Carl V. Corley papers, 1930s-2002

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Summary

Creator:
Corley, Carl, 1921-2016 and Allen, Sabina Allred, 1922-2008
Abstract:
Carl V. Corley (1921-2016) was a white novelist and illustrator who served in the Marines during World War II. Collections contains the writings, drawings, scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, and published materials that document Corley's career and artistic output of Corley. The collection also includes typescripts and manuscripts of published and unpublished works of gay fiction, southern history, and heterosexual and homosexual erotica, some of which is in the form of comic books or graphic novels. The Sabina Allred Allen Collection of Carl Corley Papers includes correspondence and illustrations from Corley.
Extent:
21.75 Linear Feet (34 boxes)
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.00258

Background

Scope and content:

The Carl V. Corley papers contain the writings, drawings, scrapbooks, notebooks, and published materials that document the career and artistic output of the novelist and illustrator. The collection also includes typescripts and manuscripts of published and unpublished works of gay fiction, southern history, and heterosexual and homosexual erotica, some of which is in the form of comic books or graphic novels.

Corley's pulp novels were set primarily in early twentieth century Mississippi and Louisiana, though several were set in the South Pacific, where Corley served during World War II, and reflect varying degrees of autobiographical content. Corley's later works also show his interest in historical subject matter as well as utopian science fiction. Many of Corley's published and unpublished works include cover and textual illustrations produced by Corley.

The collection further includes photographs of the artist and friends, works by related authors and artists, correspondence with publishers, and some work-related notes and materials.

The Sabina Allred Allen Collection of Carl Corley papers consists of love letters written from Corley to Sabina during World War II, as well as artwork that Corley produced for Sabina during the war. Also extant is correspondence from Corley to Sabina dated 1999 through 2002, during which time Corley was working on an illustrated autobiography. Many of the letters from this later time period contain racist diatribes against Black Americans, as well as offensive language and stereotypes.

Biographical / historical:
Timeline
Date Event
1921
Born in Florence, Mississippi
1939-1945
Served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the South Pacific
1947-1961
Illustrator, Staff Artist, and Unit Chief in the Mississippi Highway Department
1961-1981
Illustrator, Staff Artist, and Unit Chief in the Louisiana Highway Department
2016
Passed away in Jackson, Louisiana

Carl V. Corley was a white author and illustrator of a variety of materials such as gay pulp fiction, comic books, physique art, utopian science fiction, Louisiana history (especially on Cajun folkways), and also books on religious themes.

Corley was born in Florence, Mississippi in 1921. He graduated from Florence High School and served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the South Pacific in World War II. After the war, Corley worked as an illustrator for the Highway Department in Mississippi (1947-1961) and Louisiana (1961-1981). In his official capacities, he designed and drew tourist guides, manuals, pamphlets, road maps, and traffic surveys. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he contributed an illustrated strip on Louisiana folklore to the Eunice News. Corley passed away on November 3, 2016, in Jackson, Louisiana.

In the 1950s, Corley made a name for himself as a "physique artist," as he contributed drawings of scantily clad men to fitness magazines--a genre that has been identified by cultural historians as early homoerotica. Between 1966 and 1971, he published twenty-two paper back novels of gay male pulp fiction.

Sabina Allred Allen was born on June 21, 1922, to Robert and Mamie Allred in Mississippi. She married Bobby Arnold in September 1946, shortly after she and Corley ended their relationship. Sabina and Bobby divorced in May 1949, and then she married Dempsey Allen in June 1949. Sabina Allred Allen passed away on December 7, 2008, in Pearl, Mississippi.

Acquisition information:
Purchase and gift from Carl V. Corley in 1998. Accession 2017-0144 is a gift from Carl V. Corley via John Howard in 2017. Accession 2022-0017 is a gift received in 2022.
Processing information:

Processed and encoded by Meghan Lyon, Feb. 2015. Updated by David Romine and Meghan Lyon, Oct. 2017. Updated by Leah Tams, Feb. 2022.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

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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], Carl V. Corley Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m17c88