University of Virginia Library

Page Works Sold
To Barrett Group

Several papers of Thomas Nelson
Page (1853-1922), a leading
Southern writer on the Civil
War and Reconstruction, have
been acquired recently by Alderman
Library and will be added
to the extensive Barrett collection
of American literature.

The material was acquired
with the cooperation and assistance
of Mrs. Ann Page Johns
of Richmond, the niece of
Thomas Nelson Page. The
archive includes numerous manuscripts
of Mr. Page's novels,
short stories, and poems during
his entire writing career, as well
as many manuscripts relating to
his diplomatic career as ambassador
to Italy.

The University now has the
longest and most comprehensive
collection of Page manuscripts
and autographed letters in existence,
according to C. Waller
Barrett, donor of a major portion
of the Barrett collection.

"The most recent addition to
the Page papers is Page's original
autographed manuscript of
'Marse Chan,' his first published
short story," said Mr. Barrett.
"This story was published in
Century Magazine after being
held by the editors for four years
because they felt there had been
a surfeit of stories in the Negro
dialect. When 'Marsh Chan' was
finally published in 1884, it
created a sensation and established
Mr. Page as a leading
Southern writer.

"Perhaps Mr. Page's most important
novel was 'Red Rock'
published in 1898 and described
by critics as the best novel on
the Reconstruction period in
Virginia."

Although he devoted the greater
part of his writing career to
poetry and fiction, in his later
years he published works on
history and criticism including
"The Old Dominion: Her Making
and Her Manner" and
"Robert E. Le: The Southerner."

In 1913 Mr. Page was appointed
ambassador to Italy by
President Woodrow Wilson and
remained there until 1919. Upon
the outbreak of World War I,
he aided hundreds of Americans
in getting home.

"His writings were romantic
with a vein of realism," said Mr.
Barrett. "His short juvenile
novel, 'Two Little Confederates,'
is still in print."

During recent years the University
has acquired most of the
surviving manuscripts of Ellen
Glasgow, Mary Johnston and
Amelie Rieves, said Mr. Barrett.
In addition there are large holdings
of works of Virginia novelist
John Esten Cooke. "The collection
of manuscripts of James
Branch Cabell of Richmond is
believed to be the largest and
most complete collection of any
American author in existence,"
Mr. Barrett said.