Mary E. Mercer Collection of Carson McCullers-Mary Tucker Correspondence, 1959-1976

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Summary

Creator:
Mercer, Mary E., collector
Abstract:
Carson McCullers' psychotherapist, friend, and physician; resident of Nyack (Rockland Co.), N.Y. Chiefly letters to Dr. Mercer from Mary Tucker, Carson McCullers' piano teacher and long-time close friend, mostly about McCullers, with a few copies of letters from Mercer to Tucker. Topics include McCullers' mental and physical health; Mercer's care of the young woman; McCullers' work, long illness, death, and funeral; Tucker and Mercer's love and admiration for the author; and their opinions on various McCullers biographers. Later letters contain mostly information about Tucker's family. An unsigned letter from Carson McCullers, dated 5 May 1962, is also in the collection.
Extent:
0.4 Linear Feet
132 Items
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.00889

Background

Scope and content:

The Mary E. Mercer Collection of Carson McCullers-Mary Tucker Correspondence, 1959-1976, contain letters written primarily to Dr. Mercer by Mary Tucker, Carson McCullers's piano teacher and a long-time close friend. Most correspondence concerns the life and work of McCullers; however, there are also several letters written after the death of the author, regarding her biographers and the allocation of her papers to various libraries. Topics include the writer's mental and physical health, her work, and Tucker and Mercer's love and admiration for the author. There is also correspondence between Tucker and Mercer regarding various biographers of McCullers and the purchase of her papers by Duke University. The papers also include several copies of Mercer's own letters and a slide of Mary Tucker taken by Mary Mercer. Arranged in chronological order.

Biographical / historical:

Mary Mercer was born in Connecticut, graduated from Simmons College in Boston, and received her M.D. from the University of Colorado. Before opening a private practice in Nyack in 1958, she worked in New York Hospital and at the Payne Whitney Clinic. In 1958, she became Carson McCullers's therapist and eventually a close friend and correspondent.

Acquisition information:
The Mary E. Mercer Collection of Carson McCullers-Mary Tucker Correspondence was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2001.
Processing information:

Processed by Pavla Vesela and other staff, May 15, 2004

Encoded by Pavla Vesela, Brittany E. Wilson, Paula Jeannet, Michael Shumate, February 2006

Encoding updated by Meghan Lyon, February 2010

Accession 2001-0077 is described in this finding aid.

The Mary E. Mercer Collection of Carson McCullers-Mary Tucker Correspondence was formerly known as both the Mary E. Mercer Papers and the Carson McCullers-Mary Tucker Correspondence. It was initially described as part of the Collections on Carson McCullers.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.

Subjects:
Women authors -- 20th century
Authors, American -- Biography
Women authors -- Biography
Women authors, American -- Georgia
Format:
Clippings (information artifacts)
Names:
McCullers, Carson, 1917-1967
Mercer, Mary E., collector
Tucker, Mary Sames

Contents

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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], Mary E. Mercer Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University