Collection ID: LMC 2016
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Thompson, James Maurice, 1844-1901
Abstract:
The Thompson, J.M. mss. II, 1874-1899, are letters and manuscripts of James Maurice Thompson, 1844-1901, author.
Extent:
1 Box (1 standard)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Thompson, J.M. mss. II, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

James Maurice Thompson, 1844-1901, who wrote under the name Maurice Thompson, was an American author and naturalist known for his regionalist works.

Thompson was born in Fairfield, Indiana, the son of a Baptist minister, and was raised in Georgia. He served in the Confederate army from 1862 to 1865. He moved back north to Indiana in 1868, where he worked in railroad engineering, then law. In 1884 he gave up practicing law in favor of writing full-time.

Thompson's prose and poems appeared in magazines such as Appleton's, The Atlantic, Harper's, Independent, Lippincott, and Scribner's. His first book was Hoosier Mosaics (1875), a collection of dialect sketches. His prolific literary output includes nature books, collections of poems, and several romantic historical novels, the most popular of which was Alice of Old Vincennes (1900), which depicted Indiana during the Revolutionary War.

Scope and Content:

The Thompson, J.M. mss. II, 1874-1899, are letters and manuscripts of James Maurice Thompson, 1844-1901, author.

The letters are written by Thompson to Henry Chandler Bowen, editor of The Independent; A.H. Dooley, editor and publisher; Edmund Clarence Stedman, poet; and Stone & Kimball publishers. They relate in the main to Thompson's writings; their publication, reviews of them and their sales. There are also some comments on other poets, particularly Edgar Fawcett and Walt Whitman.

Manuscripts other than letters in the collection are a poem "Before dawn," July 31, 1888 by Thompson, and a statement by him on how he "came to be a writer," November 14, 1893.

Three photographs of Thompson are also included.

Acquisition information:
Purchase. 1964.
Physical location:
Lilly - Stacks

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research.

Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Thompson, J.M. mss. II, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
1200 East Seventh Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
(812) 855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu