Inventory of the Lewis Nathaniel Chase Papers, 1807-1941

Abstract

Lewis Chase taught in the English Department at Duke University beginning in 1929. It is unclear when/if he left the University. He died in 1937.

The collection largely includes material pertaining to Chase's research on writer Edgar Allan Poe. It ranges in date from 1807-1941.

Descriptive Summary

Repository: University Archives, Duke University
Creator: Chase, Lewis Nathaniel, 1873-1937
Title: Lewis Nathaniel Chase Papers, 1807-1941
Language of Material: English
Extent: 2.0 Linear Feet, 2000 Items
Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

The collection includes correspondence pertaining to Chase’s publications and research on Edgar Allan Poe’s works, Chase’s research notes, typescripts of Poe-related correspondence found in libraries, clippings, postcards and other memorabilia relating to Edgar Allan Poe. It also includes photographs, mostly commercial prints, of people and places related to Poe’s life, including London scenes, the Poe cottage and Seagate Castle. Correspondence files are extremely brittle. Among the correspondents are Edmund Gosse, John Erskine and J. E. Spingarn. There is also an unidentified handwritten travel diary dated September 1858, which was found in the Woman’s College Library, and believed to have been left by Chase. It details travels in New England and China. Paperclips damaging the files were replaced, as were disintegrating folders. The collection ranges in date from 1807-1941.

Administrative Information

A majority of collections are stored off site and must be requested at least 24 business hours in advance for retrieval. Contact Rubenstein Library staff before visiting. Read More »

Access Restrictions

Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Contents of the Collection

Browse List of Series

Collapse All expand

Expand All

Container List

Poeiana, 1807-1941

Box 1

Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1903-1907

Box 1

Unidentified Notebook, 1858 (thought to have belonged to Chase)

Box 1

Parodies on The Raven

Box 2

A New Poe Letter, 1934

Box 2

Poe and His Poetry - Reviews, Correspondence, 1914

Box 2

Poe and the London Critic

Box 2

Chase's Poe Lecture Notes, 1933

Box 2

Poe Death Notices

Box 2

Poe in England / Poe's Childhood Abroad and its Effects Upon His Works

Box 2

Poe in England - Letters, Etc.

Box 2

Poe in France

Box 2

John Bransky and His School

Box 2

Poe in France - Nancy Cope's Translation

Box 2

Poe in Putnam

Box 2

Poe Material at Clark Jr. Library - William Andrew

Box 2

Poe - New York Mirror - Typescript, 1845

Box 2

Poe's Father - Correspondence

Box 3

Poe's Lecture in Boston

Box 3

Chase - Poe's London - Manuscript, Clippings, Correspondence

Box 3

The Poe-Griswold Controversy

Box 3

Poe and His Poetry - Early Draft

Box 3

Poe and His Poetry - Carbon Copy

Box 3

Poe and His Poetry - Page Proof

Box 3

Giltspur - The Story of Church Street

Box 3

Census of First Editions and Other Original Materials

Box 3

Illustrations for Poe's Works

Box 4

Photographs Relating to Poe

Box 4

Postcards Relating to Poe

Box 4

Typescript of Eveleth-Whitman Correspondence, 1932

Box 4

Typescript of Davidson-Whitman Correspondence, 1932

Box 4

Historical Note

Lewis Nathaniel Chase was born in 1873 in Sidney, Maine and grew up in Rochester, New York. He earned his A.B. in 1895 from Columbia University. After graduation, he studied stage dancing at Daly's Theater and with several private instructors. He spent one year in Philadelphia selling office equipment before returning to Columbia University and earning his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in 1898 and 1903, respectively. He subsequently taught English at the University of Indiana, the University of Louisville, and the University of Bordeaux in France. In 1910, he made a research trip to London, where an old acquaintance suggested that Chase write a volume on Poe for the Harrap's Poetry and Life series; this inaugurated Chase's exhaustive research into Poe's life. In 1916, Chase returned to the U.S. and taught Literature at the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Rochester. He relocated to India in 1920, where he was appointed professor of English Literature at Aligarh Muslim University. Within a few years, he moved to China, where he taught at four different universities. Eventually, he returned to the U.S., teaching at the University of California, the California School of Technology, Riverside College and Union College before joining the faculty of the English Department at Duke University in 1929. Besides Edgar Allan Poe, Chase also specialized in the work of Georgia poet Thomas Holley Chivers, utilizing Duke's collection of Chivers manuscripts. Chase died in 1937.

Subject Headings

Related Material

News Service Biographical Files, 1960-2004 (Duke University Archives)
Clarence Louis Frank Gohdes Papers, 1811-1990s and undated (bulk 1905-1981) (Rare Books, Mansucripts and Special Collections Library, Duke University)
Eastwood-Bigelow Family Papers (University of Rochester, New York)