Collection on James Whitcomb Riley
Collection — Box: 1
Identifier: MSP 52
Scope and Contents
The Collection on James Whitcomb Riley consists of a group of four letters written by James Whitcomb Riley: one autographed, signed letter to fellow poet Henry Abbey; and a group of three autographed, signed letters, all to Mrs. Anna Smith Brown of Indianapolis, all in regards to "an old lisping jingle." There are six letters written by Marguerite Young to Miss Lesley Payne (Riley's niece) in Indianapolis. These long letters are about her writings, a novel, and a biography of James Whitcomb Riley, which was to be published by William Sloane as a volume of the American Men of Letters Series. There is a four page letter written by Lora L. Luce to Mary R. Payne (Riley's sister) asking about "The Passing of the Backhouse," with a group of five booklets related to this poem.
Dates
- 1891 - 1951
Creator
- Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849-1916 (Person)
Language of Materials
Collection material is in English.
Access Information
The collection is open for research.
Biographical Information
James Whitcomb Riley was born in a log cabin on October 7, 1849 in the little Greenfield, Indiana. Riley's best poems recollect his childhood and youth in Greenfield.
Riley attempted to study law and become a lawyer as his father wished but he could not apply himself to law books. He wandered the American Middle West as a sign painter. He could not settle down. Sometimes he traveled with a "Miracle Medicine Show." Drama was another of his interests. He often played roles of those he had seen in his travels and mimicked their speech.
Entertainment proved to be his forte. Riley's first published poems were written for newspapers. Although Riley's pieces were picked up from one newspaper to the next and were much copied around the country, Riley felt his reputation as a poet had no chance because he came from the American "frontier" Midwest and not the East. To prove his point Riley wrote a hoax poem called "Leonanie" said to have been written by Edgar Allan Poe. The poem was immediately reproduced in newspapers with great fanfare. His point was made when James Whitcomb Riley was exposed as the author. Then Riley became very adept at presenting his poems on stage. In fact Riley's great popularity first arose from his performances on the Lyceum Circuit. He traveled around the country in every large city, reciting his increasingly popular poems reflecting his Hoosier youth.
Later in life Riley's poems were reproduced in illustrated books which attracted national and international readership. The royalties from these books enriched Riley to the point where he became the wealthiest writer of his time. Riley became not only: The "Hoosier Poet" but also America's "Children's Poet." In his fifties Riley suffered a stroke that paralyzed his left side and he kept mostly to his Indianapolis "Lockerbie Street" home. His life drew to a close a week after his last visit to his hometown of Greenfield. He had returned there for the funeral of a boyhood friend, Almond Keefer. His own death of a stroke fell on July 22, 1916.
President Woodrow Wilson sent a note of sorrow to Riley's family upon his death which expressed the feeling of the whole country: "With his departure a notable figure passes out of the nation's life; a man who imparted joyful pleasure and a thoughtful view of many things that other men would have missed."
Riley attempted to study law and become a lawyer as his father wished but he could not apply himself to law books. He wandered the American Middle West as a sign painter. He could not settle down. Sometimes he traveled with a "Miracle Medicine Show." Drama was another of his interests. He often played roles of those he had seen in his travels and mimicked their speech.
Entertainment proved to be his forte. Riley's first published poems were written for newspapers. Although Riley's pieces were picked up from one newspaper to the next and were much copied around the country, Riley felt his reputation as a poet had no chance because he came from the American "frontier" Midwest and not the East. To prove his point Riley wrote a hoax poem called "Leonanie" said to have been written by Edgar Allan Poe. The poem was immediately reproduced in newspapers with great fanfare. His point was made when James Whitcomb Riley was exposed as the author. Then Riley became very adept at presenting his poems on stage. In fact Riley's great popularity first arose from his performances on the Lyceum Circuit. He traveled around the country in every large city, reciting his increasingly popular poems reflecting his Hoosier youth.
Later in life Riley's poems were reproduced in illustrated books which attracted national and international readership. The royalties from these books enriched Riley to the point where he became the wealthiest writer of his time. Riley became not only: The "Hoosier Poet" but also America's "Children's Poet." In his fifties Riley suffered a stroke that paralyzed his left side and he kept mostly to his Indianapolis "Lockerbie Street" home. His life drew to a close a week after his last visit to his hometown of Greenfield. He had returned there for the funeral of a boyhood friend, Almond Keefer. His own death of a stroke fell on July 22, 1916.
President Woodrow Wilson sent a note of sorrow to Riley's family upon his death which expressed the feeling of the whole country: "With his departure a notable figure passes out of the nation's life; a man who imparted joyful pleasure and a thoughtful view of many things that other men would have missed."
Extent
0.182 Cubic Feet (One letter-size half-width manuscript box)
Arrangement
The collection is organized by letters’ author and grouped as received. There are three series in all.
- Letters written by James Whitcomb Riley
- Letters written by Marguerite Young to Miss Lesley Payne (Riley's Niece)
- Letter written by Nora L. Luce to Mary R. Payne (Riley's Sister), Clippings, and Miscellaneos Items
Acquisition Information
Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum, Rare Manuscripts and Archives, December 18, 2006.
Processing Information
All materials have been housed in polyester sleeves, acid-free folders, and acid-free boxes.
Creator
- Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849-1916 (Person)
- Title
- Collection on James Whitcomb Riley
- Status
- Under Review
- Author
- Mary A. Sego
- Date
- 2020-03-16
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
- Edition statement
- Second edition. Collection description first completed 2012-12-10.
Repository Details
Part of the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections Repository
Contact:
504 Mitch Daniels Boulevard
West Lafayette Indiana 47907 United States
765-494-2839
archives@purdue.edu
504 Mitch Daniels Boulevard
West Lafayette Indiana 47907 United States
765-494-2839
archives@purdue.edu