Joseph Conrad papers, 1850-1972, 2023

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Summary

Creator:
Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924 and Conrad, Jessie
Abstract:
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born novelist and resident of Bishopsbourne, England. Collection comprises letters and scrapbooks about the life and works of novelist Joseph Conrad. Correspondence includes letters by Conrad to David S. Meldrum, an advisor to publisher Wm. Blackwood & Sons. Conrad conveys family news, including his son Borys's activities in France during World War I; he also comments on his various literary projects, including Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness, Youth: A Narrative and Other Tales, and The Rescue. Other correspondence includes letters of Jessie George Conrad, and letters from Conrad to Sir Sidney Colvin and his wife, Frances; Henry Arthur Jones and his daughter, Jennie Doris Arthur Jones Thorne; and T. Fisher Unwin, Conrad's publisher. Frequently mentioned are Henry James and John Galsworthy. There is also an album of 43 cabinet card photographs, 1850s-1890s, of Conrad's Polish relatives, many of whom were exiled by political and military conflicts. Six scrapbooks of reviews, tributes, and clippings, and a recipe book, all compiled by Conrad's wife, Jessie George Conrad, round out the collection.
Extent:
3 Linear Feet (5 boxes)
Language:
Material in English and Polish
Collection ID:
RL.00256

Background

Scope and content:

Collection contains letters, scrapbooks, and a photograph album documenting the life and works of Polish-born novelist Joseph Conrad. The two correspondence series consist of letters from Joseph and Jessie to others, including literary contacts and personal friends. The bulk of Joseph Conrad's letters are written to David S. Meldrum, an advisor to Wm. Blackwood & Sons. Conrad conveys family news, including the activities of his son Borys in France during World War I; he also comments on his various literary projects. Titles mentioned over the course of his correspondence with Meldrum include Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness, Youth: A Narrative and Other Tales, and The Rescue. Other correspondence includes letters from Conrad to Sir Sidney Colvin and his wife, Frances; Henry Arthur Jones and his daughter, Jennie Doris Arthur Jones Thorne; and T. Fisher Unwin, Conrad's publisher.

Most of Jessie George Conrad's letters date from after Joseph Conrad's death, and relate to the publication of her memoir of him and royalties from the publication of his papers.

The collection also includes a series of clippings contemporary to Conrad's life, criticism and reviews of his works, and articles about his legacy, assembled by Jessie Conrad. There is also an information folder about the provenance of the Conrad Papers collection at Duke, research articles and reference materials on the collection and on Conrad's family and life (1950s-2023), and assorted printed ephemera.

The photograph album in the collection contains 43 cartes-de-visite (albumen) photographic portraits, circa 1858-1890, of Conrad's Polish relatives, many of whom were exiled by political and military conflicts and who often reveal their political position (Polish nationalism and anti-Russian) via clothing and accessories; there is also an image of a Catholic church in Chernihiv (Ukraine), where Conrad's mother died, and one of an unidentified gravestone. Eighteen of the 43 photographs are of identified individuals or places. The album has been digitized, and the images are accessible directly through this collection guide.

In addition there are six scrapbooks compiled by Conrad's wife, Jessie George Conrad, containing clippings, reviews, and tributes. Portions of the scrapbooks relate to Jessie Conrad's cookbook, A Handbook of Cookery for a Small House, and her memoir of Joseph Conrad, Joseph Conrad as I Knew Him (1926). There is also a scrapbook about Joseph Conrad's tour of the United States in 1923.

Biographical / historical:

Novelist born in 1857 as JoĢzef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski in Berdychiv, Ukraine, formerly part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; exiled from his homeland along with his parents, who died when he was still young, he eventually settled in Bishopsbourne, Kent, England, where he died in 1924. Author of Heart of Darkness; Lord Jim; Nostromo; The Secret Agent; Youth: A Narrative and Two Other Stories; The Rescue, and many other novels and stories. He married Jessie George in 1896; the couple had two sons, Borys and John.

Acquisition information:
The Joseph Conrad Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift from 1949-1968. The bulk of this collection was acquired by Duke Professor William M. Blackburn, a Conrad scholar who purchased the letters from David S. Meldrum's daughter in 1958.
Processing information:

Processed by Ben Saalfeld and Meghan Lyon, March 2016.

Photograph album images research and description by Kimmi Kresica, Duke University Libraries, 2022-2023; image data edited and encoded by Paula Jeannet, July-September 2023.

Translations from Polish to English facilitated by Agnieszka Majewska, currently Lecturer in Polish at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2022.

Arrangement:

Arranged into four series: Letters from Joseph Conrad; Letters from Jessie Conrad; Clippings and Ephemera; Scrapbooks; and Photograph Album.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Joseph Conrad papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m18c9z