Shops of The Leeds Arcades: No1: Louis Vuitton

This is the first in a series looking at the history of various shops in the Leeds Arcades, today, Louis Vuitton, which is at the top end of Country Arcade.

Louis Vuitton was born in France. At the age of 16, he apprenticed for the luggage manufacturer Monsieur Marechal. In 1854 he founded his luggage company.

The Louis Vuitton company collaborated with the Nazis during the German occupation of France in the second world war.

The French book Louis Vuitton, A French Saga, authored by French journalist Stephanie Bonvicini tells how members of the Vuitton family actively aided the puppet government led by Pétain and increased their wealth from their business affairs with the Germans. The family set up a factory dedicated to producing artefact's glorifying Pétain, including more than 2,500 busts. Petain's Vichy regime was responsible for the deportation of French Jews to German concentration camps.

Caroline Babulle, a spokeswoman for the publisher, Fayard, said: "They have not contested anything in the book, but they are trying to bury it by pretending it doesn't exist."

Responding to the book's release in 2004, a spokesman for LVMH said: "This is ancient history. The book covers a period when it was family-run and long before it became part of LVMH. We are diverse, tolerant and all the things a modern company should be."

Bonvicini says she was given full cooperation by the firm when she proposed writing the book a year ago. But when she asked about its wartime activities, she was told that company documents for the years 1930 to 1945 had been destroyed in a fire.
"Their attitude changed completely the moment I mentioned the war years, from being very helpful to not responding to questions at all," she said.
From historical archives she discovered that Louis Vuitton had a store on the ground floor of a fabulous property, the Hotel du Parc, in Vichy where Pétain set up his puppet government. While the other shopkeepers, including the jewellers Van Cleef & Arpels, were shut down, Vuitton was the only one allowed to stay.
Henry Vuitton the company leader at the time, a regular at the local cafe frequented by the Gestapo, was one of the first Frenchmen to be decorated by the Nazi-backed government for his loyalty and his efforts for the regime.
"Part of the collaboration was due to the family's obsession with the survival of the company, and part down to the fact that there was a certain sympathy with the regime's right wing views," the author said.

Love and George Sand

“There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.”
George Sand

Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin, Baronne Dudevant (1804 – 1876), best known by her pseudonym George Sand, was a French novelist.

She was contemporary with Benjamin's favourite poet, Baudelaire, who had this to say about her:-

"She is stupid, heavy and garrulous. Her ideas on morals have the same depth of judgment and delicacy of feeling as those of janitresses and kept women... The fact that there are men who could become enamoured of this slut is indeed a proof of the abasement of the men of this generation."

Later in her life she became great friends with Flaubert, their letters making for very interesting reading.

Benjamin at Christmas

It is 1926 and Benjamin has gone to Moscow to visit Asja Lacis, his girlfriend;

He writes in his diary on Boxing day on how he and Asja spent Christmas:-

"Asja's stay in the sanatorium seems to be reaching its end. Over the past few days the hours she has spent lying outdoors have proved beneficial. She likes to lie there in her sack of blankets and listen to the crows in the air. She is even convinced that the birds have organised themselves with great precision and that their leader informs them as to what to do."

Christmas with Benjamin

It is 1900 and it is Christmas in Young Benjamin's household:-

"In my room i waited until six o'clock deigned to arrive. No festivity later in life knows this hour, which quivers like an arrow in the heart of the day. It was already dark and yet i did not light the lamp, not wanting to lose my view of the windows across the courtyard, through which the first candles could now be seen. Of all the moments in the life of the Christmas tree, this was the most anxious, the one in which it sacrifices needles and branches to the darkness in order to become nothing more than a constellation - nearby, yet approachable - in the unlit window of a rear dwelling. And just as such a constellation would now and then grace one of the bare windows opposite while many others remained dark, and while others, sadder still, languished in the gaslight of early evening, it seemed to me that these Christmas windows were harboring loneliness, old age, privation."

Love

Ruskin on Love:-
"When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece."

Mantra

Benjamin:- "One should scoop sameness from reality with a spoon"

The End of 'Benjamin in the Future'

The closing panel of Benjamin of the Future see's a curiously transformed Benjamin finally together with Asja. But why does he look the way he does? What happened to the robot body? and What are they doing?

William Morris

William Morris (1834 – 1896) was an artist, writer, and socialist. He was a pioneer of the socialist movement in Britain, and a writer of poetry. He is perhaps best known as a designer of wallpaper and patterned fabrics.

Morris was strongly influenced by Ruskin, particularly The Stones Of Venice. Morris read everything, literally everything, that Ruskin wrote.

We can see, above, the decorative windows from Bradford Cathedral which Morris designed (Bradford is near Leeds).

Ruskin's Madness

Ruskin was Bi-Polar. Like many Bi-Polar people it was his condition that fuelled his genius but which also sent him over the edge occasionally. Ruskin's condition worsened in later life.

His lectures on Art, Architecture and Society would occasionally be punctuated by a little song and dance, for no discernible reason.

He began to see things and was plagued by devils who tormented him.

Eventually he retreated into silence, not talking at all for the last 12 years of his life. He lived in Brantwood, in absolute silence. This great speaker and thinker literally said nothing for 12 years.

Motherfucking Zoe Williams

Fantastic new Art and Society Television Program 'Matthew Collings'; This is Civilisation', (Channel 4, Saturday 8/12/07). Was this week devoted entirely to John Ruskin’s influence on Art and Civilisation.

Zoe Williams, writing in 'The weekend’s TV' column in 'The Guardian', reviewed the program thus:-
“Ruskin the Victorian, whom director Neil Crombie described as an “art guru” on the Channel 4 website. At which I have to ask, what is your game, chum? Do you have to make everyone sound like James bleeding Dyson?”
Williams is concerned that Collings parades around in front of the Alps. She sarcastically quips that perhaps Collings is trying to “bring home to us the majesty of the natural world. Or maybe he thinks it’s slimming, though surely if that worked Trinny and Susannah would have mentioned it.”

The Leeds Arcades Project will be starting a petition (to be found in Room 101) to try to get Miss Williams sacked for idiocy.

Ruskin writes another love letter

It is believed that this romantic love letter was written on December 15, 1847

"Ah, Effie -

You have such sad, wicked ways without knowing it - such sweet silver undertones of innocent voice - that when one hears, one is lost - such slight - short - inevitable - arrowy glances from under the bent eyelashes - such gentle changes of sunny and shadowy expression about the lovely lips - such desperate ways of doing the most innocent things - mercy on us - to hear you ask anybody "whether they take sugar with their peaches"? - don't you recollect my being "temporarily insane" for all the day afterwards - after hearing you ask such a thing?"

Ruskin writes a love letter

This letter was written on November 11, 1847

When we are alone - You and I - together - Mais - c'est inconceivable - I was just trying - this evening after dinner - to imagine our sitting after dinner at Keswick - vous et moi… I couldn't do it - it seemed so impossible that I should ever get you all to myself - I shall not be able to speak a word - I shall be running round you - and kneeling to you and holding up my hands to you as Dinah does her paws - speechless - I shan't do it so well as Dinah though - I shall be clumsy and mute - at once perfectly oppressed with delight - if you speak to me I shall not know what you say - you will have to pat me - and point to something for me to fetch and carry for you - or make me
lie down on a rug and be quiet - or send me out of the room until I promise to be a good dog; and when you let me in again - I shall be worse - what shall I do?

Gustave writes another letter

It is believed that this romantic love letter was written August 9, 1846.

Gustave Flaubert to Louise Colet:-

"I embrace you, I kiss you. I feel wild. Were you here, I'd bite you; I long to do so - I, whom, women jeer at for my coldness - I, charitably supposed to be incapable of sex, so little have I indulged in it.
Yet, I feel within me now the appetites of wild beasts, the instincts of a love that is carnivorous, capable of tearing flesh to pieces. Is this love?
Perhaps it is the opposite. Perhaps in my case it's the heart that is impotent."

Flaubert says above that he was incapable of sex but he was a well known user of local prostitutes and suffered from a venereal disease for most of his life.

Benjamin's Dream

From the Diary of Walter Benjamin:-

March 6th. 'On recent nights, I’ve had dreams that remain deeply engraved in my day. Last night I dreamed I had company. Friendly things came my way; I believe they consisted primarily in women taking an interest in me – indeed, even commenting favourably upon my appearance.'

Mickey Mouse

After watching some Mickey Mouse cartoons, Benjamin got abit carried away. Here's what he had to say:-

"Here we see for the first time that it is possible to have one's own arm, even one's own body, stolen."

"In these films, mankind makes preparations to survive civilization."

"These films are founded on the motif of leaving home in order to learn what fear is."

"Mickey Mouse proves that a creature can still survive even when it has thrown off all resemblance to a human being."

Benjamin and Dreams

"Sleeping and Dreaming. Welcome....."

Benjamin was more than a little obsessed by dreams..., well, his own dreams. His diaries are littered with accounts of his dreams. Here he is on the subject; "Dreaming shows our shared culture."

Last night, MissLeedsArcadesProject, who is Taiwanese dreamt that she was friends with Kate Middleton. The two of them went travelling together with Prince William. Some helicopters chased them. They hid. I was somewhere in the background.

The Salech Collection

Salech's suitcase was found near the small French-Spanish border town of Portbou in February 1985. In the suitcase were a diary, a few sketches and some boxes containing rough notes. The suitcase was found on a train which had had to be abandoned when torrential rain led to extensive flooding in the region. Salach had been on his way to Pria de Luge in Portugal where a mysterious group of his friends were expecting him.

The materials in the Boxes have become known as the Salech Collection. The boxes are labelled one to seventeen. The folders and envelopes containing these materials are organized in a somewhat idiosyncratic way.

In Box 14 are sealed interviews, not to be opened until 2010.

BOX 1
Folder labeled “Stirling papers, etc. correspondence, 1975”:
•
Note to Dr. Spivey and the Librarian, containing a brief description of the contents of
the papers and a key to the code of abbreviations used to document sources in drafts
of the manuscript

The remaining folders in this box, labeled ONE through FIFTEEN contain early drafts of
Benjamin in the Future with corrections and annotations identifying sources.

BOX 2
Folders labeled SIXTEEN through TWENTY-NINE and EPILOGUE contain the
remainder of early drafts of the biography, Algerian Nights. The remaining folders are labeled ONE
through TWELVE with chapter numbers added to each one. They contain a later draft of
chapters 2 through 21.

BOX 3
Folders labeled THIRTEEN through SEVENTEEN and EPILOGUE contain chapters 22
through 29 and the Epilogue of the later draft.

A—material related to All Men are Brothers, American Argument, and American
Unity and Asia
•
B—material related to A Bridge for Passing
•
C—material related to China Past and Present, The Child Who Never Grew, China
as I See It, and China Sky
•
D—material related to Dragon Seed, including an essay by R-MWC Professor of
English, Roberta Cornelius
•
E—material related to East Wind: West Wind and The Exile
•
F—material related to Flight into China, Friend to Friend, The First Wife and Other
Stories (including a letter from Fanny Hurst), and For Spacious Skies
•
G—material related to The Goddess Abides
•
H—material related to A House Divided, How It Happens.
•
I—material related to Imperial Woman, including an essay by Roberta Cornelius
•
J—material related to works for juvenile leaders with a list of titles on the folder
cover
•
L—material related to Letter from Peking (including an essay by Roberta Cornelius),
and one item on Kinfolk
•
M—material related to The Mother (including an essay by Roberta Cornelius and a
handwritten review without an author given), Mandala, and Of Men and Women
•
N—material related to The New Year
•
P—material related to The Patriot, The Promise
•
Miscellaneous Reviews—material related to The Big Fight, Mrs. Starling’s
Problems, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, The Christmas Ghost, God’s Men, Peony,
Pavilion of Women, Command the Morning, Come, My Beloved, The Living Reed,
Yulan: Flying Boy of China, The Water Buffalo Children, and The Big Wave. This
folder includes a letter from Grace S. Yaukey on “About China’s Flying Boy, Yulan,” from the Juvenile Supplement to the Fall 19xx
•
R—material related to The Rainbow
•
S—material related to Satan Never Sleeps, My Several Worlds, Sons, and The Story
Bible (in Sons folder)
•
T—material related to Talk about Russia, Tell the People, This Proud Heart
(including an essay by Roberta Cornelius), The Three Daughters of Madame Liang,
The Time Is Noon, To My Daughters, and Today and Forever (including an essay by
Roberta Cornelius)
•
W, Y—material related to Words of Love, What America Means to Me, and The
Young Revolutionist (including an essay by Roberta Cornelius)
•
PLAY, GE MASTERS—material related to the 1932 production of the play The
Good Earth and a review of PSB’s “first play,” Flight into China, produced in 1939

BOX 4
Folder labeled “THREE, 1910-1916”:
•
Envelope labeled “Three: College Years”
•
Envelope labeled “Soph, 1911, Fall”
•
Envelope labeled “Soph, 1912, Spring”

Envelope labeled “Fall, 1912, Junior; Spring, 1913, Junior”
•
Envelope labeled “Fall, 1913, Senior
•
Envelope labeled “First half of 1914, Spring, Senior, Graduation”
•
Envelope labeled “Material, chap. III, Last ½ 1914, all 1915, first half 1916”
Folder labeled “THREE, 1910-1916”:
•
Envelope labeled “Three: College Years”
Folder labeled “FOUR, 1916 Summer & Fall”:
•
Includes photocopies of a number of letters from John Lossing Buck to his mother
Folder labeled “FIVE, Material Used 1917-1919”:
•
Includes photocopies of letters from PSB and John Lossing Buck
Divider sheet labeled “FOUR, Misc. Harris, Religion, Glimpses,
Missionaries, Aftermath, 1974”:
Folder labeled “GLIMPSES, PSB”:
•
Includes selections from interviews, photocopies of letters from and about PSB
Folder labeled “RELIGION and PEARL BUCK”:
•
Materials on PSB’s religious and philosophical stance
•
1918 edition of The Weekly of the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church with letter
from Marian Gardner, missionary at Nanshuchou, referring to Bucks
Folder labeled “MISSIONARIES”:
•
Material on American missionary experience in China
Folder labeled “HISTO—MAP”:
•
Chart of dates with columns headed PSB, JLB, EH [?], HCM, RW, TD, TFH
Folder labeled “AFTERMATH, LEGAL PRESS”:
•
Clippings on PSB’s death
•
Eulogy, note on top “Dolmatch”
•
Copy of death certificate
•
Inserted folder headed “Foundation,” containing printed material, clippings,
correspondence
Folder labeled “Misc. Letters, 1972”:
•
Material on suggested PSB projects in connection with proposed China trip
Folder labeled “HARRIS—about Comments on”:
•
Selections from interviews related to PSB’s attitude toward Theodore F. Harris
Page 5
Folder labeled “INTRO & 1
ST
EIGHT MATERIAL”:
•
Nora Stirling’s handwritten notes
•
Cuttings from My Several Worlds on PSB’s early years
Folder labeled “SECOND EIGHT MATERIAL USED”:
•
Nora Stirling’s handwritten notes
•
Interviews, cuttings from printed books related to PSB’s life in China
Folder labeled “CARIE”:
•
Cuttings from interviews, book
•
Nanjing Theological Seminary tribute to Absalom Sydenstricker
Folder labeled “ABSOLOM” [sic]:
•
Material on Absalom Sydenstricker’s life
•
BOX 5
Envelope, no heading:
•
Materials related to 1920
Folder labeled “1921”:
•
Copies of letters, printed materials related to 1921
•
Selections from interview with Grace and Jesse Yaukey
Folder labeled “GRACE, 1918-1927”:
•
Nora Stirling’s notes
•
Selections from interview with Grace and Jesse Yaukey
Folder labeled “SEVEN, Mrs. Lu”:
•
Material on Chinese woman who worked for the Bucks and later the James Claude
Thomson family
•
Correspondence between Nora Stirling and Grace Yaukey
Folder labeled “Adoption in USA—Liang”:
•
Materials on 1924, 1925
•
Janice’s adoption
•
Copies of letters from PSB to Emma Edmunds White and Lossing Buck’s mother
Folder labeled “SIX, MATERIAL 1921-1924”:
•
Cuttings from books, interviews
•
Copies of letters from PSB and Lossing Buck to his family
Page 6
Folder labeled “EIGHT”:
•
Typescript of “Data from Nanking Station Report, 1926-27, ‘A Year of Tragedy and
Triumph’ by Pearl Buck”
•
Folder headed “Nanking Life, 1925-27”
o Cuttings from books, interviews
•
Folder headed “Back to Nanking, 1928”
o Cuttings from books, interviews
o Copies of letters from Lossing Buck to his family
•
Untitled folder
o Material related to 1927-28
o Printed essay by PSB entitled “Christmas Away from Home”
•
Folder headed “JLB used, 1928-29
o Material on Lossing Buck’s work
o Typescripts of letters from PSB to Emma Edmunds White
Folder labeled “Hsu Chih-Mo letters, related to Chinese poet, possible lover
of PSB”:
•
Nora Stirling correspondence with Shau Wing Chan, Cyril Birch
•
NS notes on possible relationship
Folder labeled “LOAN—VINELAND, USED”:
•
Material related to Dr. and Mrs. John Finley’s loan to enable PSB to place Carol at
the Vineland Training Center
Folder labeled “EAST WIND—1929-1930”:
•
Material related to the publication of East Wind/West Wind
Folder labeled “LIN YUTANG—1936-1937”:
•
Material related to PSB’s work and friendship with Chinese author who lived in New
York
Folder labeled “NINE”:
•
Materials related to 1929-1930
•
Copy of PSB letter, June 10, 1929, describing funeral of Sun Yat Sen
Folder TEN, labeled “1931, G.E. Published, FLOOD, ABSALOM”:
•
Copies of correspondence nominating The Good Earth for the Pulitzer Prize
•
Material related to publication, floods in China and meeting with Charles and Anne
Lindbergh, death of Absalom Sydenstricker
Folder ELEVEN, labeled “Material used, Hsu Chih-mo””:
•
Material related to Chinese poet, possibly PSB’s lover
Page 7
Folder TWELVE, labeled “Winter 1931-Fall 1932,” followed by a list of
topics included:
•
Material related to screen rights to The Good Earth, play based on it
•
“Peking Refugeeing” from Japanese attacks on Nanking
•
PSB’s visit to New York
•
Copies of PSB letters
Folder labeled “THIRTEEN”:
•
Material related to 1933, conflict with Board of Foreign Missions
Envelope labeled “1932”:
•
Materials related to 1932-1933
•
Copy of “On the Writing of Novels” from the R-MWC Alumnae Bulletin
•
Copy of “Chinese War Lords” from April 22, 1933, Saturday Evening Post
Envelope labeled “Part of 13, Material Used, Spring 1933”:
•
Copies of letters from PSB to Richard Walsh
Folder labeled “HSU CHIH MO, NOT USED”:
•
Correspondence, biographical and literary material related to Chinese poet, possibly
PSB’s lover
BOX 6
Folder labeled “WALSH”:
•
Materials related to Richard J. Walsh
•
Nora Stirling’s note that some materials from this file have been placed in 1932 file
Folder labeled “FOURTEEN”:
•
List of contents of folder
•
Materials related to June 1933-Spring 1934
Folder labeled “FIFTEEN, Material Used, 1934, June to December”:
•
List of contents stapled to folder
•
Photocopy of letter from Lossing Buck to his brother Clifford about the divorce
Folder labeled “MATERIAL USED, JAN-JULY 1935”:
•
“Postlude” by Dorothy Moomaw Miles, article from R-MWC Alumnae Bulletin on
PSB’s visit to the College in June, 1933
Page 8
Envelope, labeled “Good Earth Film 1937”:
•
Cuttings from interviews
•
Newspaper reviews
Folder labeled “MATERIAL SIXTEEN”:
•
List of contents stapled to folder
•
Materials related to Jan. 1935-Dec. 1935
•
Six-page letter from Theodore F. Harris to Richard J. Walsh, Jr. about biography
•
Letter from PSB to Margaret Thomson, January 8, 1936
Folder labeled “CORNELL-BUCK LETTERS”:
•
Photocopies of original PSB letters to actress Katharine Cornell, now removed to
Rare Book Room
•
Copies of letters from Cornell to PSB
Folder labeled “SIXTEEN, PART TWO”:
•
List of contents of folder
•
Material on Fighting Angel and The Exile
•
Material on PSB’s brother Edgar Sydenstricker
Envelope, labeled “Empress-to 1937”:
•
Photocopies of correspondence with Katharine Cornell and Guthrie McClintic about
PSB plays
Envelope, labeled “NOBEL, (17), April, 1938”:
•
Material on awarding of Nobel Prize and ceremonies in Sweden
Envelope, labeled “PB. Loneliness, Depression (17)”:
•
Material from interviews
•
Nora Stirling’s handwritten copies of passages from letters from PSB to Grace
Yaukey
Envelope, labeled “U.S. Women (17)”:
•
Material from interviews, letters, printed articles on PSB’s views on the American
woman
Envelope, labeled “Speaking (17)”:
•
Material on PSB’s public speeches and her skills as a speaker
Envelope, labeled “CHINA History, 1937-1938 (17)”:
•
Materials on Japan’s invasion of China
Page 9
Folder labeled “SEVENTEEN” [empty]:
•
List stapled to cover includes headings of most of the envelopes described above
Folder labeled “EIGHTEEN”:
•
List stapled to cover headed “Material (19)”
•
Materials used related to 1939 and “Summer before war”
Folder labeled “18, EIGHTEEN”:
•
Material related to PSB plays, The Empress and Flight into China (China Flight)
o Copies of letters between PSB and Katharine Cornell
Folder labeled “MATERIAL 19”:
•
List of topics covered in folder
•
Material related to 1940-41
Folder labeled “SNOWS MATERIAL”:
•
Material related to Edgar and Helen Foster Snow
Folder labeled “NINETEEN”:
•
Material related to PSB’s private life and writing of the 1940’s
Folder labeled “PB as WRITER, 18”:
•
Materials by and about PSB on writing and her writing in particular
o Article by George Cevasco, “Pearl Buck and the Chinese Novel”
o Essay by Roberta Cornelius, “Pearl Buck’s Style”
BOX 7
Folder labeled “COMMIES, 1949-1956”:
•
List stapled to cover, headed “Material Used”
•
Material related to the McCarthy hearings
•
Transcript of February 15, 1972 interview of PSB by John Chancellor of WNBC-
TV, program entitled “China Lost and Found”
Folder labeled “Carol Material Used (21)”:
•
Stapled to cover, chronology of significant dates related to Carol, Welcome House,
writings of late 1940’s, 1950’s
•
Interviews, letters related to Carol, The Child Who Never Grew
•
Photocopy of original letter from PSB to Carol Johnstone Sharp, daughter of
Vineland founder, November 13, 1950
Envelope labeled “K, material used”:
•
Material related to Kinfolk
Page 10
Envelope labeled “The Angry Wife”:
•
Material related to The Angry Wife, PSB’s second John Sedges novel
Envelope labeled “Peony”:
•
Material related to Peony
Envelope labeled “P, Pavilion of Women”:
•
Material related to Pavilion of Women
o Notes on the novel by Helen Foster Snow
o Letters on the novel from Marian Gardner Craighill
Envelope labeled “The Townsman” (20)”:
•
Material related to The Townsman, PSB’s first John Sedges novel
Folder labeled “TWENTY”:
•
Material related to PSB’s play, My Indian Family and, briefly, her play Christine
Folder labeled “LIN”:
•
Material related to Lin Yutang
Folder labeled “(21) Vermont”:
•
Material related to PSB’s life in Vermont, chiefly in the 1950’s
Folder labeled “1948 Welcome House”:
•
Material related to the origins of Welcome House
Folder labeled “1949 Welcome House”:
•
Material related to the history of Welcome House
Folder labeled “1950 Welcome House”:
•
Further development, fund raising
Folder labeled “1951 Welcome House”:
•
Additional material on Welcome House
•
Lois Burpee’s comments on PSB’s personality
Folder labeled “SCOUTING, COURSES, WRITING”:
•
PSB’s enrollment in course in writing for radio
•
Searches for promising writers for John Day Company
Folder labeled “TSUTA, BUSINESS”:
•
PSB’s communications with Tsuta Walsh, her secretary, later wife of Richard Walsh,
Jr., chiefly about her writing, publication
Page 11
Envelope labeled “(21) God’s Men”:
•
Material related to God’s Men
Folder labeled “TWENTY-ONE”:
•
Material related to The Hidden Flower
•
Essay on The Hidden Flower by Roberta Cornelius
Folder labeled “TWENTY-TWO”:
•
Material on Welcome House after 1952
Envelope labeled “Come My Beloved”:
•
Material related to Come, My Beloved, Letter from Peking, John Sedges novels
•
Essay on Come, My Beloved by Roberta Cornelius
Folder labeled “STROKE (22)”:
•
Material on Richard Walsh’s stroke in 1953
•
Family newsletter describing 1953 trip to the American West
Folder labeled “(22) 1954-1955”:
•
Correspondence between PSB and Richard Walsh, Jr.
•
Letters from Richard Walsh, Jr. to his father
Folder labeled “TWENTY THREE”:
•
Envelope labeled “Dan’l intro, TV shows, Atom idea, “Imp. Woman” rev’d, “Letter
from Peking,” Play projected, Scientists – (Compton) visited
•
Material on work with Tad Danielewski on play, A Desert Incident
•
Material related to PSB’s children, daughter-in-law (Tsuta Walsh)
Folder labeled “TWENTY FOUR”:
•
Material on 1959 trip to Europe, Command the Morning, Death in the Castle, A
Desert Incident
•
PSB’s personal relationship with Tad Danielewski
•
Letter from Walter Kerr, New York Herald Tribune drama critic, to Mrs. Margaret
R. Fischer
Folder labeled “MASTER PRINCETON FILES”:
•
Nora Stirling’s notes (214 pages) on PSB material in Princeton University Library,
including files from the John Day Company, transcriptions of correspondence
between PSB and Richard Walsh
Page 12
BOX 8
Envelope labeled “
25, Material Used
”:
•
Material related to early 1960s, PSB’s work and personal relationship with Tad
Danielewski
Folder labeled “Compton”:
•
Material on Command the Morning
•
Letters between Nora Stirling and Laura Fermi, widow of Enrico Fermi
Folder labeled “Rowe”:
•
Material on William Ernest Hocking and his friendship with PSB
Folder labeled “Hocking, 26 A”:
•
Copies of “love letters” from PSB to Hocking
•
Material on their relationship
Folder labeled “TWENTY SIX”:
•
List on folder of topics included
•
Material on Welcome House and the PSB Foundation
•
Material on The Living Reed
Folder labeled “26”:
•
Material related to 1960’s, labeled by Stirling “not used”
Folder labeled “27” [envelope attached to folder labeled 27]:
•
List on folder of topics covered
•
Material related to exposure of mismanagement of PSB Foundation
Folder labeled “27”:
•
Materials related to late 1960’s
[Folder added for collection of material not in a folder]
•
Material labeled “not used for 25”
•
Material on A Bridge for Passing, Christine
Folder labeled “29, NOT USED”:
•
Material on PSB’s last days
Page 13
Folder labeled “THE FIASCO”:
•
List on folder of topics included
•
Material related to 1969-70
Folder labeled “28 (2)”:
•
Additional material on Foundation scandal
Folder labeled “28” [labeled on cover “1969-1970, Settling in Danby”]:
•
Material related to PSB’s years in Danby, Vermont, founding of Creativity
Folder labeled “28 [labeled on cover “China plan, 1970-June 1972”]:
•
PSB article, “Essay on Life” from Modern Maturity
•
Nixon trip to China
•
Material on All Under Heaven
•
Eightieth birthday celebration
•
Text of John Chancellor program, “China Lost and Found” for WNBC-TV, Feb. 15,
1972, including PSB interview
Folder labeled “29”:
•
List on folder of topics included
•
Material on PSB’s last years, death
•
Proposals for writing to be done in conjunction with PSB trip to China
•
Inserted folder
o Material on PSB’s funeral
o Conflict over her estate
o Short biography and newspaper article on John Lossing Buck
Folder labeled “REJECT LAST YEARS”:
•
Additional material on last years, personality
Folder labeled “1937 FARM”:
•
Material on Green Hills Farm
•
Article (October 1961) by PSB, “The Friendly Homes of Bucks County” from The
American Home
Folder labeled “RACE, 1948-1950”:
•
PSB’s views on race over several decades
•
PSB letter to the editor of the New York Times, November 15, 1941, on racism
Two loose sheets of topics for 24 and 25
Folder labeled “Earnings & Honors”:
•
John Day Company short biography of PSB with list of publications, awards
•
Bibliography of works consulted by Nora Stirling
Page 14
•
Bibliography of PSB articles
•
Bibliography of PSB short stories to 1935
•
List of PSB books selected by the Book of the Month Club
•
Bibliographies of PSB books
•
NS list of Buck earnings
•
Essay, “Pearl Buck, Rebel against Time” by Nora Stirling
•
Acknowledgements
•
Nora Stirling’s biographical information for New Century Publishers
BOX 9
Folder labeled “Anderson, John – worked for Stratton Productions with Tad
Danielewski”:
•
Interview January 7, 1980
•
Telephone conversation March 7, 1980
•
Interview March 22, 1976
•
Telephone conversation June 18, 1976 (2 copies)
•
Telephone conversations July 19, 1976 [Note that this is the third part of the
interview, two sides of tapes defective]
•
Interview December 5, 1976 [transcript seems to begin in middle of conversation;
second copy later in folder has additional page at beginning]
•
NS pencilled note of questions, topics to discuss with Anderson
•
Interview August 19, 1977
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Interview September, 1978 (“Last Interview”)
•
Telephone conversation March 7, 1980 (2 copies)
•
Fragment of interview
•
Fragment of interview
Folder labeled “Akins, Dana – resident of Bucks County, Pennsylvania”:
•
Interview March 27, 1976
Folder labeled “Baldwin, Roger – Chairman of American Civil Liberties
Union”:
•
Notes on conversation – no date
•
Letter November 16, 1979, Barbara Richman (ACLU Librarian) to NS
Folder labeled “Barnouw, Erik, teacher of radio writing at Columbia
University”:
•
Copy of letter from NS to EB, October 29, 1977
•
Interview November 7, 1977
Page 15
Folder labeled “Bates, Lilieth (Mrs. Searle), acquaintance of Pearl and
Lossing Buck in China in 1920’s”:
•
Letters from NS to Lilieth Bates, July 13, 1976, and January 16, 1979
•
Copy of excerpts from this letter
•
Fragments cut from copies of interviews
•
Telephone Interview April 19, 1975
•
Telephone Interview May 1, 1975
•
Telephone Interview January 28, 1976
•
Interview May 31, 1976
•
Telephone Interview June 13, 1976
•
Telephone Interview June 14, 1976
•
Telephone Interview June 15, 1976
•
Interview July 21, 1976
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Notes on August 7, 1977 conversation
•
Index card noting Mrs. Bates’ request not to have her name used in book
Folder labeled “Bear, Margaret and James—acquaintances of Pearl and
Lossing Buck in China”:
•
Correspondence between Nora Stirling and Mrs. Bear
•
Interview with Dr. and Mrs. Bear December 1, 1975 (2 copies)
•
Excerpts from the Bears’ letters home in 1923
Folder labeled “Blodgett, Cornelia Otis Skinner, actress and writer, reader in
The Empress”:
•
two fragments, apparently from interview March 24, 1976
•
Letter from NS to Cornelia Otis Skinner Blodgett
•
Interview March 24, 1976
Folder labeled “Berger, Marvella D., John Day Company employee in late
1960’s”:
•
Interview October 18, 1976
Folder labeled “Biester, Muriel, member of the East-West Association and
supporter of Welcome House”:
•
Correspondence between NS and Judge and Mrs. Biester
•
Interview June 27, 1976 with Muriel and (Judge) Edward Biester (2 copies)
Folder labeled “Buck, John Lossing, PSB’s first husband”:
•
Handwritten pages (6) headed “Lossing’s corrections of Harris Bio.”
•
Correspondence between NS and Lomay Chang, Lossing’s second wife
•
Fragment on Lomay’s background, her meeting with Lossing
•
Fragment on their marriage, Lossing’s career 1946-1957, residence on farm in New
York
Page 16
•
Brief fragments cut from interviews
•
Fragment on JLB’s award from Chinese Embassy in Washington, 1939
•
Fragment on snapshot of JLB in Nanking after PSB departure
•
Handwritten questions related to Harris Book and My Several Worlds
•
Handwritten questions related to interview of October 11, 1972
•
Handwritten answers to questions about October 11 interview
•
NS notes on Lossing and Lomay
•
Handwritten notes from Tape IV, side I
•
Interview December 3-4, 1971
•
NS revision of report on December 3-4 interview
•
Interview January 27, 1972
•
Index of interview June 27, 1972
•
Chronology of major events from meeting with PSB in 1917 to 1933
•
Interview October 11, 1972
•
Handwritten “Index of Buck Tapes 6-27-72”
•
Handwritten “Index to Lossing Buck manuscript”
•
Handwritten “Index to Lossing Buck Interviews Sept. 15—1972”
•
Handwritten questions for LB on June 27, 1972, interview
•
“Amplification of Typed Tapes” of June 27, 1972, interview
•
Interview September 15, 1972
Folder labeled “Breen, George and Jackie, Vermont neighbors”:
•
Handwritten chronology from 1949 to 1966
•
Fragment from interview in reference to Foundation benefit, Harris
•
Correspondence between NS and Breens
•
Photocopy (?) of letter from PSB to Breens from the Savoy Hotel in London,
September 18, 1959
•
Interview with Jackie Breen, July 24, 1976 (Phyllis Fenner also comments) (2
copies)
•
Interview with George and Jackie Breen, Phyllis Fenner, and Grace Shannon July 24,
1976 (2 copies)
•
Page headed “Breens’ background” (2 copies)
•
Interview with George Breen, July 24, 1976 (2 copies)
•
Fragment with Jackie Breen’s views on PSB’s response to Walsh illness
•
Fragment with Jacked Breen’s comment on PSB’s letters
•
Letter from George Breen to NS
•
Interview Jackie and George Breen “Late in Vermont,” No date
Folder labeled “Buck, Paul, son on John Lossing Buck and Lomay Chang”:
•
Christmas card to NS from Lomay Buck and Paul
•
Interview June 26, 1975 (2 copies)
•
Fragment of June 26, 1975 interview
•
Interview May 1, 1976
Page 17
•
Correspondence between NS and Paul and Lomay about letters, albums, JLB’s
mother’s diaries
•
Fragment of June 26, 1975 interview about Carol
•
Photograph of young man, negatives
Folder labeled “Burpee, Lois (Mrs. David), Pennsylvania neighbor and
Welcome House supporter”:
•
Fragment of interview on “blowup” following Philadelphia magazine article on
Foundation
•
Correspondence between NS and Lois Burpee
•
Handwritten notes on information sent by Lois Burpee and filed in Welcome House
File
•
Handwritten note from Lois Burpee headed pg. 21
•
Interview February 24-25, 1976 (2 copies)
•
Interview April 12, [1976] (2 copies)
•
Interview April 13, [1976] (2 copies)
Folder labeled “Carabeau, Georgia, principal, Currier Memorial School,
Danby, Vermont”:
•
Correspondence between NS and Georgia Carabeau
•
Copy of letter from PSB to Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Carabeau, January 3, 1973
•
Interview July 25, 1976
Folder labeled “Carter, John Mack, editor-in-chief, Good Housekeeping”:
•
Interview February 23, 1977
Folder labeled “Cevasco, G.A., professor at St. John’s University”:
•
Brochure for “Second conference on Chinese Culture” May 3, 1969
o PSB speaker
•
Correspondence between NS and Cevasco
•
Book Review of The Image of the Chinese Family in Pearl Buck’s Novels by Doan-
Cao-Ly (reviewed by Cevasco)
•
Book Review of Pearl S. Buck: a Biography by Theodore F. Harris (reviewed by
Cevasco
•
Book Review of China As I See It by PSB (reviewed by Cevasco)
•
Photocopy of Foreward by PSB to The Terrible Choice: The Abortion Dilemma
•
Photocopy of letter from PSB to Cevasco, March 28, 1966
Folder labeled “Chen Chi, artist who lived in the United States after World
War II”:
•
Interview December 2, 1976
Page 18
Folder labeled “Churchill, Betty (Walsh), daughter of Richard Walsh, and
Josephine Churchill, daughter of Betty”:
•
Correspondence between NS and Betty and Josephine Churchill
•
Interview with Josephine Churchill August 11, [1976]
Folder labeled “Cohen, Jane Rabb, scholar”:
•
Correspondence between NS and Jane Rabb Cohen
Folder labeled “Buck, Clifford, brother of John Lossing Buck”:
•
Correspondence between NS and Clifford Buck
•
Fragment of interview in reference to ability of the retarded to remember certain
details
•
Copy of letter from PSB to her parents-in-law, Nanhsuchow, Feb. 2, 1918
•
Copy of letter from PSB to her parents-in-law, March 15, 1919
•
Copy of letter from PSB to her parents-in-law, Sept., 1920
•
Copy of page from guest book signed by Janice Buck and Adaline Bucher
•
Interview May 1-2, 1976
•
Letter from Clifford Buck to NS
•
Fragment marking references to Dr. Paul R. Hickok’s help in adoption of Janice
Folder concerning Colvin, Zerrita, Vermont resident, also known as Anna
Hallagan, from Canton, China, nurse to PSB in her last months [heading
lost]:
•
Interview September 10, 1977
Folder labeled “Smith, Mrs. Bradford, resident of Shaftesbury, Vermont”:
•
Interview September 9, 1977
•
One page of interview with Mrs. Lemuel Smith (Grace Stulting) November 30, 1975
Folder labeled “Smith, Grace Stulting, PSB’s cousin”:
•
Copies of letters from NS to Grace Smith
•
Interview November 30, 1975
•
[See also folder for Mrs. Bradford Smith]
Folder labeled “Smith, William Arthur, artist and illustrator, Bucks County,
PA resident”:
•
Correspondence between NS and William Smith
•
Undated page of questions and answers
•
Pencil list of “Names in Foundation expose”
•
List of “Questions for Bill Smith”
•
Photocopy of brochure for Smith exhibit with paragraph by PSB
•
Interview June 27, 1976
•
Interview June 5, 1977
Folder labeled “Snow, Edgar and Helen Foster (pseud. Nym Wales), writers,
longtime residents of China”:
•
Typescript of passage from Edgar Show’s Journey to the Beginning
•
Photocopy of title page of pamphlet, “GungHo!, with paragraph on Mrs. Edgar Snow
•
Correspondence between NS and Helen Foster Snow with extensive discussion of
PSB and her works
•
Photocopy of China chronology from Edgar Snow’s Red Star Over China, 1968 ed.
•
Bibliographical materials on Helen Foster Snow and her work
•
Notes by Helen Foster Snow on “The Shanghai Mind”
October 24, 1977
Folder labeled “Stone, Mrs. Raymond, resident of Danby Vermont”:
•
Interview September 9, 1977
Folder labeled “Strudwick, Sheppard, actor in A Desert Incident”:
•
Interview October 4, 1978
Folder labeled “Strudwick, Sheppard, second folder” [empty]:
Folder concerning Studer, Margot (Mrs. Augustus), member of the boards of
the Vineland Training School and the PSB Foundation [folder tab missing]:
•
Copies of letters from NS to Margot Studer
•
Notes on conversation with Mrs. Donald Sills, November 9, 1976
•
Interview February 25, 1976
Folder labeled “Waller/Thomson, Nancy Thomson Waller (Mrs. Julius Earll
Waller), John Seabury Thomson, James C. Thomson, children of James
Claude Thomson, Dean of the College of Science and Professor of
Chemistry at the University of Nanking, and his wife Margaret, one of
PSB’s closest friends in Nanking, China”:
•
Copy of letter from Carlton Wells to PSB, August 3, 1971, annotated “No reply to
this letter of mine”
•
Copy of letter from Carlton Wells to editor of Detroit News book page
Folder labeled “Westcott, Dr. William, physician in Doylestown, PA”:
•
Correspondence between Nora Stirling and Dr. Westcott
•
Letter from Susan Wolfson to Nora Stirling [misfiled]
•
Copies of letters from Nora Stirling to Wilson
Folder labeled “Wiltsie, Marion (Mrs. James W.), friend of Lossing and
Pearl Buck in China, wife of missionary doctor”:
•
Page 33
BOX 12
Interview June 28, 1976
Folder labeled “Yoder, Viola Sell (Mrs. Lloyd), with her husband, the first
houseparents for Welcome House”:
•”:
•
•
Newspaper article, “Dr. and Mrs. Buck View China . . .And Remember,”
Poughkeepsie Journal, March 12, 1972 [John Lossing and Lomay Buck]
•
Sheet containing clipping of photo of PSB with King of Sweden and article from
New York Times, “A Missionary Heritage”
•
Page 34
•
•
Correspondence between Nora Stirling and Grace Yaukey [misfiled?]
•
Handwritten notes on telephone conversation with Grace Yaukey, May 9, 1981
Folder labeled “PB Recent”:
•
Letter from Helen Foster Snow to Nora Stirling accompanying unidentified article
BOX 13
Folder labeled “BIBLIOGRAPHY”:
•
Pamphlet: “A Biographical Sketch of Pearl S. Buck,” 1936, including a bibliography
of her work to that date
•
Additional list of PSB publications
•
Pamphlet: “The Pearl S. Buck Book Club, Danby, Vermont 05739”
•
Letter from Richard J. Walsh, Jr. to Nora Stirling with bibliographic material
Folder labeled “BIRTHPLACE, ZINN”:
•
Material related to the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Foundation
•
Material related to the Pearl S. Buck Commemorative stamp, issued in 1983
Folder labeled “CRAIGHILL, LETTERS PSB=MGC”:
•
Two typed poems with handwritten notes [by PSB??]
•
Typescripts of letters from PSB to Marian Gardner Craighill and her mother
Page 35
Folder labeled “LEADS AND SOURCES”:
•
Seating list for dinner in honor of PSB in 1932
•
Guest list for dinner and music festival honoring PSG, May 5, 1960
Folder labeled “LISTS: REVIEWS AND Newspaper Clippings”:
•
Copies of “The Solitary Priest” (1926); “The Revolutionist” (1928); “This Day to
Treasure” (no date); “Singing to her Death” (1930); “China and the Foreign
Chinese” (1932); “The Clutch of the Ancients” (1924); “A Chinese Woman Speaks”
(1926); “New Modes of Chinese Marriage” (1927)
Folder labeled “LOSSING BUCK LETTERS 1914=1935 AND REJECTS”:
Copies of letters from PSB to Lossing Buck’s family, 1917-1928
Folder labeled “Hand-drawn Map of Nanjing, China”:
•
Notebook labeled “OUTLINE”:
BOX 14
Material sealed until the year 2010.

BOX 15
Empty
BOX 16
Copies of Imperial Woman (annotated by Nora Stirling), Mandala (annotated by Nora
Stirling), and The Living Reed
BOX 17
Copies of The Exile and Fighting Angel, extensively annotated by Nora Stirling