This collection contains several series of materials: correspondence to and from Sherwood Anderson, correspondence and research files about Sherwood Anderson, and a small group of photographs, audio, video, and graphic art materials. Materials generated by Anderson date from 1918-1940. Other materials date from about 1929-2006.

Series I: Correspondence to/from Sherwood Anderson, 1927-1940 includes correspondence to and from Anderson with a variety of colleagues and friends. It contains three subseries. Materials in each subseries in Series I are in chronological order. Undated materials are located at the end of each subseries.

Subseries A: Sherwood Anderson to J. J. Lankes, 1926-1940 consists of Anderson’s letters to artist and friend, J. J. Lankes. The correspondence is a combination of personal conversations and professional. There are also several folders of materials that relate to the correspondence and the Anderson-Lankes collaboration: manuscripts and copies of essays, woodcuts, articles, and reviews. Subseries B: From Sherwood Anderson to various, A-Z, 1925-1940, n.d. contains letters by Anderson to a variety of individuals. In most cases, there is a single letter to each correspondent, with the exception of William and Carrie Wright. Wright built Ripshin, Anderson’s home in Marion, Va. Subseries C: To Sherwood Anderson from various, A-Z, 1931, 1935 consists of a letter to Anderson from his publisher and an invitation.

Series II: Correspondence about Sherwood Anderson, 1929-2006, n.d. contains letters about Sherwood Anderson, including personal correspondence to Eleanor Copenhaver Anderson, artist J. J. Lankes, Anderson scholar Welford D. Taylor, and others. It contains four subseries. Materials in each subseries in Series II are in chronological order. Undated materials are located at the end of each subseries.

Subseries A: To/from Eleanor Copenhaver Anderson, 1941-1977, n.d., includes letters written to and from Eleanor Copenhaver Anderson, written after Anderson’s death in 1941. It is primary correspondence between Eleanor and J. J. Lankes and W. D. Taylor. Subseries B: To/from J. J. Lankes, 1930-1957, n.d. consists of letters to and from Lankes from Anderson’s son, Robert, from publishers working with Lankes and Anderson on Anderson’s books, and other mutual acquaintances. Subseries C: To/from Welford D. Taylor from Various, A-Z, 1929-2006 includes correspondence from other Sherwood Anderson scholars and researchers. The last subseries, Subseries D: To/from various, A-Z, 1932, 1938, 1965, contains a few letters from individuals connected to Anderson (his children) or between individuals interested in Anderson.

Series III: Subject Files, 1918-2006, n.d. includes collected research files, ephemera, and other items related to scholarship about Sherwood Anderson. Materials in each subseries in Series III are in chronological order. Undated materials are located at the end of each subseries.

Subseries A: Writings by & about Sherwood Anderson, 1918-1953, n.d. contains a few drafts of writings by Anderson, along with photocopies of an article about Anderson and one of his newspaper columns from 1918. Subseries B: Sherwood Anderson & His Works, 1964-2006, n.d. includes files of research materials collected by W. D. Taylor on secondary sources or edited collections of Anderson’s works. This includes The Buck Fever Papers, Certain Things Last: The Selected Short Stories of Sherwood Anderson, Sherwood Anderson, Sherwood Anderson: A Writer in America, and Southern Odyssey: Selected Writings by Sherwood Anderson. This subseries also has the transcript of an interview by Taylor with Joseph and Mary Cortina. Subseries C: Ephemera, 1924-2005, n.d. consist of pages from newspapers, programs from events related to Anderson scholarship, and materials from the Sherwood Anderson Foundation. Subseries D: Eleanor Copenhaver Anderson, 1980, 1985 contains obituaries following the death of Eleanor Copenhaver Anderson and a pamphlet relating to her mother.

Series IV: Images, Video, Audio, and Microfilm, 1970s-1991, n.d. contains all the multimedia materials received as part of this collection. Formats include photographs, postcards, a VHS tape, cassette tape and audio reels, and microfilm. Materials in each subseries in Series IV are in chronological order. Undated materials are located at the end of each subseries.

Subseries A: Photographs and Postcards, c.1970s, n.d. includes pictures of art works relating to Anderson, formal and candid images of Anderson, of Ripshin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripshin_Farm), his home in Grayson County, Virginia, and of locations around Marion, Virginia, which were significant to Anderson's life and career. Subseries B: Video, 1991 includes the recording of a 1991 event on the Virginia Tech campus. Subseries C: Audio, 1976, 1982, n.d. includes a partial interview with an unknown friend of Sherwood Anderson and cassette tapes with interviews of Anderson scholars and Eleanor Anderson. Subseries D: Microfilm, 1925-1931, n.d. contains microfilm of Smyth County newspapers purchased and published by Anderson in the 1920s and 1930s.

Series V: Graphic Arts Materials, n.d. includes a small group of art works, primarily woodcuts. This series contains prints and photocopies of J. J. Lankes woodcuts, some of which were used in Anderson publications. It also includes bookplates for the libraries of Sherwood Anderson and Welford D. Taylor. Materials in Series V are organized by material type.

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Anderson, Eleanor Copenhaver (1896-1985)

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Anderson, Sherwood (1876-1941)

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Anderson, Robert Lane (1907-1951)

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Campbell, Hilbert

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DeVries, Carrow

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Hurd, Thaddeus B.

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Lankes, J. J. (1884-1960)

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Modlin, Charles E.

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Rideout, Walter B.

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Taylor, Welford Dunaway

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Wright, William and Carrie