Collection ID: LMC 2876
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Barnhart, Clarence L. (Clarence Lewis), 1990-1993
Abstract:
The Barnhart Dictionary mss., 1929-2005, consists of the correspondence, business records, project files, reference books, notes, and proofs of lexicographer Clarence L. Barnhart, 1900-1993, and the dictionaries he edited.
Extent:
450 Cubic Feet
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Barnhart Dictionary mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Clarence Lewis Barnhart, 1900-1993, was born in a small Missouri town on December 30, 1900, to a poor, working-class family. His father worked in local politics and as a railroad line foreman, which required the family to move frequently. One of the family's stops was in Kansas, where Barnhart befriended future linguist Reason A. Goodwin, 1903–1985, who would later collaborate with Barnhart on the World Book Dictionary (1963). Barnhart attended Transylvania College before transferring to the linguistics department at the University of Chicago. During his time at the University of Chicago, Barnhart was influenced by professors William A. Craigie, 1867-1957, who was working on the Oxford English Dictionary, and Leonard Bloomfield, 1887-1949, who was the primary founder of the Linguistic Society of America. During college, Barnhart began working for the publisher Scott, Foresman and eventually collaborated with E. L. Thorndike, 1874-1949, on a series of dictionaries for children. In 1944, Barnhart moved to New York City to create the Dictionary of United States Army Terms. He and his family went on to create a number of innovative and influential dictionaries, including Let's Read: A Linguistic Approach (1961), The Dictionary of New English (1973), The Barnhart Dictionary of Science (1986), Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology (1988), and Barnhart Abbreviations Dictionary (1995). Barnhart died in Peekskill, New York, on October 24, 1993.

Scope and Content:

The archive includes approximately 35 cartons of books from the Barnhart reference library, including some "corpus" books (i.e., books read by Barnhart staffers searching for citations), and file copies of many but not all of the various Barnhart publications. Most of the books contain Barnhart ownership markings and/or shelf marks (usually, but not always, internal). Many of the books are marked up in one way or another, some rather aggressively; others have manuscript or typed notes laid in. Of particular interest are disbound sets of the OED and the Oxford Concise (the former is marked up on virtually every page), as well as the Barnhart's own Dictionary of Etymology, and the Merriam-Webster 3rd International, each with manuscript revisions.

Approximately 60 file drawers of business records, project files, manuscripts, typescripts, correspondence (incoming and often with retained copies of outgoing correspondence), proposals for future projects, production files, etc. Among those names figuring prominently in the correspondence are Jess Stein, Leonard Bloomfield, Rudolf Filopovic, Robert C. Aukerman, Harold Grove, Robert Hall, Leon Metcalf, Hans Galinsky, Angus McIntosh, Mitford Mathews, Frances Neel Cheney, Robert Ramsay, Woodford A. Heflin, Guy Jean Forgue, Reason A. ("Al") Goodwin, Yutaka Matsuda, Louise Pound, Alan Walker Read, Sol Steinmetz, Caroline Agnus Brady, Albert C. Baugh, Hans Kurath, Miles L. Hanley, S. I. Hayakawa, Kemp Malone, Ralph Linton, C. T. Onions, Yakov Malkiel, Henry Warfel, R. W. Burchfield, Frederick Cassidy, Randolph Quirk, William Safire, Lawrence Urdang, and Carleton Wells, among many others.

See Vertical File for an incomplete list of topics and subjects covered.

Acquisition information:
Gift: 2006
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged following original order.

Physical location:
ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility) - Unprocessed

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is currently unprocessed.

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], Barnhart Dictionary mss., 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