Murrell and Abe Craddock Edmunds Papers 1936-1963

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
170 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Special Collections Public Services & Reference Staff
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

Collection is open to research.

Terms of access:

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred citation:

Murrell and Abe Craddock Edmunds Papers, Accession 5989-ax, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library

Summary

Creator:
S. Allen Chambers
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Murrell and Abe Craddock Edmunds Papers, Accession 5989-ax, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library

Background

Scope and content:

This collection of twenty-one items, 1936-1963, is comprised of materials by and about author Murrell Edmundsand his brother, poet Abe Craddock Edmunds. Included are correspondence, Christmas cards, and clippings sent to their friends, Samuel Allenand Edith Chambersof Lynchburg.

Murrell Edmunds(1898-1981), born in Halifax, received his Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Virginia in 1921 and went on to a brief career of teaching and in law before devoting himself to writing. He wrote novels and short stories, including Sojourn Among Shadows(1936), Passionate Journey to Winter(1962), and Reservoir(1977). In the beginning, his books, which probed "contemporary and philosophical concepts," were not well received, but they eventually gained public acceptance with the help of publisher Thomas Yoseloff.

Abe Craddock Edmunds(1899-1959), also born in Halifax, graduated from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland and received his masters degree from the University of Virginia. One of his major books, The Renaissance(first published in 1932 and revised in 1954), marked him as a poet of significance. Other works included Geese are Swan(1929), Twenty-Nine Poems(1940), and Thirty-Five Poems(1951). He sought perfection in his work and was often referred to as a man of poetic genius.

Murrell Edmunds' correspondence to Sam and Edith Chambers include two Christmas cards and a November 14, 1959, letter concerning his brother's death and the possibility of presenting his books to Alderman Library's Rare Books and Manuscripts Division. There is also a letter, December 13, 1962, addressed to the Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce, in appreciation of the local paper's review of his Passionate Journey to Winter.

Craddock Edmunds' letters to Sam and Edith Chambers were mostly concerned with the couple's complete set of the poet's works. On May 5, 1937, Edmunds sent them a first edition of his The Renaissancebearing his holograph revisions; and, later he borrowed the edition to make additional revisions, returning it on February 15, 1954. Another reference to the collection was in his December 26, 1957, letter concerning Mary Washington College's interest in buying a complete set of his books. Also included is a 1940 booklet, Twenty-Nine Poems, with contents pasted in and notes made by Edmunds.

Acquisition information:
This material was donated to the Library on May 6, 1987 by S. Allen Chambers of Washington, D.C.
Processing information:

Funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

Physical location:
Physical description:
21 items