WillardPrinceton Universityand EH's bequest;e8 Thorp had indeed told me of your decision to make the Princeton University Library the repository of the collection of T. S. Eliot letters which have been in your possession. While your letter which arrived this morning was no surprise, I am delighted that I now have an opportunity of expressing to you my pleasure in this decision. I know that this collection will be a valuable addition to our resources for scholarship in modern literature.
When the trunk arrives I shall store it carefully until your visit to Princeton later in the fall. At that time it is my understanding that you, Willard, and I will work out a more formal agreement as to the ultimate terms of access to the collection. Until then it will remain sealed and the note which I shall send to you after its safe arrival will serve as a record of the transaction.
I look forward with great pleasure to the opportunity of meeting you within a few months.
1.WilliamDix, William Shepherd Shepherd Dix (1910–78): Librarian, Princeton University, 1953–75. Having gained first degrees (BA and MA) at the University of Virginia, he earned a doctorate in American literature at the University of Chicago. After working first as a teacher and English instructor, he became Associate Professor of English and Librarian of Rice Institute, Houston, Texas (now Rice University), 1947–53. Resolutely opposed to censorship and intellectual constraint, he served as chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the American Library Association (ALA), 1951–3; chair of the International Relations Committee, 1955–60; and President of the ALA, 1969–70. In addition, he was Executive Secretary, 1957–9, and President, 1962–3, of the Association of Research Libraries. Recognised as one of the topmost figures in librarianship, he was honoured by the American Library Association with the Dewey Medal, 1969, and the Lippincott Award, 1971.
2.Initialled in autograph.
1.WilliamDix, William Shepherd Shepherd Dix (1910–78): Librarian, Princeton University, 1953–75. Having gained first degrees (BA and MA) at the University of Virginia, he earned a doctorate in American literature at the University of Chicago. After working first as a teacher and English instructor, he became Associate Professor of English and Librarian of Rice Institute, Houston, Texas (now Rice University), 1947–53. Resolutely opposed to censorship and intellectual constraint, he served as chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the American Library Association (ALA), 1951–3; chair of the International Relations Committee, 1955–60; and President of the ALA, 1969–70. In addition, he was Executive Secretary, 1957–9, and President, 1962–3, of the Association of Research Libraries. Recognised as one of the topmost figures in librarianship, he was honoured by the American Library Association with the Dewey Medal, 1969, and the Lippincott Award, 1971.