Summary

Creator:

Peacock, Edwin, 1910-1989

Abstract:

Co-owner (with John Zeigler) of the Book Basement in Charleston, S.C. Letters (some copies) to Edwin Peacock and John Zeigler, chiefly regarding their friend, author Carson McCullers. Many letters are from translators and biographers of McCullers (Virginia Carr, Jacques Tournier, and Robert Duparc). Includes letters from both Carson and Reeves McCullers to Peacock and Zeigler as well as copies of the McCullers letters to each other while Reeves served in the armed forces in France during World War II. Some letters were written by Carson McCullers to Peacock during her stays at Yaddo. Contains playbills of McCullers' plays, reviews of her books and plays, and other printed material concerning her as well as 56 photographs of the McCullers, their family, and their friends.

Extent:

0.8 Linear Feet
630 Items

Language:

Material in English

Collection ID:

RL.01005

Background

Scope and Content:

The Edwin Peacock Papers span the dates 1915 to 1997, with the majority of the items dating from the 1940s to 1997, and provide many insights into the life and work of Carson McCullers through materials in three series: Correspondence, Photographs, and Printed Materials. The Correspondence Series, largest in the collection, is comprised primarily of letters to Edwin Peacock and John Zeigler. Many are from translators and biographers of McCullers (Virginia Carr, Jacques Tournier, and Robert Duparc). There is also significant correspondence by the author's husband, Reeves McCullers, and copies of letters to each other while Reeves served in the armed forces in France during World War II.

The bulk of the Photographs Series consists of black and white snapshots primarily from the 1940s and 1950s. The majority of them represent Carson McCullers, her friends and family, including Edwin Peacock, John Zeigler, Mary Mercer, her sister, and her mother.

The Printed Materials and Clippings Series consists of documents related to the work of Carson McCullers. Formats include playbills, critical articles, reviews, and clippings. There is also a high-school essay on McCullers by the niece of John Zeigler, and materials related to various conferences and symposiums about the author.

Biographical / Historical:

Edwin Peacock was born in 1910 and died in 1989. A bookstore owner in Charleston, S.C., and a childhood friend of Carson McCullers. Introduced her to a number of other writers, including Reeves McCullers. Throughout his life, he provided the author with spiritual guidance and support for her writing.

Acquisition Information:

The Edwin Peacock Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 1989, 1991, and 1998.

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

Accessions 1989-0115, 1990-0005, 1993-0124, 1998-0200 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.

Encoding updated by Meghan Lyon, February 2010

The Edwin Peacock Papers were formerly part of the Collections on Carson McCullers.

Rules or Conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related

Related Material:

Related materials include the Carson McCullers Papers, the Virginia Spencer Carr Papers, the Mary E. Mercer Collection of Carson McCullers-Mary Tucker Correspondence, and the Mary Sames Tucker Papers, all housed at Duke University's David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Duke also houses the papers of John Zeigler, Peacock's friend and bookstore co-owner.

In addition, the Edwin Peacock Papers previously contained letters from Dawn Langley Simmons, who was a friend of Peacock and Zeigler, as well as photographs and printed materials relating to Simmons and McCullers. At the request of both donors, the Simmons material was transferred to the Dawn Pepita Langley Hall Simmons Papers held by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University. Please see the note below, at Box 2.

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 -- Relations with men
Authors, American -- Correspondence
Women authors, American -- Georgia

Formats:

Photographs
Clippings (information artifacts)

Names:

Tournier, Jacques
McCullers, Carson, 1917-1967
McCullers, Reeves, 1913-1953
Peacock, Edwin, 1910-1989
Carr, Virginia Spencer
Duparc, Robert Fouques
Zeigler, John

Places:

Yaddo (Artist's colony)