Menu

Inventory of the Robert Preston Harriss Papers, 1913-1989

Abstract

Journalist, arts critic and author of Baltimore, Maryland.

Collection spans the years 1913-1989 and includes correspondence; autobiographical information on Harriss; clippings (including Harriss' writings); printed material (menus, programs, press releases, travel brochures, itineraries, and maps); biographical sketches of associates and artists; photographs and slides; ledgers containing articles and reviews on music, ballet, opera and the stage; tear sheets; and audiovisual material. Individuals sending letters or referred to in the materials include Gerald W. Johnson, Sara Mayfield, Lizette Woods Reese, August Mencken, H. L. Mencken, Robert Minford, Eugene Ormandy, Art Buchwald, and Harriss's sister, Ruth Tyson, among others.

Descriptive Summary

Repository
David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
Creator
Harriss, Robert Preston.
Title
Robert Preston Harriss Papers, 1913-1989
Language of Material
English
Extent
10.4 Linear Feet, Approximately 7800 Items
Location
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Series Quick Links

Collection Overview

The Robert Preston Harriss Papers span the years 1913-1989 and consist of the following materials: professional and personal correspondence; an autobiography of Robert ("Robin") Preston Harriss and a description of his early life in Fayetteville and the Cape Fear Valley, N.C.; clippings (including his articles for the Baltimore Magazine and the Baltimore Sun); printed material (menus, programs, press releases, travel brochures, itineraries, and maps); biographical sketches of associates and artists; photographs and slides; ledgers containing articles and reviews on music, ballet, opera and the stage; tear sheets; audiovisual material, chiefly interviews of Harriss; and transcriptions of an interview of Harriss by Lawrence Angle. Includes material relating to Harriss' career as editor of the periodical Gardens, Houses, and People (1947-1957). A run of issues of Gardens, Houses, and People from the same years was transferred to Perkins Library's Periodicals Department at processing. Writings in the collection by Harriss also come from the Baltimore American, the Frederick News-Post, and the Baltimore News-American. Individuals with significant letters, significant amounts of correspondence, or referred to in other materials include Gerald W. Johnson, Sara Mayfield, August Mencken, H. L. Mencken (two boxes of material), Robert Minford, Eugene Ormandy, Lizette Woodworth Reese, and Harriss' sister, Ruth Tyson. Correspondence from his sister gives details on life in Fayetteville, N.C., including a description of the time period during World War I and the effects of the Spanish influenza epidemic. There are lesser amounts of materials on other individuals as well in the author subject files. One of Harriss' manuscript drafts is currently closed to access. Original recordings are closed to use; viewing or listening copies must be made before contents can be accessed.

Administrative Information

Collections are on the move for the renovation of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Contact Rubenstein Library staff before visiting. Read More »

warning Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research with the exception of a manuscript in Box 44, which is closed to use.

Collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.

Original audiovisual materials are closed to patron use. Use copies must be made before contents can be accessed.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

warning Use Restrictions

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Contents of the Collection

expand Browse List of Series  collapse Collapse All  expand Expand All
Correspondence, 1925-1959
Box 1
Correspondence, 1960-1969
Box 2
Correspondence, 1970-1973
Box 3
Correspondence, 1974
Box 4
Correspondence, 1975
Box 5
Correspondence, 1976
Box 6
Correspondence, 1977-1978
Box 7
Correspondence, 1979-1980
Box 8
Correspondence, 1981-1982
Box 9
Family correspondence, 1925-1981
Box 10
Ruth Harriss Tyson correspondence, 1941-1981
Box 11
Drawings
Box 12
Editorial art
Box 12
A-O
Box 13
Miscellaneous, 1935-1980s
Box 14
Notebook of clippings, 1987-1988

[Processing Note; interfiled from Accession 9-15-89.]

Box 14
Memorabilia files
Box 15

Subject files on individuals contain mixed material, including correspondence.

Brazil
Box 15
Brochures and leaflets
Box 16
Christmas cards
Box 16
Invitations
Box 16
Meet the Authors, mottoes, posters
Box 17
Leonard Bahr
Box 18
Leon Bonvin
Box 18
Brian Fried
Box 18
Grace Hartigan
Box 18
Winni Hender
Box 18
Gerald W. Johnson
Box 18
A. and T. Klots
Box 19
Raymond Lark
Box 19
Jacques Maroger
Box 19
Sara Mayfield
Box 19
Eugene Ormandy
Box 19
Ezra Pound
Box 19
Curt Richter
Box 19
Paul Robeson
Box 19
Joseph St. Lawrence
Box 19
Joseph Sheppard
(2 folders)
Box 20
Aaron Sopher
Box 20
Betty Wells
Box 20
R. A. Yeardley
Box 20
Memorabilia
Box 22
Mencken, Henry Louis
Boxes 37-38
Mencken, August
Box 38
Reese, Lizette Woodworth
Box 39
Includes slides and photographs relating to Harriss' professional life and contacts.
Box 21
Writings
Box 23
Writings, manuscripts, Not All Magnolia: A Tarheel Boyhood
Box 24
Writings, manuscripts, Out of This Clay
Box 25
Writings, various authors, Exiles from Paradise
Box 26
Biography
Box 12
Two Harriss handwritten manuscripts: The Strange Case of Donald Watts, a short character sketch (restriction lifted in 1991); and another character sketch (closed to use)
Box 44
Miscellany
Box 27
Baltimore Museum of Art
Box 27
Art
Box 28
Walters Art Gallery
Box 28
Dance
Boxes 29-30
Drama
Box 31
Miscellaneous
Box 32
Music
Box 33
Volumes
Box 34
Clippings related to music (including ballet and opera) and drama, 1959-1967
Box 35
Clippings related to music (including ballet and opera) and drama, 1968-1974
Box 36

[Original audiovisual materials are closed to patron use. Listening or viewing copies must be made before contents can be accessed for research.]

Recordings (audio reels)
Box 40
Other audiovisual material
Box 41-43

Consists mainly of tearsheets of Preston Harriss arts columns from various newspapers, chiefly the Baltimore News American and the Frederick News-Post.

[Processing Note: Oversize Box 6 is housed separately from the main body of Harriss oversize materials described in Boxes 45-56.]

Various newspapers, 1939-1956
(3 folders)
Box 45
Baltimore News American, 1948-1959
(2 folders)
Box 45
Frederick News-Post, 1957-1963
(5 folders)
Box 45
Various newspapers, 1961-1964
(6 folders)
Box 46
Baltimore News American, 1963-1967
(3 folders)
Box 46
Various newspapers, 1964-1976
(1 folder)
Box 46
Baltimore News American, 1965-1989
(6 folders)
Box 47
Baltimore News American, 1967-1970
(11 folders)
Box 48
Baltimore News American, 1969-1971
(12 folders)
Box 49
Baltimore News American, 1971-1973
(13 folders)
Box 50
Baltimore News American, 1974-1975
(13 folders)
Box 51
Baltimore News American, 1974-1976
(9 folders)
Box 52
Baltimore News American, 1976-1978
(11 folders)
Box 53
Baltimore News American, 1977-1979
(4 folders)
Box 54
Various newspapers, 1978-1979
(7 folders)
Box 54
Baltimore News American, 1979-1981
(6 folders)
Box 55
Various newspapers, 1981-1982
(4 folders)
Box 55
Baltimore News American, 1982-1985
(4 folders)
Box 56
Various newspapers, 1986-1988
(2 folders)

[Processing Note; interfiled from Accession 9-15-89.]

Box 56
Miscellaneous art and invitations
Oversize Box 6
Musical scores
Oversize Box 6
Video interview of Harriss and transcript
Box 1

Subject Headings

Related Material

  • Oral History Collection: OH.8221 ROBERT PRESTON ("ROBIN")HARRISS (fl.1926-78) Baltimore Symphony Series, 1977. Interviewer: Alfred Kohnsky 1977; 1 p. 50 minutes. (Maryland Historical Society.)

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Robert Preston Harriss Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Provenance

The Robert Preston Harriss Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift from 1973 to 1990.

Processing Information

Processed by Rubenstein Library staff; oversize material processed by Rebecca Evans, June 2012

Encoded by Ted Holt and Paula Jeannet Mangiafico, Nov. 2009; Rebecca Evans and Michael Shumate, June 2012

Accessions from 1973, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, and accessions 89-087 and 90-042 are described in this finding aid.

Parts of this collection are minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.

Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and local Style Guide.

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.