Inventory of the Walker Percy Papers, circa 1910-1992
Collection Number 4294
Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Collection Information
- Contact Information:
- Manuscripts Department
- CB#3926, Wilson Library
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
- Phone: 919/962-1345
- Fax: 919/962-3594
- Email: mss@email.unc.edu
- URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
- Processed by
- Manuscripts Department Staff
- Date Processed
- 1982-2008
- Encoded by
- Jackie Dean
- Date Encoded
- 1999
- Revisions
- Updated in February 2003 and July 2003 by Linda Sellars; in July 2004 by Nancy Kaiser; in November 2007 by Biff Hollingsworth; and in March 2008 by Amanda Ross
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Descriptive Summary
- Repository
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
- Creator
- Percy, Walker, 1916-1990.
- Title
- Walker Percy Papers, circa 1910-1992
- Call Number
- 4294
- Extent
-
- About 2100 items (26.5 linear feet)
- Language
- English.
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Administrative Information
- Restrictions to Access
- This collection has restrictions to access. Please see details below or contact the Manuscripts Department for more information.
- Usage Restrictions
- RESTRICTED: Entire collection: photocopying is prohibited. Series VI contains materials closed to research at the request of Mary Bernice Townsend Percy. Series VI also includes items from the addition of December 1996, which are closed until 2009.
- Provenance
- Received from Walker Percy of Covington, La., in December 1981 (Acc. 81142), April 1983 (Acc. 83013), and May 1989 (Acc. 89040). E. T. P. Boone letters transferred from the Rare Book Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill, in September 1989 (Acc. 89108). Received from Malcomb Bell Jr. in July 1990 (Acc. 90070) and December 1991 (Acc. 91177); Elizabeth Spencer in September 1990 (Acc. 90122); Doris Betts in September 1990 (Acc. 90123); Louis D. Rubin Jr. in September 1990 (Acc. 92124); Helen M. Barthelme in April 1991 (Acc. 91051); Charles Barrett in February 1992 (Acc. 92025); Weldon Thornton in March 1993 (Acc. 93044); Ansley Cope in June 1993 (Acc. 93071) and March 1994 (Acc. 94045); and Ruel Tyson in April 1999 (Acc. 98252). Received from Mary Bernice Townsend Percy and Mary Pratt Percy Lobdell of Covington, La., in May 1992 (Acc. 92062 and 92063), September 1993 (Acc. 93123), May 1994 (Acc. 94065), June 1994 (Acc. 94083), October 1994 (Acc. 94139), January 1995 (Acc. 95107), and July 2007 (Acc. 100745). Received from Gene Usdin of New Orleans, La., in December 1996 (Acc. 96185); Lynn Roundtree of Chapel Hill, N.C., in March 2002 (Acc. 99199); Donald Miles Johnson of Macon, Ga., in February 2003 (Acc. 99437); Marianne Steiner of Milwaukie, Ore., in December 2003 (Acc. 99677); Grover B. Willis of Durham, N.C., in January 2007 (Acc. 100578); Mary Bernice Townsend Percy of Covington, La., in February 2008 (Acc. 100858).
- Preferred Citation
- [Identification of item], in the Walker Percy Papers #4294, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- Copyright Notice
- Copyright for Walker Percy materials is retained by Mary Bernice Townsend Percy.
- Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Online Catalog Headings
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.
- Abadi Nagy, Zoltan.
- American fiction--20th century.
- American literature--20th century.
- Authors, American--20th century.
- Barthelme, Donald.
- Bell, Malcolm.
- Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994.
- Ciuba, Gary M.
- Coles, Robert.
- Collins, James.
- Cope, Ansley.
- Corrington, John William.
- Daniel, Robert Woodham, 1915-
- Deely, John N.
- Fadiman, Clifton, 1904-1999.
- Family--Louisiana--Social life and customs.
- Family--Mississippi--Social life and customs.
- Foote, Shelby.
- Gaines, Ernest J., 1933- --Photographs.
- Giroux, Robert.
- Gordon, Caroline, 1895-1981.
- Handke, Peter.
- Horgan, Paul, 1903-1995.
- John Paul II, Pope, 1920-2005--Photographs.
- Ketner, Kenneth Laine.
- Kramer, Victor A.
- Malamud, Bernard.
- Maritain, Jacques, 1882-1973.
- Marlette, Doug, 1949-2007.
- Merton, Thomas, 1915-1968.
- Novelists, American--20th century.
- O'Connor, Flannery.
- Ong, Walter J.
- Percy family.
- Percy, Mary Bernice Townsend.
- Percy, Walker, 1916-1990.
- Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. Lancelot.
- Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. Lost in the cosmos.
- Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. Love in the ruins.
- Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. Symbol and existence.
- Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. The gramercy winner.
- Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. The last gentleman.
- Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. The message in the bottle.
- Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. The moviegoer.
- Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. The second coming.
- Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. The thanatos syndrome.
- Percy, William Alexander, 1885-1942--Photographs.
- Powers, J. F. (James Farl), 1917-
- Reagan, Nancy, 1923- --Photographs.
- Reagan, Ronald--Photographs.
- Rubin, Louis Decimus, 1923- --Photographs.
- Sebeok, Thomas A. (Thomas Albert), 1920-2001.
- Simpson, Lewis P.
- Southern States--Intellectual life--20th century.
- Spencer, Elizabeth, 1921-
- Tate, Allen, 1909-1979.
- Taylor, Mark.
- Veatch, Henry Babcock.
- Welty, Eudora, 1909-2001.
- Woodward, C. Vann (Comer Vann), 1908-1999.
Related Collections
-
Shelby Foote Papers (#4038): long-time close friend of Percy; papers include over 200 letters from Foote to Percy
Robert Coles Papers (#4333): friend of Percy; author of Walker Percy: An American Search (1978); Percy dedicated The Thanatos Syndrome to Coles
Walker Percy material, including his working library, in the Rare Book Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Biographical Note
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 TopCollection Overview
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 TopOrganization of Collection
-
I. Novels, early 1950s-1987
A. The Moviegoer
B. The Last Gentleman
C. Love in the Ruins
D. Lancelot
E. The Second Coming
F. The Thanatos Syndrome (Addition of 2007 and Addition of February 2008 materials filed after original deposit materials)
G. The Gramercy Winner
H. "The Charterhouse"
II. Other Works
A. The Message in the Bottle
B. Lost in the Cosmos
C. "Symbol and Existence: A Study in Meaning" (Addition of 2007 materials filed after original deposit materials)
D. Other Writings (Addition of 2007 and Addition of February 2008 materials filed after original deposit materials)
III. Correspondence, 1923-1992 and undated (Addition of 2007 and Addition of February 2008 materials filed after original deposit materials)
IV. Subject Files, circa 1950-1990 (Addition of 2007 and Addition of February 2008 materials filed after original deposit materials)
V. Other Materials
A. "Ignatius Reilly" by John Kennedy Toole, published as A Confederacy of Dunces (Addition of 2007 materials filed after Toole materials)
VI. Restricted Materials
VII. Pictures, circa 1910-1990 and undated (Addition of 2007 materials filed after materials received in 1989 and 2003)
Addition of December 1996
Items Separated
-
Images (P-4294/1-219)
Oversize Images (OP-P-4294/1-4)
Museum Items (MU-4294/1-4)
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Novels, early 1950s-1987.
124 items.
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.
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A. 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.
Folder
A:1.Outlines, draft material, and notes (ribbon typescript with autograph changes, and autograph manuscript, 37 leaves [about
57 pages]. (Received 1981)
Folder
A:2.Draft of a short story titled "Confessions of a Moviegoer (from the Diary of the Last Romantic)" (ribbon typescript with autograph changes and autograph manuscript, 19 leaves [about 34 pages]). Percy identified this as
a "short early version." Item A:8 is closely related. (Received 1981)
Folder
A:3.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes and autograph manuscript, 442 leaves [about 858 pages]). Titled "The Confessions of a Moviegoer," and identified by Percy as "original manuscript." Leaf 1 is missing. Notes are included on some pages. (2 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
A:4.Draft (carbon typescript with autograph changes, 268 leaves [about 269 pages]). Leaves are numbered 12-258, with leaves 13,
225, 235, and 240 missing, and with 25 additional leaves. Material seems to be missing at the end of this draft. Note that
page 152A does not appear to relate to adjacent text; it may belong to a draft no longer extant. (Received 1981)
Folder
A:5.Draft (carbon typescript, 62 leaves [about 62 pages]). Percy identified this as "assorted carbons." Included are scattered runs of from two to five pages and isolated individual pages. For the most part, these pages are not
copies of pages in previous items. (Received 1981)
Folder
A:6.Draft (carbon typescript with autograph changes and autograph manuscript, 48 leaves [about 73 pages]). Titled "Carnival in Gentilly." A story by this name appeared in Forum, Volume 3, #4 (Summer 1960), pages 4-18. This item is a version of Chapter 2 of The Moviegoer. Note that the text on the last page ends in mid-sentence--final pages are missing. (Received 1981)
Folder
A:7.Setting copy (ribbon typescript with autograph changes, 269 leaves [269 pages]). Proofreader's queries appear on a few pages.
For front matter, see Item A-9. (2 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
A:8.Draft of short story titled "Confessions of a Moviegoer (from the Diary of the Last Romantic)" (carbon typescript, 21 leaves [21 pages]). Slightly different version of Item A-2. (Received 1983)
Folder
A:9.Front matter from setting copy (Item A-7) (ribbon and carbon typescript with editor's notations, 9 leaves [9 pages]). Included
are three drafts of title page, copyright notice, dedication, quotation, biographical note, and other material. (Received
1983)
Folder
A:10.Galley proofs (with editor's notations and corrections, 84 leaves). Labeled "Author's proof," dated 16 December 1960, except for title page, which is dated 22 December 1960. (Received 1983)
Folder
A:11.Page proofs (with a few editor's notations, 83 leaves), dated 20 January 1961. (Received 1983)
Folder
A:12.Two transcript pages of page 254 of The Moviegoer. (Received May 1994, #60)
Folder
A:13.Material concerning a Norton Critical Edition of The Moviegoer. (Received May 1994, #252)
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B. 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.
Folder
B:1.Character sketches, other notes, and outlines (autograph manuscript, 154 leaves [about 233 pages]). Percy identified this
as "Notebook sketches and notes about characters." Included are notes about characters not appearing in the published version. (Received 1981)
Folder
B:2.Draft (autograph manuscript and ribbon typescript with autograph changes, 261 leaves [about 457 pages]). Identified as "First Draft (pencil)" By Percy. The first 28 leaves (not numbered by Percy) include notes about characters, plot, etc., as well as draft material.
Leaves numbered by Percy run through leaf 259 with 42 numbered leaves missing and 17 additional leaves. Leaves 44 and 45 include
marginal notes in a different hand. (Received 1981)
Folder
B:3.Draft (autograph manuscript and ribbon and carbon typescript with autograph changes, 785 leaves [about 1260 pages]). Percy
identified this item as "Second draft (type plus script)." Occasional notes are included. Leaf 782 is dated 7 September 1963, and leaf 783 20 March 1964. (3 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
B:4.Draft (carbon typescript with autograph changes, 476 leaves [about 477 pages]). Described by Percy as "Carbon of early version of TLG," this mayBe the third draft. Leaves were numbered by Percy. Leaves 1 and 308 are lacking, although no text seems missing between
leaves 307 and 309. In some cases, two versions of a passage follow one another on consecutive pages. (Received 1981) (Two
folders)
Folder
B:5.Draft (carbon typescript with autograph changes and autograph manuscript, 634 leaves [about 1114 pages]). Identified by Percy
as "Final Typescript, with corrections," this does not appear to be a final version, but rather the draft prepared by Percy after receiving comments from Patricia
Schartle, an editor with Percy's literary agent (see Item 6b). Notes, probably in Schartle's hand, appear on many pages. There
are also occasional notes in Percy's hand. Note that page 559 is a letter from "Perrine,"
Tesuque, New Mexico, to Percy, dated 27 January [no year]. (3 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
B:6A.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes, 514 leaves [about 721 pages]). Percy identified Items 6A and 6B as Typescript
"(...with letters and source material...), corrected in pencil, with additions." Item 6A is apparently a complete draft. Leaves were numbered by Percy. Leaves 102-108 are missing, although no text seems
missing. There are content notes on page 1, notes to "Berry" on pages 1 and 433A, and occasional queries and marginal notes in what appears to be a hand other than Percy's. (3 folders)
(Received 1981)
Folder
B:6B.Outline, letter, and source material, filed by Percy with Item 6A (8-page outline, 4-page letter from editor, three items
source material). Letter is from Elizabeth R. Otis of McIntosh and Otis, Inc., literary agents, to Percy, 7 August 1964, with a 3-page attachment consisting of comments by Patricia Schartle on Centennial (apparently an early title for TLG). Printed
items, which apparently served as source material, consist of The Councilor, Volume 3, #1 (16 January 1965); an undated and untitled clipping from The Councilor; and Everybody Knows My Name by Robert Brustein, a review of Nothing Personal by Richard Avedon and James Baldwin, clipped from the New York Review of Books,
16 December 1964), and annotated by Percy. (Received 1981)
Folder
B:6C.Draft (carbon typescript, 470 leaves [470 pages]). Copy of ItemB-6A with autograph corrections and insertions. (2 folders)
(Received 1983)
Folder
B:6D.Partial draft (mostly ribbon typescript, 152 leaves [158 pages]). Copy of latter part of ItemB-6A, with extensive revision
by Percy in early pages. Pages numbered 254-436. (Received 1983)
Folder
B:7.Setting copy (ribbon typescript, 470 leaves [470 pages]). Identified by Percy as "corrected typescript of third(?) draft." Proofreader's queries appear on a few pages. (3 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
B:8A.Draft (ribbon and carbon typescript, 91 leaves [93 pages]). Early draft with autograph corrections and insertions by Percy.
Leaf 1 is missing. Leaves 2-40 are ribbon and leaves 41-92 are carbon copies. (Received 1983)
Folder
B:8B.Draft (carbon typescript, 92 leaves [92 pages]). Copy of ItemB-8A (including leaf 1) with a few autograph corrections and
marginal comments not in Percy's hand. (Received 1983)
Folder
B:9A.Draft (ribbon typescript, 148 leaves [148 pages]). Later draft with minor autograph additions and changes. (Received 1983)
Folder
B:9B.Draft (carbon typescript, 98 leaves [98 pages]). Copy of latter part of Item B-9A. Leaves numbered 50-148. (Received 1983)
Folder
B:10.Galley proofs (bound, 271 leaves). Labeled "uncorrected proof," although there are occasional typographical corrections. (Received 1983)
Folder
B:11.Front matter for the setting copy of TLG. (Received May 1994, #102)
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C. 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.
Folder
C:1A.Draft material and notes (autograph manuscript, 41 leaves [66 pages]). Leaf 33 is dated 3 February 1966. (Received 1981)
Folder
C:1B.Source material (12 printed items, some annotated). Newspaper and magazine clippings, some with autograph annotations, identified
by Percy as "source clippings." (Received 1981)
Folder
C:2A.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes, 71 leaves [71 pages]). "Journal of a Bad Catholic near the End of the World" and (beginning with leaf 34) "The Smith Qualitative-Quantitative Lapsometer." Leaf 1 is missing. (Received 1981)
Folder
C:2B.Draft (carbon typescript, 82 leaves [82 pages]). Copy of Item 2A, with leaf 1 including, dated 27 April 1967, included. (Received
1981)
Folder
C:3.Draft (carbon typescript, 173 leaves [173 pages]). First leaf begins "Noon, July 4, In the Subdivision." Leaves were numbered by Percy. Leaves 8-10 and 86 are missing. (Received 1981)
Folder
C:4.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes, 19 leaves [19 pages]). First leaf is dated 5 March 1968 and begins "Waiting on the Interstate, thirty minutes to go." (Received 1981)
Folder
C:5A.Draft with notes (autograph manuscript and typescript [almost all ribbon] with autograph changes, 396 leaves [715 pages]).
Leaf 1 is dated 5 June 1968; leaf 2, 25 June 1968; and leaf 31, 6 May 1968. Included are frequent notes about the work and occasional references to other authors and other works. (2 folders) (Received
1981)
Folder
C:5B.Draft (autograph manuscript, 60 leaves [104 pages]). As received in the Manuscripts Department, the pages now constituting
this item were folded together and positioned among pages of Item 5A; they bear no apparent particular relation to 5A. (Received
1981)
Folder
C:6.Draft (carbon typescript, 33 leaves [33 pages]). Leaves 1-10 are copies of leaves 31-40 in Item 5B, and all but one of the
remaining leaves are copies of leaves in Item 7. There appears to be no other copy of leaf 25. (Received 1981)
Folder
C:7.Notes, outline, draft (ribbon and carbon typescript with autograph changes and autograph manuscript, 341 leaves [488 pages]).
Leaves 1-23 consist entirely of notes and outlines; the remaining pages are chiefly draft material. (2 folders) (Received
1981)
Folder
C:8A.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes, and autograph manuscript, 650 leaves [about 1256 pages]). Percy identified
this item as "Early (earliest) version: 'How to Make Love in the Ruins.' "Although there are gaps in Percy's original numbering scheme, this item appears to be a relatively complete composite draft.
Occasional notes are included throughout. The final leaf is dated 19 January 1970. (2 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
C:8B.Draft (carbon typescript, 657 leaves [657 pages]). Carbon of Item 8A, with identical gaps in page- numbering scheme. Autograph
changes are not included, but there are autograph comments on page 132. (3 folders) (Received 1983)
Folder
C:9.Draft (carbon typescript with autograph changes and autograph manuscripts, 517 leaves [531 pages]). Described by Percy as
"carbon (in binder), with corrections in pencil." This item is almost altogether a copy of Item 10. Notable differences from Item 10 are autograph manuscript on the verso
of about fifteen leaves and an additional leaf, numbered 232b. Autograph changes on recto pages seem identical to those in
Item 10. (2 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
C:10.Setting copy (ribbon typescript with autograph changes, 521 leaves [522 pages]). Proofreader's or editor's queries and replies
by Percy appear occasionally. Autograph manuscript appears on the verso of leaf 42. (3 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
C:11A.Galley proofs (138 leaves). Labeled "Reader's copy "with autograph corrections and page division markings. Title page and first page of text are missing. Dated 27 January 1971. (Received 1983)
Folder
C:11B.Galley proofs (136 leaves). Labeled "Author's Copy" with corrections by Percy. Dated 27 January 1971. (Received 1983)
Folder
C:12.Page proofs (103 leaves). Labeled "Marked set" with autograph corrections. (Received 1983)
Folder
C:13.Page proofs (102 leaves). Editor's spacing notes are included on first pages; there are no other markings. (Received 1983)
Folder
C:14.Draft sections. (Received May 1994, #30)
Folder
C:15.Holograph notes, draft sections, and queries. (Received May 1994, #105)
Back to Top
D. 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 in the Manuscripts Department, 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.
Folder
D:1A-G.Notes and draft (autograph manuscript, 153 leaves [221 pages]). Identified by Percy as "Preliminary notes." Each of the eight sections consists of pages that were either stapled together as a unit or were positioned between stapled
units. Item 1A contains some material not clearly related to Lancelot with leaf 12, for example, headed "The Scientist and the Musical Termites." Leaf 1 of Item 1B is headed "Notes for Lancelot; " leaf 10, "Death, Famine, and the Knight; " leaf 11, "Dec. 31, 1973; " leaf 9, Item 1C, is headed "3/24/73; " leaf 10, Item 1F, is headed "Sept. 8, 1973" and "The Assistant Chaplain." (Received 1981)
Folder
D:2.Notes and draft (autograph manuscript, 33 leaves [56 pages]). Percy identified this as "`The Prisoner', an early version (short story)." (Received 1981)
Folder
D:3A.Draft (autograph manuscript, 12 leaves [20 pages]). Leaf 1 is headed "L in Cell." (Received 1981)
Folder
D:3B.Draft (autograph manuscript, 15 leaves [26 pages]). Leaf 1 is headed "L & Dr. Weiss." (Received 1981)
Folder
D:3C.Draft (autograph manuscript, 8 leaves [16 pages]). Leaf 1 is headed "Belle Isle Rowan." (Received 1981)
Folder
D:3D.Outlines and notes (autograph manuscript, 3 leaves [3 pages]). (Received 1981)
Folder
D:4A.Notes, outlines, and draft (autograph manuscript, 146 leaves [249 pages]). Leaf 53 is dated 15 January 1973 and leaf 99 is dated 13 November 1972. (Received 1981)
Folder
D:4B.Notes and draft (autograph manuscript, 61 leaves [93 pages]). Leaf 13 is headed "Lines of Life." (Received 1981)
Folder
D:5.Notes and draft (autograph manuscripts, 294 leaves [523 pages]). An apparently continuous draft, perhaps the earliest relatively
complete one. Leaf 1 is headed "Lancelot: Death, Famine & the Knight." (2 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
D:6.Draft (autograph manuscript and ribbon and carbon type script with autograph changes, 59 leaves [100 pages]). Identified by
Percy as "Misc. additions in pencil." Perhaps middle or later stages of early sections of D-5. Leaf 1 is headed "First Meeting Margot" and leaf 19,
1st Supper Scene. (Received 1981)
Folder
D:7A.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes with some pages autograph manuscript, 260 leaves [355 pages]). Percy identified
this as "My final typescript, plus pencil corrections." This item is perhaps the second relatively complete draft. Editor's queries and replies by Percy appear occasionally. (2
folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
D:7B.Notes (autograph manuscript, 5 leaves [6 pages]). Research notes chiefly relating to Soren Kierkegaard. Following Items 7A
as received. (Received 1981)
Folder
D:8.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes with some pages autograph manuscript, 299 leaves [364 pages]). Since this
draft is earlier than Item 9 and probably later than Item 7A, it is likely the third relatively complete draft. Occasional
notes in Percy's hand and in another hand are included. (2 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
D:9.Draft and notes (chiefly ribbon typescript with autograph changes and seven pages autograph manuscript, 334 leaves [339 pages]).
Described by Percy as "My typist's typescript, plus corrections and publishers' marks." This item is probably the fourth relatively complete draft. Note that pages 125A and 131A consist entirely of notes. (2 folders)
(Received 1981)
Folder
D:10.Setting copy (ribbon typescript, 333 leaves [333 pages]). Printer's marks, queries to author, and autograph changes, some
by Percy, are included. (2 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
D:11.Front matter (ribbon typescript and paste-up of title page, 5 leaves [5 pages]). Autograph notes on spacing. (Received 1983)
Folder
D:12.Galley proofs (133 leaves). Autograph corrections, notes, and page divisions. Dated 17 November 1976. (Received 1983)
Folder
D:13A.Page proofs (134 leaves). Autograph corrections and notes with several typed insertions attached. "Date sent," 4 November
1976. (Received 1983)
Folder
D:13B.Page proofs (130 leaves). "Author's set" with corrections by Percy. (Received 1983)
Folder
D:14.Front matter proofs (photocopy, 6 leaves). Editor's spacing notes are included. Dated 6 December 1976. (Received 1983)
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E. 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 in the Manuscripts Department. 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."
Folder
E:1A(i).Notes and Draft (autograph manuscript, 39 leaves [55 pages]). Early material. (Received 1981)
Folder
E:1A(ii).Notes (autograph manuscript, 26 leaves [34 pages]). Notes made later than those in Item 1A(i). (Received 1981)
Folder
E:1B.Draft and notes (autograph manuscript, 887 leaves [1524 pages]). Presumably the first draft. Notes are interspersed throughout.
There are three versions of an opening, beginning with leaves 1, 50, and 66. Leaf 887 is dated 30 September 1978. (4 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
E:1C.Notes and draft (autograph manuscript, 22 leaves [36 pages]). This material pertains to the first part of the work. (Received
1981)
Folder
E:1D.Notes (autograph manuscript, 2 leaves [2 pages]). References to details in a draft are to page numbers presumably of a draft
later than Item 1B (which, as received, had no page numbers). (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2A(i).Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes with some pages autograph manuscript, 65 leaves [82 pages]). Described by
Percy as "First version of opening of Second Coming (with Allie)" Leaf 1 begins "Here I am, a thirty-year old woman...." (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2A(ii).Notes and draft (chiefly autograph manuscript plus ribbon and carbon typescript with autograph changes, 37 leaves [51 pages]).
Copies of pages i-iv of Item 2Ai are included and are marked with extensive autograph changes. (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2B.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes and autograph manuscript, 43 leaves [60 pages]). Described by Percy as "second version of opening of Second Coming." Leaves 1-8 appear to constitute this opening with leaf 2 beginning "The first symptoms of his illness...." Other leaves are scattered draft with some extensive autograph changes. (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2C(i).Draft (carbon typescript with autograph changes, 4 leaves [4 pages]). First part of item identified by Percy as "Carbon of early version (beginning with Allie)." These seem to be versions of the first pages of the work. First page begins "The October sun was warm on her back". (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2C(ii).Draft (carbon typescript, 141 leaves [141 pages]). Continuous version of Part Two of the work distinct from other drafts of
the novel. (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2C(iii).Draft (carbon typescript, 48 leaves [48 pages]). Chiefly scattered pages, with some short runs. Leaf 1A begins "The first symptoms of his illness occurred...." (Received 1981
Folder
E:2C(iv).Draft (carbon typescript, 43 leaves [43 pages]). Chiefly scattered pages with some short runs. First page begins "The first sign that something had gone wrong manifested itself...." (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2C(v).Draft (carbon typescript, 18 leaves [18 pages]). Chiefly scattered pages. (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2D(i).Draft (carbon typescript with autograph changes, 28 leaves [28 pages]). First part of item Percy labelled "Carbon of early version (beginning with Allie)." Page 1A begins "Her body was sore." (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2D(ii).Draft (carbon typescript with autograph changes and one page autograph manuscript, 170 leaves [171 pages]). Continuous draft
of the early part of the work, roughly corresponding to part I of the final version. Page 1 begins "It began when he sliced out of bounds...." (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2D(iii).Draft (carbon typescript, 3 leaves [3 pages]). Scattered pages. (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2E(i).Draft (carbon typescript with autograph changes and autograph manuscript, 71 leaves [75 pages]). Generally continuous, described
as "carbon of later version (beginning with Will)." Most leaves are copies of ribbon typescript in Item 2ai. Leaf 1 begins "The first symptoms of his illness occurred...". (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2E(ii).Draft (carbon typescript, autograph manuscript, and ribbon typescript with autograph changes, 18 leaves [19 pages]). Scattered
pages with short runs. Three leaves numbered 1 and one leaf numbered 1A are included. (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2E(iii).Draft (photocopy typescript with photocopy autograph changes, 102 leaves [102 pages]). Scattered pages with runs of consecutive
pages, apparently a composite of at least two separate versions. Leaf 102 is dated 13 October 1978. There are copies in other items of some of the material in this item; some elements, however, notably some photocopy autograph
changes, are not included elsewhere. (Received 1981)
Folder
E:2F.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes with some pages in autograph manuscript. A few pages are photocopy typescript
or carbon typescript, 311 leaves [about 465 pages]). Included is a three-ring binder labeled by Percy "The Second Coming - Typescript Early Version" on front and "Second Coming 1st Version typescript" on spine. Percy's page numbering is not consecutive. Pages 116-130 [leaves 127-142] appear to be an earlier version of the
pages numbered 146-164 [leaves 204-232] that follow page 189. Typed and penciled changes on pages 116-130 are incorporated
into the typescript of pages 146-164. (Received 1989)
Folder
E:3.Draft (carbon and photocopy typescript with autograph changes and carbon, photocopy, and original autograph manuscript, 469
leaves [543 pages]). Largely a copy made from Item 4, apparently used by Percy while Item 4 (the ribbon copy) was with his
agent. Percy seems to have made autograph changes on this item, which he later transferred, sometimes in a slightly different
form, to Item 4. Last leaf is dated "July 17, 1979 5:00 pm." (Received 1981)
Folder
E:4.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes and autograph manuscript, 425 leaves [603 pages]). Labelled by Percy "a typescript, with corrections." Item 3 is largely a copy made from this item. Final leaf contains same date as in Item 3. Note that Percy made some substantial
changes on this item (not included in Item 3) after it was returned by his agent. (3 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
E:5A.Draft (carbon typescript with autograph changes, 433 leaves [433 pages]). This item, largely continuous, is apparently the
draft that incorporates changes made in Items 3 and 4. Leaf 1 begins "The first sign that something had gone wrong manifested itself...." (Received 1981)
Folder
E:5B.Draft (carbon typescript, 11 leaves [11 pages]). Scattered pages. (Received 1981)
Folder
E:6A.Setting copy (ribbon typescript with autograph changes by Percy and others, 475 leaves [475 pages]). Leaf 162 has source material
taped on verso. Queries to author appear on a few pages. (3 folders) (Received 1981)
Folder
E:6B.Setting copy (carbon and photocopy typescript, 449 leaves [454 pages]). Carbon of Item E-6A with the same and additional typed
and autograph revisions. (3 folders) (Received 1983)
Folder
E:7.Draft (photocopy typescript with photocopy and autograph corrections, 189 leaves [248 pages]). Identified by Percy as "an early version." (Received 1983)
Folder
E:8A.Galley proofs (124 leaves). "Master set" with editor's note and corrections. (Received 1983)
Folder
E:8B.Galley proofs (124 leaves). Duplicate of Item 8A "with Percy's corrections." (Received 1983)
Folder
E:9.Page proofs (147 leaves). "Master set" with minor autograph revisions. Leaves numbered 1-121 are followed by duplicate copies of 26 various leaves with Percy's
corrections. (Received 1983)
Folder
E:10.Galley proofs (8 leaves). An excerpt that appeared in Harper's in April 1980 titled "Sunday Under Par." (Received 1983)
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F. 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.
Folder
F:1.Outline and notes (autograph manuscript, 29 leaves [47 pages]). Identified by Percy as "Outline for The Thanatos Syndrome." (Received 1989)
Folder
F:2.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes and autograph manuscript, 152 leaves [approximately 234 pages]). The first
leaf is dated 29 October 1983 and identified by Percy as "(Early Version Thanatos Syndrome)." (Received 1989)
Folder
F:3.Draft (autograph manuscript with a few pages of ribbon typescript, 944 leaves [about 1250 pages]). Identified by Percy as
"First Draft The Thanatos Syndrome (finished July 12, 1985)," this item includes notes and outlines as well as text. Pages were unnumbered when received at the Manuscripts Department;
they were kept in their original order and numbered sequentially, including pages of notes, and inserts as well as blank pages.
(4 folders) (Received 1989)
Folder
F:4A.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes and autograph manuscript, 422 leaves [about 750 pages]). Identified by Percy
as "First Typed Version." An incomplete typescript draft, this item appears to be continued by Item G-4B. Numerous autograph manuscript pages have
been inserted among typescript pages. (2 folders) (Received 1989)
Folder
F:4B.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes, 137 leaves [about 191 pages]). Received in a three-ring notebook labelled
by Percy "Notes for Thanatos Syndrome," this actually appears to be a continuation of Item G-4A. The final leaf was dated by Percy "July 26, 1985." (Received 1989)
Folder
F:5.Draft (photocopy typescript with autograph changes, 520 leaves, approximately 570 pages]). Percy identified this item as "The Thanatos Syndrome, corrected (carbon)." It appears to be an almost complete draft with a few pencilled changes by Percy. All pages are photocopy typescript except
the first two pages of the preface, which are ribbon typescript and appear to be an earlier version of the three pages that
follow. Pages 222, 225, 226, 311-315, 349, 365, 491, 502, and 509 are missing. Note that ribbon typescript pages 316-318 are
inserted between pages 348 and 350, that pages numbered 331-332 are inserted between pages 364 and 366, and that ribbon typescript
page 458A is inserted between pages 508 and 510. (3 folders) (Received 1989)
Folder
F:6.Folder: "Corrections Thanatos". (Received May 1994, #218)
Folder
F:7.Page proofs. (Received May 1994, #276)
Folder
F:8.
"Draft 2" corrected ribbon typescript. (7 folders) (Received 1994)
Folder
F:9.
"Parts of TS," partial corrected ribbon typescript, uncorrected photocopy typescripts, and various holograph insertions. (Received 1994)
Folder
F:10.Photocopy typescript and a cover letter from Helene Atwan of Farrar, Strauss and Giroux detailing suggested corrections. (3 folders) (Received 1994)
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Addition of 2007: The Thanatos Syndrome (published 1987).
6 items.
Galley proofs, page proofs, repros, and blue lines.
Folder
F:11.Galley proofs (189 galley pages). "Master set" with editor's corrections.
Folder
F:12.Galley proofs (188 galley pages). "Author's copy" with Percy's corrections (duplicate of "master set" of the galley proofs in Folder 1 above).
Folder
F:13.Page proofs (191 proof pages). "Master set" with editor's corrections.
Folder
F:14.Incomplete page proofs (136 proof pages). "Author's copy" with Percy's corrections (duplicate of "master set" of page proofs in Folder 3 above). As received, number of pages were missing.
Folder
F:15.Repros (105 leaves) with editor's minor corrections in front matter. Includes repros of front and back jacket flap, front
matter, and up to page 85 of the body of the novel.
Folder
F:16.Blue lines (12 signatures of 8 leaves each (384 pages)) with editor's notations.
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Addition of February 2008: The Thanatos Syndrome (published 1987).
10 items.
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.
Folder
F:17.Draft (typescript [516 pages]) with editor's marks and possibly those of Walker Percy.
Folder
F:18.Clippings and other related materials.
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G. "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 Manuscripts Department 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.
Folder
G:1.Draft (bound ribbon typescript with autograph changes by Percy, 341 leaves [346 pages]). Leaves were numbered by Percy with
the following irregularities: (1) there is no page 189; (2) each of the following page numbers appears on two consecutive
pages: 73, 194, 202, and 254. (2 folders) (Received 1983)
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H: "The Charterhouse" (unpublished).
Folder
H:1.Journal and notes concerning Percy's early unpublished (and apparently nonextant) novel, "The Charterhouse." See Series III, for letters from Caroline Gordon, Robert Daniel, Denver Lindley, and Susan Jenkins (with Malcolm Cowley enclosure)
relating to this work. (Received May 1994, #31)
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II. Other Works.
About 200 items.
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.
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A. 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.
Folder
A:1.Draft, "Author's Note" (autograph manuscript, 1 leaf [1 page]). (Received 1981)
Folder
A:2.Draft, "Author's Note" (carbon typescript, 1 leaf [1 page]). (Received 1981)
Folder
A:3.Draft and notes, chiefly for "The Delta Factor" and "The Message in the Bottle" (autograph manuscript, 197 leaves [about 335 pages]). Included is a three-ring binder labelled by Percy "1st draft of `The Delta Factor' (Message in Bottle)." Leaves 1-4 may relate to the essay "The Message in the Bottle." Leaves 185-197 are notes and draft material apparently relating to Lancelot. (Received 1981)
Folder
A:4.Draft, "The Delta Factor" (autograph manuscript, photocopy typescript, and carbon typescript, 67 leaves [about 70 pages]). (Received 1981)
Folder
A:5.Draft, "The Delta Factor" (carbon typescript, 4 leaves [4 pages]). Leaves are numbered 2-5. (Received 1981)
Folder
A:6.Draft, "The Message in the Bottle" (carbon typescript, 12 leaves [12 pages]). Leaves are numbered 22-28. (Received 1981)
Folder
A:7.Draft, "The Message in the Bottle" (carbon typescript, 12 leaves [12 pages]). Leaves are numbered 27-39. Leaf 38 is missing. (Received 1981)
Folder
A:8.Draft, "The Message in the Bottle" (carbon typescript, 2 leaves [2 pages]). Leaves are unnumbered. (Received in 1981)
Folder
A:9.Draft, "A Theory of Language "(autograph manuscript, photocopy typescript, and carbon typescript, 48 leaves [48 pages]). (Received 1981)
Folder
A:10.Draft (autograph manuscript, carbon typescript, and ribbon typescript, 21 leaves [about 36 pages]). Included are scattered
pages from one or more unidentified works of non-fiction. Leaf 18 is headed "The Misbehavior of Behavioral Scientists." (Received 1981)
Folder
A:11.Notes (autograph manuscript, 2 leaves [2 pages]). Apparently a list of items to be checked in the text of the book. (Received
1981)
Folder
A:12.Offprints (6 pieces of printed material) of previously published versions of four essays that later appeared as chapters in
The Message in the Bottle. Also included is a copy of the fall 1970 issue of Katallagete in which "Notes for a Novel about the End of the World" was first published and an offprint of "Naming and Being," which did not appear in Message. (Received 1981)
Folder
A:13A.Partial setting copy (ribbon typescript, carbon typescript, photocopy typescript, and photocopy of printed material, 165 leaves
[165 pages]). Included is a ribbon typescript version of "Author's Note," and largely photocopy typescript versions of "The Delta Factor" and "A Theory of Language," all with autograph changes. (Received 1981)
Folder
A:13B.Partial setting copy (photocopy of previously published material, 157 leaves [157 pages]). Chapters 5-14 with editor's changes
and notations. Dated 21 February 1975. (Received 1983)
Folder
A:14.Galley proofs (182 leaves). Editor's notations and corrections are included. Diagrams are clipped to appropriate pages. (Received
1983)
Folder
A:15.Page proofs (photocopy, 174 leaves). Includes autograph corrections and typed list of corrections by Percy. Dated 13 March 1975. (Received 1983)
Folder
A:16.Diagram paste-ups (cardboard, 6 leaves). (Received 1983)
Folder
A:17.Carbon typescript of what would eventually be titled "The Message in the Bottle "with holograph corrections. (Received May 1994, #54)
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B. 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.
Folder
B:1.Draft (autograph manuscript, 322 leaves [396 pages]). Identified by Percy as "part of first draft." Includes notes, diagrams, and several typed insertions. (2 folders) (Received in 1983)
Folder
B:2.Draft (autograph manuscript, 248 pages [307 pages]). Identified by Percy as "first rough draft, finished 24 June 1981." Includes several typed insertions. (Received 1983)
Folder
B:3A.Draft (carbon and photocopy typescript, 134 leaves [134 pages]). Identified by Percy as "carbon of 1st typescript." Dated 24 June 1981. (Received 1983)
Folder
B:3B.Draft (photocopy typescript, 204 leaves [204 pages]). Photocopy of Item B-3A with additional pages and corrections and insertions
by Percy. (2 folders) (Received 1983)
Folder
B:4.Portions of various drafts (ribbon, carbon, and photocopy typescripts, approximately 420 leaves [420 pages]). Miscellaneous
group of various segments, chapters, and additions. (2 folders) (Received 1983)
Folder
B:5A.Draft (carbon typescript, 251 leaves [251 pages]). Apparently earliest complete draft. (Received 1983)
Folder
B:5B.Draft (photocopy, 300 leaves [347 pages]). Photocopy of Item B-5A with editor's notes and Percy's corrections and insertions.
(2 folders) (Received 1983)
Folder
B:6.Draft (ribbon typescript, 308 leaves [308 pages]). Includes 16 pages of autograph and typed lists of corrections and cover
letter from Percy to Robert Giroux,
7 September 1982. (2 folders) (Received 1983)
Folder
B:7.Galley proof (133 leaves). Includes some autograph corrections and insertions. (Received 1983)
Folder
B:8.Draft (ribbon typescript with autograph changes, 219 leaves [approximately 304 pages]). A few pages are autograph manuscript.
Identified by Percy as "First Corrected Typescript." Also retained are plastic tabs with Percy's labels designating topics for various sections of the typescript. (Received 1989)
Folder
B:9.Draft (photocopy typescript, 253 leaves [253 pages]). Identified by Percy as "Lost in Cosmos Typescript," this draft contains a few underlinings, but no autograph changes. It appears to be a revision of Item B-8, incorporating
the changes noted in the earlier draft. Also retained is the folder from the typescript, on which is written autograph note
in a hand other than Percy's. (2 folders) (Received 1989)
Folder
B:10.Draft (ribbon, carbon, and photocopy typescript with autograph changes, 351 leaves [414 pages]). A few pages are autograph
manuscript. Identified by Percy as "corrected typescript," this appears to be a photocopy of B-9 with autograph changes and insertions. This draft is incomplete. Also included are
the plastic tabs with Percy's autograph labels designating various sections. Note that Percy apparently rearranged the sections
after he numbered them with the result that his page numbers are out of order. Manuscripts Department staff numbered the leaves
consecutively in the order in which they were received. (2 folders) (Received 1989)
Folder
B:11.Source material--drafts, clippings, articles, etc. (2 folders) (Received May 1994, #317)
Folder
B:12.Holograph draft of the Taos corn dance passage. (Received May 1994, #316)
Folder
B:13.Typescript (292 pages) heavily marked and corrected. (2 folders) (Received May 1994, #11)
Folder
B:14.Incomplete galley proofs marked "Walker Percy Author's Correx" in red pencil. (Received June 1994)
Folder
B:15.Master galleys. (Received May 1994, #13)
Folder
B:16.Master pages. (Received May 1994)
Folder
B:17.Unmarked page proofs. (Received May 1994)
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C. "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.
Folder
C:1.Draft (carbon typescript, 318 leaves [318 pages]). (2 folders) (Received 1983)
Folder
C:2.Draft (ribbon typescript, 316 leaves [318 pages]). Later revised draft (not a copy) of Item C-1. (3 folders) (Received 1983)
Folder
C:3.Carbon typescript, 315 pages. (Received May 1994, #274)
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Addition of 2007: "Symbol and Existence: A Study in Meaning" (unpublished).
1 item.
One draft of an unpublished work compiled in 1960-1961.
Folder
C:4Draft (carbon typescript, 303 leaves [303 pages]). Earlier revised draft (not a copy) of above Item C:1 of the original deposit.
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D. 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.
Folder
D:1.
"Aid and Comfort from the South." (Received May 1994, #107)
Folder
D:2.
"Aid and Comfort from the South." (Received May 1994, #97)
Folder
D:3.
"An Apologetic Work." (Received May 1994, #62)
Folder
D:4.
"Autobiography, Biography, Bibliography." (Received May 1994, #124)
Folder
D:5.
"Backlash Semantics." (Received May 1994, #89)
Folder
D:6A.
"Bandits by Elmore Leonard" [book review]. (Received May 1994, #255)
Folder
D:6B.Bibliography. (Received May 1994, #126)
Folder
D:7.Biographical statement. (Received May 1994, #35)
Folder
D:7A.Book reviews: Lloyd, Montgomery, Chastain. (Received May 1994, #59)
Folder
D:7B.Book reviews: Eliade, Friedrich. (Received May 1994, #82)
Folder
D:7C.Book reviews: Eliade, Friedrich. (Received May 1994, #34)
Folder
D:8.Bookseller remarks. (Received May 1994, #56)
Folder
D:9.
"Boston College." (Received May 1994, #128)
Folder
D:10.
"Bourbon." (Received May 1994, #75)
Folder
D:11.
"The Bow in the Clouds by Daniel Berrigan" [book review]. (Received May 1994, #72)
Folder
D:12.
"Breakdown by Robert Dahl" [book review]. (Received May 1994, #43)
Folder
D:13.
"A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr." [book review]. (Received May 1994, #70)
Folder
D:14.
"A Case History of Anxiety." (Received May 1994, #18)
Folder
D:15.
"The Centerfielder." (Received May 1994, #243)
Folder
D:16.
"Chappie." (Received May 1994, #244)
Folder
D:17.
"Children of Crisis by Robert Coles" [book review]. (Received May 1994, #106)
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D:18.
"Comment on Article 7-8, Constitution on the Church and the Modern World." (Received May 1994, #88)
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D:19.
"Contra Black Bibles." (Received May 1994, #110)
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D:20.
"Contra Black Bibles." (Received May 1994, #112)
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D:21.
"Contributions to symposium on Donald McDonald's article by Walker Percy."
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D:22.
"The Crisis in Meaning." (Received May 1994, #111)
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D:23.Crisis Layman Symposium. (Received May 1994, #3)
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D:24.
"Culture: the Antimony of the Scientific Method." (Received May 1994, #47)
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D:25.
"The Divided Creature." (Received May 1994, #277)
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D:26.
"Einstein and the Devaluation." (Received May 1994, #64)
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D:27.
"The Era of the Second-Rate." (Received May 1994, #81)
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D:28.
"Eudora Welty in Jackson." (Received May 1994, #71)
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D:29.
"The Failure and the Hope." (Received May 1994, #93)
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D:30.
"The Fateful Rift: The San Andreas Fault in the Modern Mind," draft (ribbon and wordprocessed typescript with autograph changes, 31 leaves [40 pages]). This draft is of the address that
Percy delivered to a gathering sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1989. (Received 1989)
Folder
D:31.
"Going Back to Georgia." (Received May 1994, #69)
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D:32-33.
"Green Grow the Lilacs." (Received May 1994, #219)
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D:34.
"The Homecoming." (Received May 1994, #237)
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D:35.
Horgan, Paul. (Received May 1994, #140)
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D:36
"Hughes' Solipsism Maigre Lui." (Received May 1994, #73)
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D:37.
"The Idiot." (Received May 1994, #238)
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D:38.
"In the Heart of the Heart of the Country by William Gass" [ book review]. (Received May 1994, #74)
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D:39.
"Intro. to Linda Hobson's Bibliography." (Received May 1994, #1)
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D:40.[Lanterns on the Levee--(Introduction)]. (Received May 1994, #282)
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D:41.[Lanterns on the Levee--(Introduction)]. (Received March 1994)
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D:42.[Lanterns on the Levee--(Introduction)]. (Received May 1994, #33)
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D:43.Leary interview. (Received May 1994, #2)
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D:44.Lewis interview. (Received May 1994, #279)
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D:45.
"The Man on the Beach." (Received May 1994, #40)
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D:46.
"The Man on the Island." (Received May 1994, #38)
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D:47-48.
"The Man on the Train." (Received May 1994, #103)
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D:49.McCombs interview. (Received May 1994, #318)
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D:50.McCombs interview. (Received May 1994, #152)
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D:51.
"Men and Words: A Primer of Symbolic Behavior." (Received May 1994, #19)
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D:52.
"The Mercy Killing." (Received May 1994, #68)
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D:53.["M in B"]: one page of holograph remarks apparently made to an audience about Percy's occupation as a writer. In the left hand corner
is written "M in B --- GB+" [ illegible]. The remarks begin: "Being a writer, which is about by definition a somewhat smart-alec busybody profession--." The rest of the remarks are quite difficult to read. (Received June 1994)
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D:54.
"The Misbehavior of Behavioral Sciences." (Received May 1994, #109)
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D:55.
"Miscellaneous--Save for Book." (Received May 1994, #231-#235)
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D:56.
"Mississippi: The Last Sinful Place" (7 book reviews). (Received May 1994, #85)