William S. Dix to Emily Hale
PleasePrinceton Universityand EH's bequest;e8 accept my very warm thanks on behalf of the Library for the magnificent T. S. Eliot correspondence which you are presenting to Princeton. As I gain a progressively clearer idea of its bulk and richness I grow more and more happy at the prospect of having it in our possession.
I enclose for your approval a memorandum which will serve I think as a record of your intentions and our obligations until a final deed of gift can be executed. My attempt to use semi-legal language has produced some rather ludicrous grammar, but I believe the meaning is clear. If you approve, will you please sign one copy for our files and retain one for yours. If you prefer any revision, I shall be glad to make it.1
WeHale, Emilycorrespondence with TSE;w3EH promises Princeton her statement on;j3 shall look forward to receiving the statement on the background of this correspondence which you have so kindly agreed to compose for us. I know that this will be extremely useful to anyone who consults the papers after they are finally opened to scholarship. I do hope that you will be able to obtain from Mr Eliot the other half of the correspondence.
It was pleasant to see you several times in Princeton during the week end, and I hope that with the collection as a loadstone [sic] in the Firestone Library you will be attracted back frequently.
MemorandumHale, Emilycorrespondence with TSE;w3promises letters with ten-year seal;j42 MuddPrinceton Universityand EH's bequest;e8 Library, Princeton
To: William S. Dix, Librarian, Princeton University
From: Miss Emily Hale
Subject: File of T. S. Eliot Correspondence.
At your suggestion I am sending this memorandum as a temporary record of our understanding concerning the file of letters from Mr T. S. Eliot to me which I have placed on deposit in the Princeton University Library. It is my intention to present all of these letters to Princeton, and in the event of my death before a formal deed of gift is signed I desire title to pass immediately to Princeton. It is my understanding that you will secure, as soon as it can be conveniently arranged, an independent appraisal of the value of the collection. After I have received this appraisal and consulted my tax advisers, I shall inform you as to what portion of the total collection I wish to present formally during this calendar year, and I expect to present the balance of the collection in succeeding years according to instructions which I shall send you.
These letters, whether on deposit or gift status, are to be withheld from access by anyone except Mr Eliot, myself, or members of the Library staff for curatorial purposes only during the period lasting until ten years after the death of Mr Eliot or myself, whichever shall be later. These conditions are to govern access to the papers until I sign a formal deed of gift. It is my intention to discuss the terms of access with Mr Eliot within the next year, and it is possible that the terms may be changed.
Approved for the Library:
William S. Dix, Librarian
November 21, 1956
1.‘By 17 November 1956, Hale […] signed a deed of gift, stipulating that the letters be kept “completely closed to all readers until the lapse of fifty years after the death of Mr Eliot or myself, whichever shall occur later. At that time the files may be made available for study by properly qualified scholars in accordance with the regulations of the Library for the use of manuscript materials …”’ (Don Skemer, ‘Sealed Treasure’).
2.A copy of this memorandum, drafted by the University Librarian, was duly signed and returned by EH.
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.