Series 39: The Norton Book of Friendship, Eudora Welty Collection (Z/0301)

Series 39: The Norton Book of Friendship.

Dates: 1991; n.d.
Size: 1.00 cubic ft.

Note on the series: 

This series contains papers related to the creation of The Norton Book of Friendship by Eudora Welty and Ronald A. Sharp (New York, London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1991). All the papers in this series were part of the gift of Welty's Estate, and hence are designated in bold font. Where needed to prevent confusion, bracketed numbers have been supplied by the archivist on the verso of the pages, and in the case of alternate versions, the folder number precedes the page number in this fashion: [4.10].

"Friendship Book." n.d. 12 pieces.
This folder labeled by Welty contains her handwritten notes concerning selections for the book [pp. 1-2], her handwritten outline of the categories for the book [p. 11], and a photocopied list of works to be included in each category [pp. 3-10].

"Signature Series" notebook. n.d. 1 item.
This untitled "Signature Series" notebook contains six pages of handwritten notes by Welty, apparently for her introduction to The Norton Book. They include her reflections on friendship and her collaboration with Ronald Sharp, as well as the opening quotation, and her thoughts on some of the selections for the book. The rest of the tablet [pp. 7-12] contains Welty's notes on mules for her foreword to William Ferris' book, "You Live and Learn. Then You Die and Forget It All": Ray Lum's Tales of Horses, Mules and Men (see Series 20).

Note pages. n.d. 8 pieces.
Several loose pages of notes were found with the folder and notebooks containing Welty's notes for The Norton Book. There are three pieces of a handwritten list of "Letters," containing the names of authors [folder 4, pp. 1-3]. Two pages of a typescript draft for Welty's introduction, with numerous handwritten corrections, were clipped together; [folder 5, pp. 4-5]. These are followed by a taped strip of corrected typescript for the introduction, and a notebook page bearing a list of selections of Latin, Greek, and Irish poetry [folder 6, pp. 6-7]. Another loose page, found separately, bears references to letters by Edward Lear [folder 6, p. 8].

"Re The Norton Book of Friendship" notebook. n.d. 55 pieces.
Welty labeled and wrote notes on pages of a "Write/Right Handy Size Notebook," and inserted loose pages of notes into the notebook. While the inserted pages have been moved to separate folders for better preservation (folders 8 and 9), they have been assigned bracketed numbers that reflect their order within the attached pages of the notebook.
Welty made notes of selections and authors that she was considering for inclusion in The Norton Book. The notations generally include page numbers, and, in some cases, source information. The notebook opens with "Ideas to Suggest for 'Friendship' Anthology – Fiction examples" and continues through works in several other categories including letters, poetry, biography, journals, and memoirs. Welty's notebook mentions categories that do not appear specifically in the published work, although some of the selections listed in them do, as in the case of "Friendships shown by animals to man" [p. 8]. Welty sometimes adds her own description or comment, or places stars by selections or categories for emphasis. Included also are a few notes on the structure of the book, and passages that are clearly drafts for the introduction: some are reflections on the nature of friendship. A few note pages include Welty's "to-do" lists for personal errands, and for copying material for the book.

Notes on Selections for The Norton Book of Friendship. n.d. 27 pieces.
Notes were found inserted into several of Welty's books that appear to be references to selections she was considering for The Norton Book. Most of the notes consist of simply author, work, or page references, though some also includes comments by Welty. Not all of the selections considered appear in the published work.
The notes found in the books have been assigned numbers on the verso that begin with "M." These refer to informational sheets created by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History's Museum Division when the material was found at the Welty House. When possible, the books in which the notes were found have been identified according to that information. Any additional bracketed numbers on the notes were supplied by the archivist for tracking purposes.

"Introduction" "The Norton Reader on Friendship" "Due January 1991." n. d. 1 piece.
Welty wrote this title for her folder on a label from the University Press of Mississippi. The folder contained two introductions, one by Welty and one by Ronald A. Sharp:

"Welty Introduction" "The Norton Book of Friendship" "Corrected copy." ca. 1991. 16 pieces.
This undated copy of Welty's introduction was so entitled by her and identified as a "corrected copy." This copy bears extensive handwritten corrections in pencil and ink. Many of the corrections in blue ink are fading and blurred. Page 10 is not a photocopy, but a carbon copy. This version of Welty's introduction is complete and very close to the published one.

"Introduction" by Ronald A. Sharp. ca. 1991. 12 pieces.
This copy of Sharp's introduction is clean and complete. It differs in several places from the published version.

[Introduction.] Original Manuscript. n.d. 17 pieces.
On the first page of this undated untitled typescript, a post-it note by Welty identified it as the "Orig. Manuscript." The manuscript has page numbers assigned by Welty, including a "4-A," but page "12" is lacking. Several of the pages are partial pages, or include or consist of typescript strips attached with tape. There are corrections and additions in pen and pencil throughout.

A red folder labeled by Welty "Introduction to The Norton Book of Friendship 1991," accompanied three versions of the introduction, and one single photocopied page. 
One version (folder 6), entitled "Introduction" "The Norton Book of Friendship," was marked by Welty as a "corrected copy." This is a copy of the same typescript used in the "Welty Introduction" above (folder 2). The corrections, whether photocopied or in brown ink, vary from those in the version in folder 2: the pencil corrections are lacking. 
Folder 7 contains what appears to be a photocopy of the version in folder 6, including copies of most, but not all, of the handwritten corrections.
A third version with the same title (folder 8), has "corrected copy" and Welty's name handwritten on the title page. While most of the pages in this version are photocopies of the same typescript text that appears in the versions in folders 2 and 6, page 10 of this version is typescript. There are hand written corrections and additions in brown and blue ink that are not copies of, or identical to, those in the other versions. These corrections are extremely close to the ones in the "Welty Introduction," (folder 2) but still vary, and do not include those in pencil.
Also accompanying the red folder is a single page, a photocopy of a page "12" of the same typescript text. This page, however, is clean and bears none of the handwritten changes that appear in the versions above. Nor does this appear to be the page 12 lacking in the "Welty Introduction."

"The Norton Book of Friendship Edited by Eudora Welty and Ronald A. Sharp." ca. 1991. 549 pieces.
A photocopy of a manuscript of The Norton Book of Friendship apparently sent to the publisher by Sharp and Welty includes copies of the typescript pages for the section titles, for the front and end matter, and for the statements of materials to be sent under separate cover (the list of permissions; the index of authors; and the introductions by Sharp and Welty). The manuscript therefore does not include the introductions. The bulk of the manuscript consists of the photocopies of published versions of the selections to be included in The Norton Book. There are photocopies of handwritten page numbers at the top of each page, but page "6" is lacking, and some of the numbers are only partially legible, having been cut off in the photocopying. Bracketed page numbers have therefore been imposed by the archivist; these appear on the verso of the pages, on the folders, and in the table below.
This version of the manuscript differs significantly from the published version. Section titles vary slightly; and the quotations opening each section are lacking in this manuscript. Some selections in this manuscript appear in a different order or section in the published version. Occasionally a work appearing in this manuscript varies textually from that in the published version, as a different edition was used for the selection. Finally, it should be noted that this manuscript, while complete, does not contain all the selections that appear in the published work.

The Norton Book of Friendship. n.d. 12 pieces.
Accompanying the manuscript is a copy of a bibliography listing editions and excerpts of selections for the book. This is apparently a draft, as the works and editions listed very from those appearing in the "Permissions" section of the published work.

An envelope labeled by Welty, "Norton Book of Friendship" "papers," accompanies correspondence and materials relating to the publication of the book as well as galleys. There are three letters to Welty from Edwin Barber of W. W. Norton and Co. (folders 6, 7, and 9). Enclosed with the July 24, 1991, letter are photocopies and a miniature print of the proposed cover for the dust jacket, as well as a list by Ronald A. Sharp of people to be sent bound galleys for their review and "blurb" comments (folder 7). There are also copies of letters forwarded to Welty by Barber or W. W. Norton with such comments or congratulations from Reynolds Price and Jim Lehrer, (folder 8), as well as William Maxwell (folder 9).
The galleys include those for the title page and front matter (including the copyright notice, dedicatory page, and opening quotation); the table of contents; acknowledgements; introductions by Welty and Sharp; and the title page for Part I, Invitations.

Table of Contents