Arthur Douglas Bruce Hamilton: A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center

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Restrictions

Administrative Information

Description of Series

I. Works

II. Correspondence, 1929-1990

III. Personal

IV. Family Papers

Arthur Douglas Bruce Hamilton:

A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center



	Creator:	Hamilton, Arthur Douglas Bruce, 1900-1974
	Title:	Arthur Douglas Bruce Hamilton Papers
	Dates:	1929-1990
	Abstract:	The papers include materials for published works, drafts and notes of unpublished or minor works, correspondence, biographical works about his family, and personal papers including articles, biographical and genealogical information, financial papers, notebooks, and family photographs. There is also a great deal of material covering cricket and the history of British colonies in the Caribbean, in the form of newspaper articles and Hamilton's regular world events column in the Barbados Advocate.
	Extent:	16 boxes, 1 oversize box, 1 oversize file folder (7.72 linear feet)
	Repository:	Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Scope and Contents

The papers of British writer Bruce Hamilton span a fifty year writing and teaching career, including material for his published and unpublished works, as well as correspondence and material related to his family.

The collection is organized in four series: I. Works; II. Correspondence, 1929-1990; III. Personal; and IV. Family Papers.

The works in Series I are arranged alphabetically and primarily include drafts and notes of unpublished or minor works, and biographical works about family members and family history. Hamilton is known for his novels To Be Hanged; Middle Class Murder; Pro; and So Sad, So Fresh; the biography of his brother Patrick, The Light Went Out; and the play "The Home Front" which he wrote with his sister Helen. While the collection contains only associated material for some of these published works, it does include typescript drafts for the early years of his autobiography; an article on his father Bernard; a novel about his brother Patrick, "A Case for Cain"; a book on Shelley and Elizabeth Hitchener; as well as articles, plays, and poems. Hamilton's literary career was also devoted to cricket coverage and the history of British colonies in the Caribbean, especially during his thirty-five years in Barbados. Much of this material is present in the form of newspaper articles, as well as Hamilton's regular world events column in the Barbados Advocate.

The personal correspondence of Hamilton and his wife Aileen is found in Series II, especially letters exchanged throughout their marriage. Letters from other family members, friends, and publishers are also present.

Series III contains Hamilton's personal papers including articles about him, biographical and genealogical information, financial papers, notebooks, and family photographs. Material on Hamilton's 1964 appointment as a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is found in this series.

The family papers in Series IV include considerable material on Aileen's artistic career as well as her daybooks from 1968-1984. Material on Hamilton's brother Patrick and sister Helen, a writer and an actress known by her stage name Diana, is also present.

Several of Aileen Hamilton's sketches were transferred to the HRC Art Collection.

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Restrictions

Access:

Open for research

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I. Works
Box	Folder
1	1	Autobiography, childhood years, typescripts and notes
	2	"Bernard--A Tragi-Comedy," article on Hamilton's father, typescript draft
		"A Case for Cain," novel
Box	Folder
1	3-5		Handwritten draft
	6-7		Typescript
Box	Folder
2	1-2		Typescript, carbon
	3		Typescript, photocopy, through p.218
		"Destroying Angel and Brown Demon"
Box	Folder
2	4-6		Typescript copies with corrections
	7		Notes on P. B. Shelley and Elizabeth Hitchener
Box	Folder
3	1	"Director of Education," handwritten draft
	2	"Gettysburg Night," play, printed and typescript versions
	3	"The Hanging Judge," play based on novel, adapted by Raymond Massey
	4	"Holland House," typescript, notes, and photograph of Holland House cadets
	5	"The Home Front," programs for play written with Diana Hamilton
	6	"The Home Magazine," juvenilia
	7-8	"Keats," corrected typescripts and notes
	9	"The Last Order," typescript
	10	Lectures
		The Light Went Out: The Life of Patrick Hamilton
Box	Folder
3	11		Handwritten and typescript draft fragments
	12		Fan letters
	13		Publicity photos
Box	Folder
4	1	"The Lost Tests," typescript
	2	Middle Class Murder, novel, Tauchnitz edition
	3	"Nor This the Only Time," playscript with corrections
	4	"A Plan for Smoking: How to Cut DOWN Cigarettes," typescript draft
	5	Plays for radio, "A Lost Love" and "The Two Captains," with correspondence
	6	Reviews of plays and the Bridgetown Players
	7-8	Russia To-Day, April and May 1934 issues containing Hamilton's articles; handwritten diary of a trip to Russia and a notebook in Russian
	9	"Sago Pudding," typescript
	10	"700 Yaw," handwritten draft
		"Short Dictionary of English History"
Box	Folder
4	11		Handwritten draft and notes
	12		Typescript
	13	"Smarty Outsmarted," play
	14	"Triptych," poem, printed copies
Box	Folder
5	1	"Twelve Famous Tests," typescripts
	2-4	Newspaper articles, primarily for the Barbados Advocate
	5-9	Handwritten and typescript fragments, unidentified works

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II. Correspondence, 1929-1990
Box	Folder
6	1	Condolences, on Bruce's death
	2	Emtage, Joyce
		Hamilton, Aileen to Bruce Hamilton
Box	Folder
6	3		1929-40
	4		1941-47
	5		1955-74
		Hamilton, Bruce to Aileen Hamilton
Box	Folder
6	6		1933-47
	7		1952-56
	8		1957-68 and n.d.
Box	Folder
7	1	Hamilton, Ellen
	2-4	Hamilton, Helen
	5	Hamilton, Patrick
	6	Mackehenie, Charles
	7	Martin, Lois M.
		Publishers and agents
Box	Folder
7	8		1947-74
	9		1974-90
Box	Folder
8	1	Queree, Enid
	2	Robinson, Kenneth
		General Correspondence
Box	Folder
8	3		A-C
	4		D-E
	5		F-G
	6		H-K
	7		L-P
Box	Folder
9	1		R-Z
		Unidentified, by first name
Box	Folder
9	2		A-G
	3		H-N
	4		O-Z
	5	Unidentified
Box	Folder
10	1	Unidentified, cont'd

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III. Personal
Box	Folder
10	2	Articles about Bruce Hamilton
	3-4	Articles about works of Bruce and Patrick Hamilton [scrapbook removed to oversize box 17]
	5	Biographical material and obituaries
	6	Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, 1964, appointment papers and correspondence
	7	Diary and notebook
	8	Financial papers
	9	Genealogy, including Aileen Hamilton's family
Box	Folder
11	1	Notebooks
	2	Personal documents
	3-6	Photographs, family
	7	Stamp collection

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IV. Family Papers
		Aileen Hamilton
Box	Folder
12	1		Articles about
	2		Artistic career
	3		Chalky Mount, property in Barbados
			Daybooks
Box	Folder
12	4			1968-69
	5			1970-73
	6			1974-78
Box	Folder
13	1			1979-84
	2		Diary, 1975-77
	3		Exhibitions
	4-5		Financial papers
	6		Notes and miscellaneous material
Box	Folder
14	1-5		Notes and miscellaneous material, cont'd
	6		"Passover," poem
Box	Folder
15	1		Sketches and photographs of paintings
	2		Will
	3	Hamilton, Bernard
	4	Hamilton, Ellen
		Hamilton, Helen
Box	Folder
15	5		Articles about
	6		Correspondence
	7		Diaries
	8-9		"Middle Class Murder," radio script adaptation
		Hamilton, Patrick
Box	Folder
15	10		Articles by and about
	11		Obituaries
	12		Will
		Hamilton, Walter, Rev., commemorative retirement book, 1898 [removed to oversize box 17]
	13	Wildman, Edward, papers re: Bruce Hamilton's great grandfather
Box	Folder
16	1-6	Print material [oversize material removed to oversize flat folder]
Box
17		Oversize

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Arthur Douglas Bruce Hamilton:

A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center

Scope and Contents

Restrictions

Access:

Administrative Information

Acquisition:

Processed by:

Bruce Hamilton Papers--Folder List

I. Works

II. Correspondence, 1929-1990

III. Personal

IV. Family Papers