconsin

Contact information:

University Archives

Seeley G. Mudd Library

113 S. Lawe Street

Lawrence University

Appleton, WI 54911

Phone: (920) 832-6753

Fax: (920) 832-6967

Email: archives@lawrence.edu

URL: http://www.lawrence.edu/library/archives/

© 2006 Lawrence University. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary of the Collection

Title

Edna Ferber collection

Inclusive dates

1921-2002

Collection number

LU-ARC010

Collector

Garden, Yvette B.

Extent

0.2 linear feet (1 box)

Language of collection material

Collection is in English.

Repository

Lawrence University. Seeley G. Mudd Library. University Archives.

Appleton, Wisconsin 54911

Abstract

The collection is comprised of correspondence and biographical materials of Edna Ferber, a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist who spent her childhood and early career in Appleton, Wisconsin, and continues to have a strong influence on the city to this day. The correspondence range from 1946-1966 and consist mostly of letters between Ferber and her secretary, Yvette B. Garden. Ferber describes her travels around the world, finances, and her family. Letters exchanged between Ferber and Lawrence University president Douglas Knight regarding a possible trip for Ferber to Appleton are included. Other correspondence covers the donation of Ferber memorabilia to Lawrence University. Materials from the 1985 Centennial celebration in Appleton, Wisconsin, commemorating Ferber’s birth are also part of the collection. Newspaper articles and biographical materials regarding Ferber and her time and influence on Appleton are also contained in the collection.

Important Information for Researchers

 Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication rights

Property rights reside with Lawrence University. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the University Archivist.

Preferred citation

Edna Ferber Collection. Collection LU-ARC010. University Archives, Seeley G. Mudd Library, Appleton, Wisconsin.

Acquisition information

The majority of letters, some newspaper clippings, and other Ferber memorabilia were gifts of Yvette B. Garden, 1975. The remainder of the collection materials was acquired by the Lawrence University Archives.

Processing history

Processed by Julia Stringfellow, 2006.

Edna Ferber, a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on August 15, 1885. Ferber spent her early years in Chicago and Ottumwa, Iowa. Her family moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, when she was twelve and her father set up a general store known as “My Store.” Ferber began her writing career early as the editor of her high school newspaper, the Ryan Clarion. After graduating from high school, she accepted a job at the Appleton Daily Crescent as a reporter. Ferber went from the Crescent to the Milwaukee Journal. She returned to Appleton to recuperate after collapsing from exhaustion and while there, she wrote her first novel, Dawn O'Hara , that was published in 1911.

Ferber became a popular novelist from her many works and received the Pulitzer Prize in 1924 for the story So Big. Her best known books include Showboat (1926), Cimarron (1929), and Giant (1952). She was also a member of the Algonquin Round Table, a group of literary wits who met for lunch every day at the Algonquin Hotel in New York.

Ferber died of cancer at age 82 on April 16, 1968, at her Park Avenue, New York, home.

Collection Scope and Content Summary

The collection is comprised of correspondence and biographical materials of Edna Ferber, a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist who spent her childhood and early career in Appleton, Wisconsin, and continues to have a strong influence on the city to this day. The correspondence range from 1946-1966 and consist mostly of letters between Ferber and her secretary, Yvette B. Garden. Ferber describes her travels around the world, finances, and her family. Letters exchanged between Ferber and Lawrence University president Douglas Knight regarding a possible trip for Ferber to Appleton are included. Other correspondence covers the donation of Ferber memorabilia to Lawrence University. Materials from the 1985 Centennial celebration in Appleton, Wisconsin, commemorating Ferber’s birth are also part of the collection. Newspaper articles and biographical materials regarding Ferber and her time and influence on Appleton are also contained in the collection.

Collection Arrangement

This collection is arranged alphabetically by subject, then chronologically at the file level.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Ferber, Edna, 1887-1968.

Garden, Yvette B.

Genres and Forms of Materials

Letters.

Occupations

Writer.

Collection Contents