Correspondence, 1973 - 1995
Scope and Contents
Mostly incoming correspondence, both typed and handwritten, sent to Tom Bezzi from family, friends, and lovers. Includes letters, greeting cards, and postcards; individuals also may have sent recipes, photographs, newspaper clippings, poetry, and other items with the correspondence.
Topics include news and updates about the individual's life and about mutual acquaintances; philosophical musings and emotional states; classes friends were attending... (particularly in the correspondence from the 1970s) or teaching themselves; literary references; career- and work-related matters; and other topics of mutual interest. Bezzi's mother Betty frequently directed her letters to both Tom and his younger sister Kathy; she also frequently included copies of letters she sent to others or that were sent to her that she wished to share with her son.
Dating for letters is frequently based on the postmarked envelope. Last names for correspondents also frequently came from envelopes; several postcards and letters without envelopes are only signed by an individual's first name. Loose news clippings, photographs, cartoons, and other items were also found with the correspondence but without an apparent sender, and these items have been placed at the end of the Correspondence series.
Dates
- Creation: 1973 - 1995
Language of Materials
Some friends wrote portions or entire letters in German to Bezzi; some also wrote small portions of letters in Japanese. The bulk of the correspondence is in English.
Extent
2 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Processing Information
Correspondence arrived at Spencer grouped in Tyvek envelopes, some of which was apparently grouped by year (but this grouping was not exact). Spencer staff kept the chronological grouping of letters from the envelopes but placed letters in alphabetical order in order to make the correspondence easier to access. This may mean that voluminous correspondents, such as Betty Bezzi Howell or Jane Sheffield, have multiple folders of letters with overlapping dates.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository