]
]This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the FAQ for more information.
Expand/collapse Collection Overview
| Size | About 2100 items (26.5 linear feet) |
| Abstract | Walker Percy was raised in Georgia, Alabama, and Greenville, Miss., and lived most of his adult life in Covington, La. He was the author of six published novels: The Moviegoer (1961), The Last Gentleman (1966), Love in the Ruins (1971), Lancelot (1977), The Second Coming (1980), and The Thanatos Syndrome (1987). He also wrote The Gramercy Winner and The Charterhouse, neither of which was published during his lifetime. Works of non-fiction include The Message in the Bottle (1975), Lost in the Cosmos (1983), and Symbol and Existence: A Study in Meaning (collected essays, unpublished as a collection). He also wrote numerous short stories, book reviews, philosophical pieces relating to language and to religion, especially Catholicism. The collection includes drafts, notes, and other materials relating to all of Percy's major works and to many of his shorter efforts. Also included are subject files containing source materials and other items relating to authors and topics in which he was particularly interested, including religious themes in literature and the intellectual life of the American South. There are also materials relating to John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces (1980), which Percy helped publish. The collection contains a large amount of correspondence with authors, critics, and others. Most significant among Percy's correspondents were Shelby Foote, a life-long friend; Caroline Gordon, who, in the early 1950s, offered Percy in-depth critiques of his work and pointers on writing in general; and Donald Barthelme, who wrote about Percy's submissions to the journal Forum. Other correspondents include Zoltan Abadi Nagy, Malcolm Bell, Cleanth Brooks, Gary M. Ciuba, James Collins, Ansley Cope, John William Corrington, Robert Woodham Daniel, John N. Deely, Clifton Fadiman, Robert Giroux, Peter Handke, Paul Horgan, Kenneth Laine Ketner, Victor A. Kramer, Bernald Malamud, Jacques Maritain, Doug Marlette, Thomas Merton, Flannery O'Connor, Walter J. Ong, J. F. Powers, Thomas A. Sebeok, Elizabeth Spencer, Lewis P. Simpson, Allen Tate, Mark Taylor, Henry Babcock Veatch, Eudora Welty, and C. Vann Woodward. There are also over 200 formal and informal photographs, most of Percy with his family, including his uncle William Alexander Percy, but some of Percy with Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Eudora Welty, Cleanth Brooks, C. Vann Woodward, Elizabeth Spencer, Louis D. Rubin Jr., Ernest Gaines, Shelby Foote, and others. Also included are several hats and a sweater belonging to Percy. |
| Creator | Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. |
| Language | English. |
Expand/collapse Information For Users
Expand/collapse Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Expand/collapse Related Collections
Expand/collapse Biographical Information
Novelist and essayist Walker Percy was born 28 May 1916 in Birmingham, Ala., the oldest son of Leroy Pratt and Martha Phinizy Percy. After his father's death in 1929, when Percy was 13, the family lived in Athens, Ga., until 1930 when his mother moved the family to Greenville, Miss. Martha Phinizy Percy died on 2 April 1932 in an automobile accident. Thereafter, Percy and his two brothers lived with their father's cousin, William Alexander Percy, lawyer, landowner, and poet of Greenville, Miss. From Greenville, Percy went to the University of North Carolina (B.A., chemistry, 1937) and then to the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, from which he was graduated in 1941. The next year, while working as an intern, he contracted tuberculosis and spent the following two years in a sanitorium in the Adirondacks. An attempt to return to Columbia to teach in 1944 failed when he suffered a relapse. Upon his recovery, Percy decided to abandon medicine in favor of a career in writing.
In 1946, Percy married Mary Townsend ("Bunt"), a native of Mississippi, and settled shortly afterwards in Covington, La. He and his wife became Roman Catholics at about the time of their marriage. Percy published a number of essays in the 1950s and his first published novel, The Moviegoer, won the 1962 National Book Award for fiction. Other published novels were The Last Gentleman (1966), Love in the Ruins (1971), Lancelot (1977), The Second Coming (1980), and The Thanatos Syndrome (1987). He published two works of non-fiction, The Message in the Bottle (1975) and Lost in the Cosmos (1983).
Walker Percy died of cancer on 10 May 1990. He was survived by his wife and their two daughters, Mary Pratt Percy Lobdell and Ann Boyd Percy Moores.
(This note draws from material in Southern Writers: A Biographical Dictionary; Robert Coles, Walker Percy: An American Search; and the Encyclopedia of Southern History.)
Back to TopExpand/collapse Scope and Content
These papers consist chiefly of material produced by Walker Percy while working on his six published novels, two published book-length works of non-fiction, various essays and reviews, and three unpublished long works--two fiction (one of which is not extant) and one non-fiction.
The collection is arranged in seven series: Novels (Series I), Other Works (Series II), Correspondence (Series III), Subject Files (Series IV), Other Papers (Series V), Restricted Material (Series VI), and Pictures (Series VII).
For most of the published book-length works in Series I and II, there are notes, partial and/or preliminary drafts, complete or nearly complete drafts, and sets of galley and/or page proofs. For the unpublished works, there are one or two complete drafts (with the exception of "The Charterhouse," for which there is only a page of notes). In Series II, there are also numerous essays, interviews, book reviews, speeches, and short stories by Percy. Correspondence in Series III contains a large amount of correspondence with authors, critics, and others, including Shelby Foote, Caroline Gordon, Flannery O'Connor, and Thomas Merton. Subject files in Series IV are resource materials compiled by Percy on various subjects. In Series V, there is a draft of John Kennedy Toole's "Ignatius Reilly" and photocopies of correspondence, 1964-1966, relating to the book. Percy was instrumental in the posthumous publication of this work A Confederacy of Dunces (1980).
Materials in Series VI are restricted at the request of Mary Bernice Townsend Percy as of the date of this inventory and a few letters from the December 1996 addition. Series VII contains photographs.
The material received in 1981 (all filed in Series I and II) was accompanied by an inventory, prepared by Percy, briefly listing the items transferred. The present arrangement of those items generally follows the order established by Percy in that inventory. Percy listed items in the general order of their production; the present arrangement differs from Percy's order only when a different order of production is apparent or in cases of obvious filing errors.
Percy briefly identified some of the items received in the 1983 and 1989 additions; those identifications were used in preparing the descriptions of those items. With a few exceptions, the 1983 and 1989 items in Series I and II follow the 1981 items for each work. For "The Gramercy Winner," all items were part of the 1983 addition. Lost in the Cosmos items were received in 1983, 1989, and 1994. The Thanatos Syndrome items were part of the 1989 and 1994 additions.
In the descriptions of items in Series I and II, "leaf" refers to a sheet of paper and "page" to a side of a sheet bearing typescript or handwriting (autograph manuscript). A leaf with writing on both recto and verso thus consists of two pages. Leaves not assigned numbers by Percy were numbered during processing. Some leaves to which Percy assigned numbers were given additional numbers during processing in order to provide consecutive numbering schemes and to assure preservation of the original order of leaves. For galley and page proofs, only the number of leaves is indicated in order to avoid confusion due to multiple pages printed on each leaf.
The additions of 1994 contain drafts and proofs of Lost in the Cosmos and The Thanatos Syndrome, many essays (and some apparently unfinished longer works), as well as notes and much significant correspondence. Items received in May 1994 were accompanied by an annotated item list prepared when the material was acquired. Items from this addition have been integrated into the collection, but retain the numbers from the item list in parenthesis after the description (e.g., Received May 1994, #423). In Series I and II, these items have been placed after earlier accessions, despite the possibility of earlier production. Two items, B:16 and B:17, were part of the May 1994 accession, but do not appear on the item list.
The materials in the large Addition of 2007 have been filed with similar materials from the original deposit. This addition adds materials to Series I, II, III, IV, V, and VII; in each series, Addition of 2007 materials are described after similar materials from the original deposit so that Addition of 2007 materials can be clearly seen. The materials added to Series I consist of several drafts of the novel The Thanatos Syndrome. Items added to Series II consist of one typescript of the unpublished work "Symbol and Existence: A Study in Meaning" and a number of drafts of speeches and articles written by Percy. Materials added to Series III consist of 16 letters between Walker Percy and family, friends, and business acquaintances. Subject files added to Series IV contain notes, source materials, printed materials, and published materials written about Percy. Materials added to Series V include several works written by others that were given to Percy, as well three hats and a sweater that belonged to him. Materials added to Series VII are about 225 photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated (bulk 1940-1989). Many of these photographs depict members of Percy's family, but some show Walker Percy with Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Eudora Welty, and Shelby Foote, and others.
The materials in the Addition of February 2008 have been filed with similar materials from the original deposit. This addition adds materials to Series I, II, III, and IV; in each series, Addition of February 2008 materials are described after similar materials from the original deposit so that Addition of February 2008 materials can be clearly seen. The materials added to Series I consist of a typescript of the novel The Thanatos Syndrome and a folder of materials related to that novel. Materials added to Series II include a draft of "How to be an American Novelist in Spite of being Southern and Catholic," a speech entitled Love and Death, two untitled drafts, and a draft by Walker Percy regarding Jan Gretlund's collection of writings about Percy. Materials added to Series III include photocopies of two letters by Walker Percy to a Dr. Hodd, 1989-1990. Materials regarding a collection of verse and letters by William Alexander Percy were added to Series IV.
The Addition of December 1996 has not been integrated with other materials and is described after Series VII.
Back to TopExpand/collapse Series Quick Links
Expand/collapseI. Novels, early 1950s-1987.
Note that this series contains materials from a number of additions made to the original deposit. Most additions have been integrated into the original deposit with the date of the additions noted individually where they occur. However, materials in the Addition of 2007 (folders F:11-16), which includes six drafts of the novel The Thanatos Syndrome, and the Addition of February 2008 (folder F:17), which includes a typescript of The Thanatos Syndrome with editor's marks, appear after the corresponding material in the original deposit.
Expand/collapseA. The Moviegoer (published 1961).
Notes, outlines, draft material, the setting copy, and proofs. Included are a short story with a similar title (Item 2), an early draft (Item 3), which is relatively complete, and the bulk of a later draft (Item 4). See Series III, folder 7A, for a draft of Chapter 1 that was enclosed in correspondence with Donald Barthelme.
Expand/collapseB. The Last Gentleman (published 1966).
Character sketches, notes, outlines, draft material, editor's comments and some source material, the setting copy, and galley proofs. Item 1 includes notes about characters and ideas for the novel, as does the early portion of the item Percy called" first draft" (Item 2). In addition to the setting copy, four other relatively complete drafts are included (Items 3, 4, 5, and 6A/C/D). Editor's comments are included in Item 6B.
Expand/collapseC. Love in the Ruins (published 1971).
Notes, source material, outlines, draft material, the setting copy, and proofs. Item 1B consists of source material. Notes are included in many items, but appear most extensively in Items 1A and 7. Other items are chiefly either drafts of parts of the work or relatively complete drafts. The fullest drafts, in addition to the setting copy, are Item 5A, the bulk of Item 7, and Item 8.
Expand/collapseD. Lancelot (published 1977).
Notes, outlines, partial and relatively complete drafts, the setting copy, and proofs. Notes are included in many items, but are most extensive in Items 1, 3D, and 7D. Many items are partial or preliminary drafts; among these is Item 2, a short early version titled "The Prisoner." In addition to the setting copy, there are four relatively complete drafts (Items 6, 7A, 8, and 9). See Series II: A:3 for notes and draft material apparently relating to Lancelot that is mixed with The Message in the Bottle material.
As received at the Southern Historical Collection, the material now constituting Items 3, 4, 5, and 8 was filed together in a package, identified by Percy as "First draft, pencil manuscript." The order of this material has been maintained; divisions are based on groupings of leaves as received and on differences among types of material.
Expand/collapseE. The Second Coming (published 1980).
Notes, partial and complete drafts, the setting copy, and proofs. Most items are drafts of parts of the work, the many parts of Item 2 forming an extensive group of partial drafts. Notes are concentrated particularly in parts of Item 1 and in Item 2Aii. In addition to the setting copy, there are five relatively complete drafts--Item 1B, 2F, 3, 4, and 5A.
Note: All parts of Item 1, described by Percy as "First draft, pencil manuscript," were filed together as received at the Southern Historical Collection. Divisions in Item 1 are based on groupings of leaves as received and on differences among types of material. Material now constituting five of the six parts (E2A-2E) of Item 2 was the bulk of material Percy identified as "6 carbon copies of early versions." These five divisions and the order of the material in this item are as they were when received. Subdivisions, established during processing, are based on differences among types of material. Because it was clearly composed later, Percy's sixth "version" is filed separately as Item 5. Included in Item 2 (E-2F) is a typescript received in 1989, identified by Percy as "Typescript Early Version."
Expand/collapseF. The Thanatos Syndrome (published
1987).
Outlines, notes, partial and complete drafts, and setting copy. Except for F:9, most drafts are fairly complete.
Researchers should note the separation between the original deposit, the Addition of 2007 (folders F:11-16), and the Addition of February 2008 (folder F:17). The Addition of 2007 added galley proofs, page proofs, "repros," and "blue lines" of The Thanatos Syndrome that relate to the earlier drafts and typescripts found in the original deposit. The Addition of February 2008 added a typescript of The Thanatos Syndrome that includes editor's marks and possibly those of Walker Percy as well as a file of clippings and other materials related to this novel.
Expand/collapseOriginal Deposit
Expand/collapseAddition of 2007: The Thanatos Syndrome (published
1987).
Galley proofs, page proofs, repros, and blue lines.
Expand/collapseAddition of February 2008: The Thanatos Syndrome
(published 1987).
Typescript of The Thanatos Syndrome that includes editor's marks and possibly those of Walker Percy as well as a file of clippings and other materials related to this novel.
Expand/collapseG. The Gramercy Winner
(unpublished).
Bound draft of an unpublished novel, apparently written in the early 1950s. In April 1983, in a conversation with Tim West of the Southern Historical collection staff, Percy said that this is the second or third of three novels (including The Charterhouse, see H:1 in this series) written before The Moviegoer that were not published.
Expand/collapseH: The Charterhouse (unpublished).
Expand/collapseII. Other Works.
Note that this series contains materials from a number of additions made to the original deposit. Most additions have been integrated into the original deposit with the date of the additions noted individually where they occur. Materials in the Addition of 2007 (C:4; D:126-159), however, have been placed after similar materials from the original deposit.
Expand/collapseA. The Message in the Bottle (published
1975).
Notes, draft material, offprints, part of the setting copy, proofs, and paste-ups. Most draft material relates to essays "The Delta Factor," "The Message in the Bottle," and "A Theory of Language." Item 10 consists of unidentified material. Item 3 may include some material relating to Lancelot. See Series III, folder 28, for an early draft, chiefly of "The Delta Factor" (15 leaves [18 pages]) enclosed in a November 1974 letter from Percy to Shelby Foote.
Expand/collapseB. Lost in the Cosmos (published 1983).
Notes, source material, diagrams, draft material, and proofs. Items 1-4 are widely varying versions of the book. Items 5-10 are drafts that resemble the published version in format and organization.
Expand/collapseC. Symbol and Existence: A Study in Meaning
(unpublished).
Three drafts of an unpublished work compiled in 1960-1961, consisting of ten chapters, a preface, and a conclusion. Percy indicated that seven of the chapters were published as articles in the late 1950s. The journals in which those articles appeared are listed on the second leaf of Item C:2. Several of the previously published articles later appeared in Message in the Bottle. There are a very few autograph changes or insertions in each draft.
Expand/collapseAddition of 2007: Symbol and Existence: A Study in
Meaning (unpublished).
One draft of an unpublished work compiled in 1960-1961.
Expand/collapseD. Other Writings.
Principally essays, interviews, book reviews, speeches, and short stories produced by Percy from the early 1950s through the late 1980s. Many of these works were published or recorded, while others were not. Some of the titles were used by Percy to identify particular drafts; some titles are of finished drafts; and some titles were created during processing to aid in description (in square brackets).
Researchers should note the separation between the original deposit and the Addition of 2007 (folders D:126-159), which contains drafts of some of the same titles found in the original deposit, but is filed after the materials in the original deposit. Note that some short works are included as enclosures with correspondence in the Addition of 2007 materials in Series III.
Similarly, the Addition of February 2008 (folders D:160-164), which contains drafts of some of the same titles found in the original deposit, is filed after the materials in the original deposit.
Expand/collapseAddition of 2007: Other Writings
Arrangement: alphabetical by title of work, or by title of folder.
Principally Percy's lectures and speeches, 1962-1989. Also included are a few articles and essays. Some of these items were published or recorded, but others were not. Some of the folder titles were used by Percy to identify particular drafts; some titles were created at the time of processing the collection to aid in identification. Publication or presentation information is given when known. Drafts of the same work are, for the most part, housed in the manner in which they were received. Note that some correspondence and other items are filed with the materials to which they relate. Note also that some short works are included as enclosures in the Addition of 2007 materials in Series III.
Expand/collapseAddition of February 2008: Other Writings
Arrangement: alphabetical by title of work, or by title of folder.
Materials added to Series II include a draft of "How to be an American Novelist in Spite of being Southern and Catholic," a speech entitled Love and Death, two untitled drafts, and a draft by Walker Percy regarding Jan Gretlund's collection of writings about Percy.
Expand/collapseIII. Correspondence, 1923-1992 and undated.
Arrangement: by correspondent.
Correspondence between Walker Percy and various friends and acquaintances. Unless marked with a date, letters in this series were received in 1989.
Included are about 70 letters, notes, and postcards, 1960-1982, from Percy to Shelby Foote. Most are originals (handwritten or typed) that Foote returned to Percy. Two early items are carbon copies. Percy wrote to Foote, his lifelong friend, about his and Foote's writing projects, personal and family activities, shared experiences, and feelings about life, work, and other matters. Note that many letters from Shelby Foote to Percy are filed in the Shelby Foote Papers (#4038).There is also a series of letters, 1951-1955, of Caroline Gordon. In 1951, Percy sent Gordon, who he had met years earlier, the manuscript of a novel that was to be called "The Charterhouse" (no known draft of this novel survives). Gordon read the manuscript and, in a series of long, single-spaced, typed letters, offered Percy advice about it and about writing in general. In the fall of 1952, Percy sent Gordon a revised version of the manuscript which, once again, she critiqued in detail and later tried to help him place with a publisher. In these letters, Gordon also discussed Catholicism; other writers, including Flannery O'Connor, whose manuscripts Gordon was critiquing, and Dorothy Day, whom Gordon was getting to know during this period; and her own work. Gordon also passed along suggestions about Percy's work made by her husband Allen Tate. One letter from Tate, offering advice about writing, is also included.
There is also a series of letters, 1957-1960, to Percy from Donald Barthelme concerning Percy's submissions to the journal Forum. Percy had, in the 1950s, submitted various articles as well as a chapter (included here) from his novel then titled "Confessions of a Moviegoer."
Also included are letters from Cleanth Brooks, Jacques Maritain, Thomas Merton, Flannery O'Connor, Lewis P. Simpson, and Allen Tate.
Note that a few letters are filed with drafts of writings in Series I (with Items B:5 and B:6B) and Series II (with Item B:6).
The Addition of 2007 materials (folders 79A-81) include personal correspondence, publishing correspondence, and other letters sent to Walker Percy.
The Addition of February 2008 materials (folders 82) include photocopies of two letters by Walker Percy to a Dr. Hodd, 1989-1990.
Expand/collapseOriginal Deposit
Expand/collapseAddition of 2007: Correspondence, 1923-1992 and undated.
Correspondence between Walker Percy and family, friends, and business acquaintances.
Note that there is also correspondence that accompanies drafts of writings and notes in the Addition of 2007 materials in Series II and Series V.
| Folder 79A |
Personal correspondence#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Correspondence, 1923-1992 and undated., Folder 79AIncludes one postcard from seven-year-old Walker Percy to his mother and father and two undated letters from Walker Percy to Mary Bernice Townsend Percy. |
| Folder 79B |
Personal correspondence#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Correspondence, 1923-1992 and undated., Folder 79BOne letter from Walker Percy to Willis Glover concerning the theory of evolution. (Received in January 2007) |
| Folder 80 |
Publishing correspondence#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Correspondence, 1923-1992 and undated., Folder 80Letters requesting permission to republish Percy's work, letters of congratulations, and other publishing-related correspondence. |
| Folder 81 |
Other letters sent to Walker Percy#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Correspondence, 1923-1992 and undated., Folder 81A postcard from Percy's physician about Percy's tendonitis, a copy of a 1992 letter from a P. J. Townsend describing his medical condition, and a letter enclosing information about the Federal Prison Camp at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Ala. |
Expand/collapseAddition of February 2008: Correspondence, 1989-1990.
Includes photocopies of two letters by Walker Percy to a Dr. Hodd, 1989-1990.
| Folder 82 |
Walker Percy to Dr. Hodd, 1989-1990#04294, Sub-series Addition of February 2008: Correspondence, 1989-1990., Folder 82 |
Expand/collapseIV. Subject Files, circa 1950-1990.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Notes, source materials, and other items. About half of this material is holograph notes that are nearly illegible. Most of the other material consists of printed items that Percy used as resources for his philosophical and fictional writings and files on miscellaneous subjects relating to routine matters. The Addition of 2007 materials (folders 69-82) contain notes, source materials, printed materials, and published materials written about Percy. The Addition of February 2008 materials (folder 83) contain materials regarding a collection of verse and letters by William Alexander Percy. Note that, in most cases, Percy's original folder titles have been retained.
Expand/collapseOriginal Deposit
Expand/collapseAddition of 2007: Subject Files, circa 1950-1990.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Notes, source materials, and other items. Included are printed items that Percy used as resources for his philosophical and fictional writings and files on miscellaneous subjects. Also included are lecture programs and published materials written about Percy. Note that, in most cases, Percy's original folder titles have been retained.
Expand/collapseAddition of February 2008: Subject Files, circa 1921-1922.
Material regarding a collection of verse and letters by William Alexander Percy. Includes typed and handwritten commentary by Walker Percy as well as typed and photocopied correspondence between William Alexander Percy and Allen Tate.
| Folder 83 |
Percy, William Alexander.#04294, Sub-series Addition of February 2008: Subject Files, circa 1921-1922., Folder 83 |
Expand/collapseV. Other Materials.
Several works by others that were given to Percy, including a draft of "Ignatius Reilly" (published as A Confederacy fo Dunces) by John Kennedy Toole. Also included are three hats and one sweater that belonged to Percy. Except for the Toole item, all items are from the Addition of 2007.
Expand/collapseA. Ignatius Reilly by John Kennedy
Toole. Published as A Confederacy of Dunces
(1980).
Percy was instrumental in the posthumous publication of Toole's novel and wrote a preface for it (not included in this draft). See also correspondence with H. Patrick Oglesby and Paul E. Gallis.
Expand/collapseAddition of 2007: Other Materials.
Expand/collapseVI. Restricted Material.
Series VI contains materials closed to research at the request of Mary Bernice Townsend Percy.
Expand/collapseVII. Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk
1940-1989) and undated.
The original deposit (received 1989 and 2003) includes five images (P-4294/1-5), 1946 and undated. The Addition of 2007 materials include about 225 items, circa 1910-1990 and undated (bulk 1940-1989).
Expand/collapsePictures, 1946 and undated. (Received 1989
and 2003)
Expand/collapseAddition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990
(bulk 1940-1989) and undated.
Arrangement is by category as noted below. In general, images within each group are in rough chronological order.
About 225 photographs and related items. Images are black-and-white photographs, color photographs, sepia photographs, and contact sheets. The bulk of these pictures are candid photographs of Walker Percy alone and Percy with his family. Family images depict Percy's wife, children, parents, brothers, grandchildren, and others. Also included are professional photographs of Percy and photographs of him with Pope John Paul II, Nancy Reagan, Shelby Foote, C. Vann Woodward, Ernest Gaines, Louis D. Rubin Jr., Elizabeth Spencer, Cleanth Brooks, Eudora Welty, and others.
| Image P-4294/6-23 |
Early family photographs, circa 1910-1920#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., P-4294/6-23Portraits and candid snapshots of Walker Percy's mother, Martha Phinizy Percy, with identified and unidentified individuals. Images P-4294/6-20 were kept by Martha Phinizy Percy in a photograph album that was given to Walker Percy after his mother's death in 1929. Some of these images have descriptive notes on versos that were written by Percy's mother. Other verso notes and numbers were added later by Mary Bernice Townsend Percy and Mary Pratt Percy Lobdell for identification purposes. Photographs are arranged as received, with the scrapbook snapshots first, followed by posed portraits. P-4294/6P-4294/7P-4294/8P-4294/9P-4294/10P-4294/11P-4294/12P-4294/13P-4294/14P-4294/15P-4294/16P-4294/17P-4294/18P-4294/19P-4294/20P-4294/21P-4294/22P-4294/23 |
| Image P-4294/24-29 |
Childhood photographs of Walker Percy#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., P-4294/24-29Individual and group photographs of Walker Percy as a child. Image P-4294/27 shows Walker Percy with his father, LeRoy Percy, and his brother, LeRoy Percy Jr. Images P-4294/28 and P-4294/29 show Percy with both of his brothers, LeRoy and Billups Phinizy ("Phin") Percy. P-4294/24P-4294/25P-4294/26P-4294/27P-4294/28P-4294/29 |
| Image P-4294/30-45 |
Walker Percy in his youth and early adulthood, 1934-1949 and undated#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., P-4294/30-45P-4294/30P-4294/31P-4294/32P-4294/33P-4294/34P-4294/35P-4294/36P-4294/37P-4294/38P-4294/39P-4294/40P-4294/41P-4294/42P-4294/43P-4294/44P-4294/45 |
| Image P-4294/46-102 |
Walker Percy in later adulthood, 1962-1989 and undated#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., P-4294/46-102Professional and candid photographs, among them two images of Walker Percy taken by Alfred A. Knopf in 1962, the year The Moviegoer was published by Knopf, and one image of Percy at a book signing for The Last Gentleman. A large number of these images are candid shots of Percy, many taken outdoors at his home in Covington, La. P-4294/46P-4294/47P-4294/48P-4294/49P-4294/50P-4294/51P-4294/52P-4294/53P-4294/54P-4294/55P-4294/56P-4294/57P-4294/58P-4294/59P-4294/60P-4294/61P-4294/62P-4294/63P-4294/64P-4294/65P-4294/66P-4294/67P-4294/68P-4294/69P-4294/70P-4294/71P-4294/72P-4294/73P-4294/74P-4294/75P-4294/76P-4294/77P-4294/78P-4294/79P-4294/80P-4294/81P-4294/82P-4294/83P-4294/84P-4294/85P-4294/86P-4294/87P-4294/88P-4294/89P-4294/90P-4294/91P-4294/92P-4294/93P-4294/94P-4294/95P-4294/96P-4294/97P-4294/98P-4294/99P-4294/100P-4294/101P-4294/102 |
| Oversize Image OP-P-4294/1-4 |
Oversize photographs#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., OP-P-4294/1-4Four images including black-and-white and sepia-toned photographs of Walker Percy, undated. OP-P-4294/1OP-P-4294/2OP-P-4294/3OP-P-4294/4 |
| Image P-4294/103-116 |
Mary Bernice Townsend Percy (Bunt Percy)#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., P-4294/103-116Photographs of Bunt Percy, Walker Percy's wife. Included are individual portraits and candid shots of Bunt, as well as many images of Bunt and Walker Percy together. Bunt also appears in images in other image groupings in this series. P-4294/103P-4294/104P-4294/105P-4294/106P-4294/107P-4294/108P-4294/109P-4294/110P-4294/111P-4294/112P-4294/113P-4294/114P-4294/115P-4294/116 |
| Image P-4294/117-136 |
Walker Percy with family#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., P-4294/117-136Photographs of Walker Percy with various members of his immediate and extended family. Among these images are two photographs of Percy with his brothers and several friends. There are also a number of images of Percys daughters Mary Pratt Percy Lobdell and Ann Boyd Percy Moores, and several images of the Percys with their grandchildren. P-4294/117P-4294/118P-4294/119P-4294/120P-4294/121P-4294/122P-4294/123P-4294/124P-4294/125P-4294/126P-4294/127P-4294/128P-4294/129P-4294/130P-4294/131P-4294/132P-4294/133P-4294/134P-4294/135P-4294/136 |
| Image P-4294/137-143 |
Percy family members#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., P-4294/137-143Photographs of Walker Percy's uncle and childhood guardian, William Alexander Percy; several images of Percy's two brothers, Billups Phinizy ("Phin") Percy and LeRoy Percy Jr.; and images of other Percy family members. P-4294/137P-4294/138P-4294/139P-4294/140P-4294/141P-4294/142P-4294/143 |
| Image P-4294/144-155 |
Walker Percy with identified individuals, 1940-1989 and undated#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., P-4294/144-155Includes two images from 1940 of Walker Percy, his brother LeRoy Percy Jr., and Percy's lifelong friend writer Shelby Foote (P-4294/144-145). Also included are a 1989 photograph of a meeting of the Fellowship of Southern Writers in Chattanooga, Tenn., with Shelby Foote, C. Vann Woodward, Ernest Gaines, Louis D. Rubin Jr., Elizabeth Spencer, Cleanth Brooks, and others in attendance (P-4294/152); a photograph (P-4294/153) of Percy, C. Vann Woodward, and Eudora Welty; and two undated photographs of Walker and Bunt Percy meeting Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in Rome (P-4294/154-155). P-4294/144P-4294/145P-4294/146P-4294/147P-4294/148P-4294/149P-4294/150P-4294/151P-4294/152P-4294/153P-4294/154P-4294/155 |
| Image P-4294/156-164 |
Walker Percy with unidentified individuals#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., P-4294/156-164Most images show Percy participating in a graduation ceremony (believed to be at Marquette University). P-4294/156P-4294/157P-4294/158P-4294/159P-4294/160P-4294/161P-4294/162P-4294/163P-4294/164 |
| Image P-4294/165-178 |
Identified places, scenes, and events#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., P-4294/165-178Includes images of the home of Percy's uncle, William Alexander Percy, where Walker and his two brothers spent most of their childhood; photographs of Walker Percy's home in Covington, La.; and an image of "The Patriot," a statue that stands over the grave of Walker Percy's great-uncle, Senator LeRoy Percy (1861-1929). Identified events include one honoring Walker Percy for his 1989 Jefferson Lectureship with the National Endowment of the Humanities, and Walker and Bunt Percy meeting President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan at the White House in 1987. With the two Reagan photographs are the event invitation, program, and menu for the White House dinner at which the photographs were taken. The photographs and the invitation are autographed by Nancy Reagan. P-4294/165P-4294/166P-4294/167P-4294/168P-4294/169P-4294/170P-4294/171P-4294/172P-4294/173P-4294/174P-4294/175P-4294/176P-4294/177P-4294/178 |
| Image P-4294/179-184 |
Unidentified places, scenes, and events#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., P-4294/179-184Includes several snapshots of what appears to be a Mardi Gras float commemorating Percy's first novel The Moviegoer. P-4294/179P-4294/180P-4294/181P-4294/182P-4294/183P-4294/184 |
| Image P-4294/185-219 |
Travel photographs#04294, Sub-series Addition of 2007: Pictures, circa 1910-1990 (bulk 1940-1989) and undated., P-4294/185-219Images of Walker Percy and Percy with family on trips to various locations throughout the world, including Cuba, Mexico, Italy, France, and Gulf Shores, Ala. The earliest of these are snapshots from a family trip to Havana, Cuba, in January 1951. P-4294/185P-4294/186P-4294/187P-4294/188P-4294/189P-4294/190P-4294/191P-4294/192P-4294/193P-4294/194P-4294/195P-4294/196P-4294/197P-4294/198P-4294/199P-4294/200P-4294/201P-4294/202P-4294/203P-4294/204P-4294/205P-4294/206P-4294/207P-4294/208P-4294/209P-4294/210P-4294/211P-4294/212P-4294/213P-4294/214P-4294/215P-4294/216P-4294/217P-4294/218P-4294/219 |
Expand/collapseAddition of December 1996 (Acc. 96185)
Due to their sensitive nature, some letters have been closed to research until 2009. These letters are housed with other restricted materials in Series VI.
| Box 42 |
Correspondence, 1971-1990, between Walker Percy and Gene Usdin and copies of clippings about Percy.#04294, Series Addition of December 1996 (Acc. 96185), Box 42 |
Expand/collapse Items Separated