Dorothy Roberts worked in the Dept. of English's administration office from 1948 until her retirement in the late 1980's-early 1990's. The collection includes correspondence, clippings, photographs, printed material and other items created and collected by Dorothy Roberts about the Dept. of English at Duke University. Files largely pertain to the history of the department, focusing heavily on departmental faculty. The collection ranges in date from 1903-1993.

The collection largely consists of material compiled by Roberts, who functioned as historian of the Dept. of English. Of note are the various lists of faculty, Ph.D. candidates and staff of the department over a number of years. Also included are files she maintained on faculty members, which include correspondence and clippings as well as a file Roberts kept on herself regarding her career at Duke. She also provides her impressions of key departmental staff, namely the chairmen she worked for. In 1982, Roberts donated 14 letters between her and Guy Davenport, a Duke alumnus, regarding Paris and other European cities as well of Davenport's appreciation of James Joyce and Roberts' own love of traveling abroad. Roberts' friendship with Reynolds Price is represented in the collection. There are several folders on him which include correspondence, Christmas cards, photographs, clippings, and an envelope which holds locks of Price's hair. Of particular note is a sketch Price drew of Emily Dickinson that he gave to Roberts. There is also a caricature of Ph.D. candidates, including Price, from 1962.

Author and illustrator. Collection includes letters from Davenport to Abbot Tom Gleason (1960-1966), and to Duke University secretary Dorothy E. Roberts (1970-1990). Early letters discuss Davenport's attraction to Gleason, as well as daily life, contemporaries, and other intellectual subjects like art or literature. There are clippings regarding his his career and family, along with book reviews written by him or about his work. Also includes collected contributions to a symposium (1974) on Davenport's work printed in the serial Margins. Included are the author's short stories "A Gingham Dress," "Belinda's World Tour," and "Juno of the Veii," as well as his article "The Symbol of the Archiaic."

Box 1 of the collection contains a few letters from Davenport, primarily written to Dorothy E. Roberts, a secretary in Duke University's English Department. There are clippings regarding his his career and family, along with book reviews written by him or about his work. Also includes collected contributions to a symposium (1974) on Davenport's work printed in the serial Margins. Included are the author's short stories "A Gingham Dress," "Belinda's World Tour," and "Juno of the Veii," as well as his article "The Symbol of the Archiaic."

Box 2 of the collection contains letters and postcards from Davenport to Abbott (Tom) Gleason. There are 68 pieces of correspondence, with all but three from 1960-1962; others are from 1963, 1964, 1966, and one undated. Totals include 37 letters (20 ALS and 17 TLS); 30 postcards; one holiday card. The 37 letters amount to 71 pages, plus 31 postcards and a card, equals 102 "pages" of text, mostly concentrated in three years. Three letters are on airmail stationary; from the lot there are only two absent envelopes.

The correspondence discusses both parties' personal and intellectual lives. Davenport confesses his attraction for Gleason and his struggle with Gleason's lack of reciprocation. Davenport asserts, however, his ability to refrain from acting on his attraction. Many of the letters recount daily life, some in a very lyrical and detailed manner, while other letters raise general intellectual inquiry on subjects such as art, photography, quotations, etc. Discussion passes about the works and progress of Davenport's contemporaries, including prominent writers such as Ezra Pound and Samuel Beckett. Postcards and other letters document travel.

Author and professor of English from Anderson, S.C. Collection is chiefly significant for Holman's correspondence with writers, publishers and colleagues concerning the teaching and writing of American literature. Significant correspondents include Jay B. Hubbell, Rayburn Moore, Henry Field, Ann Page Johns, Armistead C. Gordon, Jr., Dr. Jeremiah N. Fusco, Corydon Bell, Guy Davenport, Edith Buchanan, Margaret Meaders, David Stocking, Marion Kingston Stocking, Newman I. White, E. M. Lander, Jr., Mattie U. Russell, and members of the Thomas Nelson Page and John Fox families. There are also letters from South Carolina authors, including Rosa Pendleton Chiles, Sidelle Ellis, Patricia Kneas Hill, Katharine M. Jones, Mary Boone Robertson Longley, and Alice L. O'Connell. Also includes works written or edited by Holman and others, a typed transcription of Cherokee stories as told by Mary Ulmer Chiltoskey, clippings, notecard files, printed material, and photographs of Thomas Nelson and Florence Lathrop Page, and Nannie Mae Tilley.

The papers of Harriet Rebecca Holman span the years 1869-1986, and are chiefly significant for Holman's correspondence with writers, publishers and colleagues concerning the teaching and writing of American literature. Significant correspondents include Jay B. Hubbell, Rayburn Moore, Henry Field, Ann Page Johns, Armistead C. Gordon, Jr., Dr. Jeremiah N. Fusco, Corydon Bell, Guy Davenport, Edith Buchanan, Margaret Meaders, David Stocking, Marion Kingston Stocking, Newman I. White, E. M. Lander, Jr., Mattie U. Russell and members of the Thomas Nelson Page and John Fox families. The Page family materials constitute a large portion of the materials in this collection and are represented by their own series. There are also letters from South Carolina authors, including Rosa Pendleton Chiles, Sidelle Ellis, Patricia Kneas Hill, Katharine M. Jones, Mary Boone Robertson Longley, and Alice L. O'Connell. Also includes works written or edited by Holman and others, a typed transcription of Cherokee stories as told by Mary Ulmer Chiltoskey, clippings, notecard files, printed material, and photographs of Thomas Nelson and Florence Lathrop Page, and Nannie Mae Tilley. Acquired as part of the Jay B. Hubbell Center for American Literary Historiography at Duke University.