Special Collections Department Arlo Bates and George L. Vose Papers 1879 - 1916 Manuscript Collection Number: 373 Accessioned: Purchase, April 1986 Extent: .3 linear feet (153 items) Content: Letters, photographs, and an unidentified manuscript page Access: The collection is open for research. Processed: July 1998, by Meghan J. Fuller for reference assistance email Special Collections or contact: Special Collections, University of Delaware Library Newark, Delaware 19717-5267 (302) 831-2229 Table of Contents Biographical Note Scope and Contents Note Arrangement Note Contents List Biographical Note Arlo Bates A novelist, poet, and teacher, Arlo Bates was born in East Machias, Maine, on December 16, 1850 to Dr. Niran Bates and Susan Thaxter Bates. He studied at Bowdoin College where he earned a Bachelor's degree in 1876 and a Master's degree in 1879. He received an honorary Litt.D in 1894. Bates began writing while still a student at Bowdoin, and for a year after graduation, he painted china, tutored, and even worked as a clerk in a metal foundary. Eventually, he was offered the position of editor of the Boston Sunday Courier where he remained until 1893. In 1882, he married Harriet Lenora Vose who was herself a published writer under the pseudonym, Eleanor Putnum. They collaborated on a novel, Prince Vance, published in 1886. Later that year, Harriet passed away, and every volume Bates published thereafter is dedicated to her. The couple had one son, Oric. In 1893, Bates accepted a position as professor of English at Massachusettes Institute of Technology, where he stayed until his retirement in 1915. During this time, Bates lectured extensively and wrote several textbooks, including Talks on Writing English (1896); Talks on the Studies of Literature (1906); and Talks on Teaching Literature (1906). Bates is the author of fourteen novels, including Patty's Perversities (1881); A Lad's Love (1887); In the Bundle of Time (1893);The Diary of a Saint (1902); and The Intoxicated Ghost (1908). In addition, Bates published seven volumes of poetry, including The Berries of the Briar (1886); Under the Beech Tree (1899); and Sonnet in Shadow (1887), a dirge in memory of his wife. Bates passed away on August 24, 1918. George L. Vose A note in the collection indicates that George Leonard Vose was the father of Bates' wife, Harriet Lenora Vose. Bates and Harriet were married in 1882 and had one son, Oric. Harriet passed away in 1886. As indicated by the collection., Bates and his father-in-law remained close; in letters to his sister-in-law Persis N. Andrews, Vose frequently wrote about Bates and his success in the literary marketplace. In a 1901 letter to Andrews, Vose expressed his pride in his grandson Oric, then a freshman at Harvard University. Vose himself was an academic; he was a highly respected professor of civil engineering at Bowdoin College where he authored a handbook for engineers, A Manual for Railroad Engineers and Engineering Students. Sources: Kunitz, Stanley and Howard Haycraft, eds. American Authors, 1600-1900. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1938. Note: Biographical information for George L. Vose was obtained from the collection. Scope and Content Note The Arlo Bates and George L. Vose Papers comprise .3 linear feet (153 items) of letters, photographs, and an unidentified manuscript fragment. The collection spans the years 1879 to 1916 and includes correspondence from many well known novelists, poets, biographers, scholars, editors, publishers, composers, and statesmen. Among those writers whose letters are included in this collection are Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Alice Brown, George Washington Cable, Margaret Deland, Mary Mapes Dodge, Louise Imogen Guiney, William Vaughn Moody, and Kate Douglas Wiggin. Bates also corresponded with editors and publishers, including Mary Louise Booth, Louise Chandler Moulton, and H.E. Scudder. In addition, the collection contains letters written by C. F. Adams, railroad magnate and grandson of former President John Quincy Adams; Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S. Senator and orator; Charles W. Eliot, former President of Harvard University; and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a New England abolitionist who commanded the first African American regiment raised in the South (the First South Carolina Volunteers) during the Civil War. Taken together, Bates's letters offer an interesting critique of the literary marketplace of the time. For example, Alice Brown loved Margaret Deland's The Awakening of Helena Ritchie, whereas Bates did not like Robert Grant's novel, Face to Face. Grant enjoyed Bates' A Lad's Love, however, and called it "finished" and "graceful." The letters are peppered with praise and criticism for both established and up-and-coming writers. Many letters reflect the difficulties of women writers struggling to break into a male dominated market. Many such writers ask for advice or thank Bates for his kind words and encouragement. Wrote aspiring novelist Julia von Stosch Schayer, "Your [criticism] has always done me good because I know you are competent in every way, and while unsparing, you are animated by no mean motive towards me. You would rather see me succeed than fail, I know" (F4). Indeed, it seems that Bates was an avid supporter of all arts and artists, and they supported him in return. The collection includes several touching letters written by friends and fellow writers following the death of Bates' wife, Harriet. In sharp contrast to Bates' letters are those written by his father-in-law, George L. Vose, to Persis N. Andrews. Spanning the years 1900 through 1909, these letters were written after Vose's retirement from Bowdoin College where he was a professor of Civil Engineering. As indicated by the collection, Andrews was Vose's sister-in-law. During much of their nine-year correspondence, she lived in Paris while he remained at home on the coast of Maine. His letters to her are filled with local news of weddings and births and the sad passing of old friends. He vividly captures the landscape and eccentric characters of the small seaside community of Costine, Maine. Arrangement Note This collection is arranged in small groups by correspondence of Arlo Bates and George L. Vose; two folders of miscellaneous letters from Walter Shinlaw to Truman Howe Bartlett, and from Hermann Hagedorn to Bates' son, Oric; nine photographs; and an unidentified manuscript fragment. Contents List Folder -- Contents F1 Letters to Arlo Bates (Aldrich - Grant) All letters in this folder were written to Arlo Bates, unless otherwise noted. Aldrich, Thomas Bailey (1836-1907) to Booth, Edwin (1833-1893) A native of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Aldrich is perhaps best known for his novel, The Story of a Bad Boy, considered by many to be the first realistic portrayal of boyhood in American literature. He was a lifelong friend of Edwin Booth, who acheived celebrity status as the most accomplished Shakespearean actor of his day. Booth's accomplishments are often overshadowed, however, by the reputation of his brother, who assassinated President Lincoln in 1863. [n.d.] ALS 1p Arzall, H.C. 1887 Jun 25 ALS 1p Bartlett, Percy W. 1886 Jun 17 ALS 1p Note: This letter is written in French. Bok, William J. 1901 Jan 21 ALS 2p Note: Included on the reverse side of this letter is a typed letter from Bates to his father-in-law, George L.Vose. Booth, Mary L. (Mary Louise) 1831-1889 As editor of Harper's Bazzar, Booth tentatively accepted Bates' short story, The Man who Committed Bigamy, if it were "considerably abridged." 1883 May 10 ALS 2p Burr, Alice [n.y] Jul 29 ALS 3p Bynner, Edwin Lassetter, 1842-1893 A native of Brooklyn, New York, Lassetter is best known for his historical romances, including Agnes Surriage (1886); The Begum's Daughter (1890); and Zachary Phips (1892). [n.d.] ALS 1p F1 Letters to Arlo Bates (Aldrich - Grant) (cont'd) Cable, George Washington, (1844-1925) to Mrs. Sargent Born in New Orleans, Cable is best known for his vivid depiction of the French Creole culture of southern Louisiana. Among his many published works are The Creoles of Louisiana (1884), Strange True Stories of Louisiana (1889), The Flowers of the Chapdelaines (1918), and a short story collection, Old Creole Days (1879). 1883 Dec 3 ALS 1p Chadwick, G.W. (George Whitefield), 1854-1931 An organist, conductor, and educator, Chadwick taught at the New England Conservatory and was eventually named its director. Among his best known pieces are A Flower Cycle and Told in the Gate, both collaborations with lyricist Arlo Bates. 1891 Jul 30 ALS 4p Deland, Margaret Wade Campbell, 1857-1945 A novelist and short story writer, many of Deland's novels have strong, independent heroines and deal with the issue of women's suffrage. Some of her best known include John Ward, Preacher (1888); The Awakening of Helena Ritchie (1906); The Rising Tide (1916); and The Vehement Flame (1922). [n.d.] ALS 4p Dodge, Mary Mapes, 1830-1905 The most revered children's writer of her time, Dodge's Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates is still widely read. She was the founding editor of St. Nicholas, a children's magazine which published many of the leading writers of the day including Rudyard Kipling and Mark Twain. 1887 Jan 29 ALS 3p Dorr, Julia Caroline Ripley, 1825-1913 A poet and novelist, Dorr published her first three books under the pseudonym, Caroline Thomas. Among her principle works are Farmingdale (1854), Lanmere (1856), and Sybil Huntington (1869). 1894 Feb 4 ALS 3p 1894 Jul 1 ALS 5p [n.d.] ALS 3p F1 Letters to Arlo Bates (Aldrich - Grant) (cont'd) Eichberg, Julius, 1824-1893 Director of the Boston Conservatory of Music 1891 Apr 10 ANS 1p [n.y.] Apr 13 ALS 3p Eliot, Charles William, 1834-1926 A teacher, educator, and chemist, Eliot served as president of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909.