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The papers cover the period from 1917 to 1933 and consist of manuscripts, drafts, notes, correspondence, drawings, and photographs. Most of the correspondence consists of Freytag-Loringhoven's letters to other people; there are few replies in the collection. The majority of the manuscripts and drawings were never published during Freytag-Loringhoven's life. Many of the drawings were done as an accompaniment to poems and can be found throughout Series III, although there are also drawings on the verso of correspondence in Series II. There are a few sketches in a separate folder (Series I, Box 1, Drawings).
Custodial History and Acquisition Information The University of Maryland Libraries acquired the collection with the Papers of Djuna Barnes in 1973 and subsequently separated and treated it as an individual collection.
Processing Information Processed by: Ruth M. Alvarez, Robert L. Beare, Jessica Ford Cameron, Gaby Divay, Jennifer N. Evans
Processing Note: Robert Beare processed the collection in 1978. At that time, the collection was separated into three series: autobiography, correspondence, and poems. Series III, Poems, was further subdivided into three subseries: English, Prose Poems, and German. A section of personal materials and drawings was placed at the end of Series III. In March 1999, Ruth M. Alvarez incorporated these materials into Series III, now titled Manuscripts, Drafts, Notes, and added titles or subject headings as necessary. She also eliminated the subseries and arranged the series alphabetically. However, the arrangement of the English and German poems was retained when those groupings were moved under the headings of "Poems, English" and "Poems, German." A fourth series, Photographs, was created and included photographs that had originally been acquired with the collection, photographs donated by a variety of individuals, and photographic prints of manuscripts in the collection.
Between June 2001 and January 2002, the collection was reprocessed. With the assistance of Gaby Divay, a Frederick Grove scholar, the identities of some of the correspondents in Series II were determined, and these documents were placed in their own folders and arranged among the other identified correspondents in alphabetical order. She also assisted in sorting the various drafts of von Freytag-Loringhoven's work. The arrangement of most of the poetry by language was discarded at this time. As von Freytag-Loringhoven often developed her poems in German and wrote successive drafts in English, all drafts of a poem were placed together in a single folder. Once titles and subjects were determined, the individual folders were arranged alphabetically. Poems and correspondence on brittle paper were placed in Mylar sleeves. The collection was also completely rehoused in new acid-free boxes and folders. The biographical information in the guide was rewritten with assistance from Gaby Divay.
Sponsored by: Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Encoded by: EAD markup created using EAD database in Microsoft Access. Markup completed by Jason M. Stieber, April 2004. Markup checked and verified by Jennie A. Levine, December 2004.
Arrangement of Collection
The collection is divided into four series:
Series I: Autobiography, 1924, 1933 and undated (0.25 linear feet)
The series consists of notes and drafts of an autobiography written by the Baroness as well as the notes and drafts of Djuna Barnes on the autobiography. Barnes's notes, draft, and typescript of the autobiography are followed by the holograph manuscript, drafts, and notes of von Freytag-Loringhoven.
Series II: Correspondence and Personal Papers, ca. 1920-1927 and undated (0.5 linear feet)
This series consists of letters and drafts of letters, most of them written by the Baroness. Virtually all of the letters dated before 1923 were written in the United States. Later letters date from the time the Baroness was living in Europe between 1923 and 1927. It also contains a few of her drawings and sketches that might have been made by artists for whom she modeled. Drawings appear on the versos of correspondence with Sarah Freedman and Peggy Guggenheim. The series is arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Series III: Manuscripts, Drafts, Notes, and Drawings, 1919-1927 and undated (1.75 linear feet)
This series contains manuscripts of literary works by the Baroness and includes drafts and notes. Like Series II, it also contains a few of her drawings and sketches that might have been made by artists for whom she modeled. For example, in Series III, the back pages of "Tod Eines Schwernöters—Hamlet in America" can be pieced together to form a pencil drawing of a nude woman.
The series is arranged alphabetically by title or subject. Von Freytag-Loringhoven often assigned works in progress multiple titles. For example, the poem "Oh Fudge" was developed under the working titles "Melancholy," "King Gunther," and "Happenstance." Works with multiple titles are listed by the title found on the most polished, complete drafts with the alternative working titles following in parentheses, for example: Oh Fudge (Melancholy, King Gunther, Happenstance).
Works that are not related but were impossible to separate are listed together and separated by semi-colons.
The first line of untitled works appears in quotation marks; works assigned titles by von Freytag-Loringhoven appear without quotation marks. Angle brackets are used to replicate the idiosyncratic punctuation von Freytag-Loringhoven often used in her writing, for example: "Sinnlieb [Felix]."
The Appendix lists all the variant titles of the works with cross references for those that are not filed under their own title. The Appendix also contains cross-references for drafts and poem fragments located outside the principal folder for a particular work.
For example, a fragment of the poem "Catafalk" can be found in the folder for "Motion." Poems included in von Freytag-Loringhoven's letters in Series II are also listed in the Appendix.
Series IV: Photographs, ca. 1917, 1920s, 1999, 2002 (1.25 linear feet)
This series contains photographs of the Baroness and facsimile reproductions of her art and manuscripts, all of which date from the 1920s. Most of the photographic prints were made in 1999 and 2002. They are arranged roughly in the chronological order of the dates of the prints.
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