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Robert Frost Book collection

 Collection 0005-LIT-RARE

The Robert Frost Book Collection is a comprehensive collection of books by and about Robert Frost containing many works annotated by Frost. Included in the collection are boxed sets of custom Christmas cards and pamphlets designed and annotated by Frost.

Dates

  • 1913-1971
  • Majority of material found within 1929-1962

Use and Access to Collection

This collection is open for research.

Duplication and Copyright Information

Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.

Extent

90 Items

Scope and Content of Collection

The Robert Frost Collection is a comprehensive collection of books by and about Robert Frost containing many works annotated by Frost. The collection contains over 200 items. Included in the collection are boxed sets of custom Christmas cards and pamphlets designed and annotated by Frost. The collection was purchased in 1968 from William Britton Stitt, who was a personal friend and college fraternity brother of Frost.

Administrative History

Robert Frost (1874-1963) was one of America's leading 20th century poets, and a four-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Frost attended Harvard College from 1897 to 1899. In the ten years following his departure from Harvard, he wrote poems, operated a farm in Derry, New Hampshire, and taught at Pinkerton Academy. In 1912, he sold his farm and took his family to England, to devote himself to writing. A Boy's Will was published in 1913, followed by North of Boston in 1914. The Frosts moved back to the United States in February 1915, following the U.S. publication of North of Boston. His third book, Mountain Interval, was published in 1916. In 1924, Robert Frost received the Pulitzer Prize in poetry for New Hampshire. He was honored with the award three more times, for Collected Poems (1931), A Further Range (1937), and A Witness Tree (1943). Some of his most well known poems include: "The Death of the Hired Man" (from North of Boston), "The Road Not Taken" and "Birches" (from Mountain Interval), and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" (from New Hampshire).

Frost held a number of academic positions throughout his life as well. He was a Professor of English at Amherst College in 1917-1920, 1923-1925, and 1926-1938, as well as Simpson Lecturer in Literature in 1949-1963. Frost was also a fellow at Michigan, Yale, Harvard, and Dartmouth.

Arrangement

Organized as two series:

Series 1
Books by Robert Frost
Series 2
Chapbooks and Ephemera

Custodial History and Acquisition Information

The collection was purchased by the University of Maryland Libraries in 1968 from William Britton Stitt, who was a personal friend and college fraternity brother of Frost.

Related Material

The University of Maryland Libraries is home to a small collection of Robert Frost's correspondence, selected manuscripts, art work, photographs, sheet music, serials, and audio recordings. In addition, the First Appearances collection contains many of Frost's short stories and ephemera.

Title
Guide to the Robert Frost Book collection
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Melissa Lohrey.
Date
2011-08-15
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Library Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives

Contact:
University of Maryland Libraries
Hornbake Library
4130 Campus Drive
College Park Maryland 20742
301-405-9212