Albert Gross papers
Collection
0008-LIT
Albert H. (Pete) Gross (1895-1948) worked in publishing for more than two decades. His collection consists primarily of correspondence and manuscripts he accumulated during his tenure at Boni and Liveright, Inc.; Horace Liveright, Inc.; A. and S. Lyons, Inc.; and Coward-McCann, Inc. Manuscripts and correspondence relating to Thomas Mann's "Letter to the Civilized World: A Manifest" are particularly notable, as are other manuscripts and galley proofs, such as those for Ernest Hemingway's In Our Time. The collection also contains correspondence from such literary figures as Sholem Asch, Sherwood Anderson, Gertrude Atherton, Theodore Dreiser, Robinson Jeffers, and Eugene O'Neill.
This collection is open for research.
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.
.75 Linear Feet (One Hollinger Box, One Half-Hollinger Box, and 7 Items Stored in a Map Case)
7 Items
The Albert H. Gross Collection, which spans the years 1924 to 1946, consists primarily of correspondence and manuscripts Gross accumulated during his tenure at Boni & Liveright, Inc.; Horace Liveright, Inc.; A. and S. Lyons, Inc.; and Coward-McCann, Inc. Manuscripts and correspondence relating to Thomas Mann's "Letter to the Civilized World: A Manifesto" are particularly notable. The collection contains correspondence from such literary figures as Sholem Asch, Sherwood Anderson, Gertrude Atherton, Theodore Dreiser, Robinson Jeffers, and Eugene O'Neill. Also included in the collection are a manuscript and galley proofs for Ernest Hemingway's In Our Time; galley proofs of Eugene O'Neill's Dynamo; and manuscripts and other materials by and about Theodore Dreiser, including a manuscript of The Bulwark and galley proofs of "The Stoic," the third section of his novel An American Tragedy. In addition the collection contains writings of Hart Crane and Ernest Toller and advertisements for works by Theodore Dreiser and e. e. cummings.
The personal life of Albert H. (Pete) Gross (1895-1948), who worked in publishing and translated Sholem Asch's East River from Yiddish, is largely undocumented. Gross was born in Leeds, England, and moved to the United States sometime before 1924. He died of a heart attack on August 16, 1948. At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife, Henrietta (Slater) Gross and their two children, Nancy and Herman.
In 1924, Gross, Alexander Trachtenberg, and A. A. Heller founded International Publishers, a socialist publishing house in New York. The firm specialized in English translations of leftist European literature. Their notable publications included Trotsky's Literature and Revolution, a collection of post-Revolutionary Russian short stories, and English translations of the novels of Pierre Hamp. By 1927, Gross had ended his association with International Publishers. He was later employed by publishers, including Boni & Liveright, its successor Horace Liveright, Inc., and Coward-McCann, Inc., and by A. and S. Lyons Inc., which negotiated movie and play rights for writers.
Gross worked in publishing for more than two decades. Among the writers he helped bring to mass audiences were Sherwood Anderson, Theodore Dreiser, Gene Fowler, Ernest Hemingway, Robinson Jeffers, and Eugene O'Neill. During his publishing career, he also corresponded with such literary and intellectual figures as Albert Einstein, William Faulkner, Georgia O'Keefe, Upton Sinclair, and Thornton Wilder. In 1938 and 1939, while at A. and S. Lyons, Gross worked to publish Thomas Mann's anti-Nazi work, "To the Civilized World: A Manifesto." He sought signatures from contemporary authors and intellectual figures in support of Mann's manifesto and organized a round-table discussion featuring literary and intellectual figures concerning Naziism and fascism, held on December 18, 1938, at Carnegie Hall. Despite Gross's efforts, there was little public support for Mann's manifesto, and the author eventually withdrew it from publication.
The collection is organized as five series:
The University of Maryland Libraries purchased the Albert H. Gross Collection in May 1974.
The Thomas Mann manifesto materials, which existed as a discrete grouping before processing, were arranged as Series I. The remainder of the correspondence in the collection was divided into two series: "Correspondence of Albert Gross" and "Correspondence Collected by Albert Gross." The original order of all of the correspondence, alphabetical by correspondent, was retained.
Remaining materials were divided into two series, "Writings" and "Photographs," and arranged alphabetically by author or subject. The galley proofs for Dreiser's "The Stoic," Hemingway's In Our Time, and O'Neill's Dynamo were flattened and placed in oversize storage. Photographs, which were originally interfiled with the correspondence, were also removed from the collection, placed in mylar sleeves and housed in oversize storage. All staples and paper clips were removed and replaced with plastic clips; fragile items were placed in mylar sleeves. All materials were placed in acid-free folders and acid-free boxes.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives