Ida Langdon papers, 1902-1964.
Collection Number: 2490
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
Ida Langdon papers, 1902-1964.
Repository:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Collection Number:
2490
Abstract:
Papers, which pertain to Samuel Clemens, particularly to his life in Elmira, New York,
include letters to Ida Langdon from Henry Nash Smith, Orville Prescott, and others
regarding her talks on Twain, gifts of Twain memorabilia to the University of California,
certain of Twain's writings, and related subjects.
Creator:
Langdon, Ida, 1880-1964 (Affiliation: (Cornell University M.A. 1910, Ph.D. 1912)..)
Quanitities:
.2 cubic feet.
Language:
Collection material in English
Ida Langdon taught English and was Chairman of the English Department at Elmira College.
She was also a niece of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain).
Papers, which pertain to Samuel Clemens, particularly to his life in Elmira, New York,
include letters to Ida Langdon from Henry Nash Smith, Orville Prescott, and others
regarding her talks on Twain, gifts of Twain memorabilia to the University of California,
certain of Twain's writings, and related subjects; printed items including articles
on Twain by his nephew, Jervis Langdon, Miss Langdon, and Smith; program (1960) for
the Elmira College Mark Twain Festival and typescripts or photocopies of speeches
given by Smith and Miss Langdon respectively at the Festival; her speech (1961) at
the Elmira College Phi Beta Kappa Convocation; a Voice of America radio script (1960)
on the life and times of Twain; photographs of the presentation (1952) of Twain's
study to Elmira College; and newspaper clippings, including reports of Miss Langdon's
addresses and reviews of Twain's posthumously published Letters from the Earth.
INFORMATION FOR USERS
Ida Langdon papers, #2490. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University
Library.
Names:
Langdon, Jervis.
Prescott, Orville.
Smith, Henry Nash.
Twain, Mark, 1835-1910.
Elmira College -- : Addresses, essays, lectures.
Elmira College. Mark Twain Festival
Subjects:
Women college teachers.
Authors.
Form and Genre Terms:
Speeches.
Reviews.
Photographs.
CONTAINER LIST
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Container
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Description
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Date
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Series I. Correspondence
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| Box 1 |
To I.L., Elmira, from Thomas E. Byrnes, Managing Editor of Elmira Star-Gazette.
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June 10, 1952 | |
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Scope and Contents
Byrnes thanks I.L. for her ms. of speech given at presentation of Twain study, praises
speech, and returns it. 1 pc.
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| Box 1 |
To I.L., Elmira, from Lewis Eldred, President of Elmira College.
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July 14, 1952 | |
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Scope and Contents
Mr. Eldred encloses photos taken at dedication of Twain study. 1 pc.
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| Box 1 |
To I.L., Elmira, from Henry Nash Smith.
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Nov. 10, 1960 | |
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Scope and Contents
Smith thanks I.L. for some Twain items given to Univ. of California and itemizes them;
gives his opinion on a prospective biography of Olivia Clemens; and comments on Twain's
"irreverence" for American society. 2 pcs.
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| Box 1 |
To I.L., Elmira, from Donald Coney, University Librarian, Univ. of California at Berkeley.
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Dec. 8, 1960 | |
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Scope and Contents
Coney thanks I.L. for items presented to the University Twain collection. 1 pc.
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| Box 1 |
To I.L., Elmira, from Henry Nash Smith.
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Jan. 20, 1961 | |
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Scope and Contents
Smith names various articles relating to criticism of Twain, written in Twain's time
and later. 1 pc.
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| Box 1 |
To I.L., Elmira, from Arlene Brown, Sec'y to Mrs. Stocker of Elmira College.
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Feb. 1, 1961 | |
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Scope and Contents
Miss Brown thanks I.L. for her talk at Elmira College Twain Festival. 1 pc.
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| Box 1 |
To I.L., Elmira, from Oville Prescott of The New York Times.
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Sept. 28, 1962 | |
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Scope and Contents
Prescott thanks I.L. for complimenting his review of Twain's Letters from the Earth and says that minor works will not affect Twain's great reputation. 1 pc.
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| Box 1 |
To I.L., Elmira, from Joseph S. Van Why, Hartford.
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Aug. 14, 1963 | |
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Scope and Contents
Van Why thanks I.L. for her letter giving some reminiscences of the Thomas Beecher
family. 2 pcs.
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Series II. Manuscripts and miscellaneous
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| Box 1 |
"Socialism - What Is It?". Ms. cites present inequalities and injustices of society;
distinguishes socialism and anarchism; gives brief history of Utopian socialism and
scientific socialism; defines socialism and explains theories and precepts; and gives
a brief description of socialism in the United States. 37 pp. handwritten.
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Apr. 18, 1906 | |
| Box 1 |
The Elmira Advertiser reprinted its famous "S'cat" piece of 41 years earlier, and identified Mark Twain
as the author. The satiric piece was written (date?) when Thomas K. Beecher was turned
out of the Ministerial Union of Elmira. 6 pp. typescript copy.
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Apr. 23, 1910 | |
| Box 1 |
Ida Langdon's speech, presenting Twain study to Elmira College. Miss Langdon recalls
a day when Mark Twain invited children in to hear and criticize The Prince and the Pauper, which he was then writing. I.L. mentions the many well-behaved people who visited
the study, but the difficulty of preserving it from "nature" and "human nature." The
Elmira College site was the only one that pleased the whole family. I.L. speaks of
the appropriateness of the site and her pleasure at giving the study. 7 pp. handwritten.
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May 1952 | |
| Box 1 |
"The Many Faces of Mark Twain." A Voice of America 60 minute documentary on the life
and times of Twain. This program was broadcast on Nov. 27, 1960, the 125th anniversary
of Twain's birth. The program includes narration and taped "portraits" of Twain by
several who knew him. 47 pp. ditto copy.
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Oct. 12, 1960 | |
| Box 1 |
"Mark Twain: The Forming of a Writer," a lecture delivered by Henry Nash Smith during
the Twain Festival at Elmira. Nash examined Innocents Abroad to determine the influences affecting Mark Twain during his formative period. 24
pp. typescript copy.
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Oct. 12, 1960 | |
| Box 1 |
"Mark Twain and Elmira," read by I.L. at Mark Twain Festival, Elmira College. This
speech includes a letter to the William Dean Howells family. The speech appears in
Chemung Historical Journal 6:2 (1960); the letter in the Chemung Historical Journal 6:3 (Mar. 1961). 25 pp. xerox copy of speech; 5 pp. typescript copy of letter.
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Oct. 13, 1960 | |
| Box 1 |
Ida Langdon's Phi Beta Kappa address, "The Making of the Oxford Dictionary." I.L.
describes the history, aims and supplement of the dictionary. 23 pp. xerox copy.
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May 16, 1961 | |
| Box 1 |
One copy of Howell's description of Twain from the introduction to the Twain-Howells
Letters, ed. Henry Nash Smith, Vol. 1, p. xviii. 1 p. typewritten.
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Series III. Printed material
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| Box 1 |
Mark Twain and Elmira by Jervis Langdon (Twain's nephew). Langdon describes MT's connections with Elmira:
his marriage, vacationing, work in his study, playing billiards in town, and burial.
Many of Twain's books were written in Elmira. 9 pp.
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1935 | |
| Box 1 |
University of Texas Studies in English, Vol. 37 (reprint). "Mark Twain's Images of Hannibal from St. Petersburg to Eseldorf"
by Henry Nash Smith, with an inscription to Ida Langdon, Nov. 9, 1960. The article
describes Twain's memories of Hannibal, Mo. in Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and the development and final abandonment of the Hannibal image in later writing.
Twain "...register[ed] in fictionthe death of 19th century culture." He could not
find new literary capital in the Waste Land and alienation, but "bet too much" on
a belief in an "orderly benign universe." 23 pp.
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1958 | |
| Box 1 |
Theater program of Hal Holbrook in "Mark Twain Tonight." (No location given.) 2 pp.
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1959 | |
| Box 1 |
Program of Mark Twain Festival, Elmira College. Photos included. 5 pp.
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Oct. 12-14, 1960 | |
| Box 1 |
"My Uncle, Mark Twain," by Ida Langdon. Chemung Historical Journal, Vol. VI, No. 2, pp. 769-780. Publication of an address by Ida Langdon to Elmira
College students and the M.T. Festival Convocation, Oct. 13, 1960. Description of
Twain's love and courtship of Olivia Langdon; their marriage; Quarry Farm (Elmira)
vacations; the building of the Twain study; writing in the study; family fun; efforts
to build an "Adam" statue in Elmira; anecdotes; burial in Elmira. Photos incl. 11
pp.
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Dec. 1960 | |
| Box 1 |
Theater program of Hal Holbrook in "Mark Twain Tonight," Peabody Concert Hall, Baltimore.
3 pp.
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Dec. 1960 | |
| Box 1 |
"Lewis and the Runaway," Chemung Historical Journal, Vol. VI, No. 3. The text of a Mark Twain letter, read in Ida Langdon's Oct. 13,
1960 address at Elmira College, but not printed in copy of that address in Dec. 1961
Chemung Historical Journal. 4 pp.
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Mar. 1961 | |
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Series IV. Photographs
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| Box 1 |
Five photographs from the Twain study presentation ceremony.
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Scope and Contents
Included is an enlarged photo of I.L. handing the key to President Perry of the Board
of Trustees. Included also is a covering letter from Lewis Eldred, President of Elmira
College, dated July 14, 1952.
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Series V. Newspaper clippings
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| Box 1 |
Paper (?): The Marriage of Julia Olivia, I.L.'s sister, to Edward Eugene Loomis, the
Vice-President of the Lackawanna Railroad, on Nov. 29, 1902. A great social affair
in Elmira.
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Nov. 30, 1902 | |
| Box 1 |
Date (?) Elmira Daily Advertiser: Description of the above wedding, and mention that Samuel Clemens attended.
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| Box 1 |
"Juvenile Courts." Ida Langdon's address to the Western District Federated Relief
Committee, Elmira Daily Advertiser.
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Nov. 15, 1906 | |
| Box 1 |
Review of lecture "Dante as a Poet" by Ida Langdon at Elmira College. Paper?
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Dec. 16, 1921 | |
| Box 1 |
Review of same. Paper?
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Dec. 16, 1921 | |
| Box 1 |
Photos and description of the transference of the Twain Study from East Hill to the
Elmira College Campus. Newspaper unknown.
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May 8, 1952 | |
| Box 1 |
Reminiscence of Ida Langdon at Mark Twain Festival, Elmira College. Elmira Star-Gazette.
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Oct. 13, 1960 | |
| Box 1 |
Article on Franchot Tone, who came to Elmira to give "An Actor's Approach to Mark
Twain," as part of the Twain Festival. Star-Gazette.
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Oct. 14, 1960 | |
| Box 1 |
Review of Hal Holbrook in "Mark Twain Tonight," Balimore Sun.
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Dec. 10, 1960 | |
| Box 1 |
Article on children's best sellers in the Soviet Union, then on display in New York
City. Twain's books were popular in the USSR. New York Times.
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June 9, 1961 | |
| Box 1 |
Review of Twain's Letters from the Earth written by Orville Prescott, New York Times.
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Sept. 21, 1962 | |
| Box 1 |
Review of above book, written by Miles A. Smith.
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[1962?] | |
| Box 1 |
Description of ceremony in which a wreath was placed on MT's grave on the 53rd anniversary
of his death. Elmira Star-Gazette.
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Apr. 23, 1963 | |
| Box 1 |
Death notice - Ida Langdon - New York Times.
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Oct. 10, 1964 | |