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Letters to Herbert Van Thal

 Collection
Call Number: GEN MSS 464

Scope and Contents

The letters to Herbert Van Thal consist of items from various writers, critics, readers, and actors, including James Agate, Alan Dent, Adrian Conan Doyle, Roger Fulford, Elspeth Huxley, Noel Langley, James Pope-Hennessey, Leonard Russell and Paul Scott. Many letters concern projects proposed by Van Thal, such as memoirs by famous persons, or are in response to queries placed by Van Thal soliciting information or leads for compilations of letters he was preparing. Other letters concern his work as a writers' agent.

Dates

  • 1921-1980

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Existence and Location of Copies

The entire collection is available in digital form.

Conditions Governing Use

The Letters to Herbert Van Thal are the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Bertram Rota on the George Henry Nettleton Fund, 1999.

Extent

0.6 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.vanthal

Abstract

Letters to Herbert Van Thal from various writers, critics, readers, and actors, including James Agate, Alan Dent, Adrian Conan Doyle, Roger Fulford, Elspeth Huxley, Noel Langley, James Pope-Hennessey, Leonard Russell and Paul Scott. Many letters concern projects proposed by Van Thal, such as memoirs by famous persons, or are in response to queries placed by Van Thal soliciting information or leads for compilations of letters he was preparing. Other letters concern his work as a writers' agent.

HERBERT VAN THAL (1904-1983)

Herbert Van Thal's career in literary matters was varied and successful, Beginning as a bookseller's assistant, he worked for publishers before establishing his own firm, Home and Van Thal. In 1937, he edited the collection The Royal Letter Book, beginning a series of anthologies and reprints of classics that would bear his name. In the 1960s and 1970s, he earned a niche of renown for his anthologies of horror stories. Along the way, he acted as literary agent for a number of writers and wrote original works, such as Eliza Lynn Linton: The Girl of the Period. More information can be found in his autobiography, The Tops of the Mulberry Trees.

Title
Guide to the Letters to Herbert Van Thal
Status
Under Revision
Author
by Timothy G. Young
Date
February 2000
Description rules
Beinecke Manuscript Unit Archival Processing Manual
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

Contact:
P. O. Box 208330
New Haven CT 06520-8330 US
(203) 432-2977

Location

121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours

Access Information

The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.