Collection inventory

Special Collections home page

Cyril Clemens Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: KL
Date: Feb 2002

Biographical History

Cyril Coniston Clemens was born in in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 14, 1902. After attending Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut, he continued his education at St. Louis University High School, attended Georgetown University, and received his B.A.. and M.A. degrees from Washington University (St. Louis). He married Nan B. Shallcross on October 8, 1933. He was a distant cousin of Samuel Langhorn Clemens and spent his life researching, writing about, and otherwise promoting his famous cousin. A family inheritance enabled him to devote time to these pursuits, including offering a life membership in the International Mark Twain Society, which he founded in 1930, to hundreds of important individuals. He also founded and edited the Mark Twain Quarterly, 1936-1982. His writing include biographies of Twain and Truman and short sketches of famous authors and politicians, including George Bernard Shaw, A.E. Housman, Mussolini, Sir Robert Walpole, and John Galsworthy. He died May 16, 1999.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Cyril Clemens Papers contain correspondence, writings, and memorabila.

Correspondence includes incoming and outgoing; correspondents include authors (Willa Cather, Will Cuppy, George Bernard Shaw), governors (J.P. Coleman of Mississippi, Orval E. Faubus of Arkansas, Luther H. Hodges of North Carolina, William G. Stratton of Illinois), congressmen (Harry Byrd, Thomas J. Dodd, Jacob Javits, John F. Kennedy, Herman Talmadge), and foreign dignitaries (David Ben Gurion, Francisco Franco, Feldmarschall Erich von Manstein, Austrian Chancellor Julius Raab, Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia Sir Edgar Whitehead). An alphabetical list of correspondents (incoming only) may be found at the end of this finding aid.

Writings includes typescript manuscripts of articles, books, and essays, many on Mark Twain, as well as diaries and commonplace books covering more than ten years, printed material, and production records for three Twain projects.

Memorabilia contains miscellaneous materials about, Printed material, Scrapbook of newspaper reviews, and Miscellany (Box 4, 4 Folders)

Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is divided into incoming and outgoing; incoming correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent (Box 1, Folders 1-4) while outgoing correspondence is arranged alphabetically by recipient (Box 1, Folder 5). Writings: Manuscripts are arranged alphabetically by title Writings: Diaries/Commonplace Books are arranged chronologically. Writings: Printed Materials and Writings: Production Records are arranged alphabetically by title.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Subject Headings

Persons

Cather, Willa, 1873-1947.
Clemens, Cyril, 1902-1999.
Housman, Laurence, 1865-1959.

Subjects

Authors, American -- 19th century.
Authors, American -- 20th century.
Authors, British -- 20th century.
Twain, Mark, 1835-1910 -- Family.
Biographers -- United States.
Biography -- 20th century.

Genres and Forms

Articles.
Correspondence.
Diaries.
Essays.
Galley proofs.
Manuscripts (document genre)
Scrapbooks.

Occupations

Authors.
Biographers.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Cyril Clemens Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Writings

Memorabilia

Inventory