Personal papers of Melvin Landsberg
Overview
This collection contains manuscripts, correspondence, typescripts, proofs, interview notes and reference material, and other related research material from the career of Melvin Landsberg, professor of English at the University of Kansas. Most of the collection relates to Landberg's main research interest, John Dos Passos's works, and to the publishing of Landsberg's 1972 book Dos Passos’s Path to U.S.A.: A Political Biography, 1912-1936, as well as his memoir manuscript, "Skipping a Generation." A small box of Landberg family papers was added posthumously.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1917-2016 ( 1970-2016)
Creator
- Landsberg, Melvin (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
These materials are stored in the KU Annex off-site storage area.
All researchers interested in reviewing this material must consult Spencer Research Library Public Services staff (785-864-4334 or ksrlref@ku.edu, 9-5 M-F CST) no less than three days in advance of a planned visit. Be advised that drop-in requests for this material cannot be accommodated.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Biography of Melvin Landsberg (1926-2016)
Born April 28, 1926, in the Bronx, New York, Melvin David Landsberg received his B.S. from the City College of New York in 1947, majoring in history. He went on to receive his M.A. in 1958, also in history, and his Ph.D. in English literature in 1959, both from Columbia University.
Landsberg spent a year traveling in Europe and had a brief teaching stint at the University of Washington before joining the University of Kansas faculty in 1961. He reached full Professor status in 1981 and retired in 2009. He specialized in the study of the Chicago-born novelist John Dos Passos, but taught a variety of courses for the KU English Department.
Melvin Landsberg died March 5, 2016.
Extent
10.25 Linear Feet (11 boxes + 1 oversize box)
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
This collection of papers from Melvin Landsberg includes a variety of materials related to his research on John Dos Passos, American novelist and artist of the first half of the 20th century. This includes research notes, interview materials from Dos Passos' contemporaries, correspondence with Dos Passos' widow Elizabeth (Betty) Dos Passos and others who knew Dos Passos, as well as manuscript drafts and proofs of Landsberg's main book about the author, Dos Passos' Path to the U.S.A.. The collection also includes a small amount of personal material from Landsberg's immediate family.
Landberg's organization was idiosyncratic, and no attempt has been made when processing the collection to standardize that organization; similar material may appear in multiple places throughout the collection. Oversize material has been physically separated from the main collection.
Physical Location
PP 379
Physical Location
Annex (Contact Spencer Library Public Services)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gifts, Melvin Landsberg, 2005, 2015; Calvin Karlin, 2020.
Subject
- Dos Passos, John, 1896-1970 (Person)
- Landsberg, Melvin -- Family (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Melvin Landsberg Collection
- Subtitle
- Personal Papers of Melvin Landsberg
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by ad, 2005. Finding aid encoded by ad, 2005. Finding aid revised by lmb, 2016; mwh, 2021; eje, 2022.
- Date
- 2005
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English.
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/7303754307
- Preferred citation
-
Personal papers of Melvin Landsberg, PP 379, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository