urn:taro:utexas.hrc.00239 The I. H. Slater Collection of Alexandre Dumas: An Inventory of His Collection at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center Text converted by SPI Content Sciences Inc., July 2003. Finding aid written in English. Slater, I. H. (Ivan), 1900-1968. Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin The I. H. Slater Collection of Alexandre Dumas 1918-1968 17 document cases, 82 bound vols. TXRC91-A26 Ivan H. Slater, from Kaeo, Northland, New Zealand, owned possibly the largest private collection of editions of Alexandre Dumas Pere (1802-1870) during the 1930s through the 1960s.His passion for collecting Dumas material lasted until his death in 1968. Slater worked in association with other Dumas collectors in New Zealand and abroad, principally by correspondence, as he never traveled outside of New Zealand. Acquisition:

Purchase

 Access:

Open for research

 Processed by:

Wendy Bowersock, 1991

 Biographical Sketch

Ivan H. Slater (1900-1968), from Kaeo, Northland, New Zealand, owned possibly the largest private collection of editions of Alexandre Dumas Pere (1802-1870) during the 1930s through the 1960s. Dumas, who began as a clerical worker, is best known for his novels Les Trois Mousquetaires (1844) and Le Comte de Monte Cristo (1844). Dumas used many collaborators in his writing, especially Auguste Maquet, who collected facts for the historical backgrounds of Dumas' novels. Mr. Slater began collecting in 1918 at the age of eighteen when he browsed through Dumas' The Black Tulip. His passion for collecting Dumas material lasted until his death in 1968. Slater worked in association with other Dumas collectors in New Zealand and abroad, principally by correspondence, as he never traveled outside of New Zealand. He corresponded with Frank Wild Reed of Whangarei, a fellow Dumas enthusiast, from 1925 until Reed's death in 1953. Reed bequeathed most of his Dumas notes and material to Slater, which greatly contributed to the Slater Dumas collection.

 Scope and Contents

Holograph manuscripts, notebooks containing manuscript translations, typescripts, bound volumes containing works by Dumas, works about Dumas, as well as bibliographies, correspondence, photographs, and a scrapbook comprise the I. H. Slater collection of Alexandre Dumas Pere. The material is arranged in six series: Undated Typescripts of Works by Dumas, Works about Alexandre Dumas, Correspondence, Bibliographical Works about Dumas, Works by F. W. Reed not pertaining to Dumas, and Miscellaneous Items.

The material in the Slater Dumas collection spans from 1918 to 1968, and includes notebooks that contain partial translations, typescript drafts of transcriptions of Dumas' works, as well as the correspondence between Slater and fellow Dumas collector F. W. Reed. The only materials in the collection in Dumas' hand are the note and the manuscript fragment found in the first series. The remaining materials are handwritten or typed translations of Dumas' works or materials about him. The last series, Miscellaneous Items, contains a hodgepodge of materials including some personal items that belonged to Slater. Photographs, Slater's scrapbook, and F. W. Reed's calling card can be found here.

Most of the materials are presented in one of two formats. The loose items are stored in folders, while some materials were bound together by Slater. Slater assigned a number sequence to some of the bound volumes, which is stamped on the spine. The unnumbered volumes were assigned numbers during cataloging to facilitate use.

The HRHRC holds an extensive collection of Dumas' published works in its library which may serve as a compliment to this vast and detailed Dumas archive.

 Index Terms Correspondents Bell, A. Craig. Duthie, R. Davis, N. P. Feil, M. B. Munroe, Douglas. Nielsen, Aksel J. Reed, Frank Wild, 1874- . White, Richard, of New Zealand. Organizations B.H. Blackwell Ltd. Subjects Dumas, Alexandre, 1802-1870. I. H. Slater Collection of Alexandre Dumas--Folder List I. Undated Transcripts of Works by Dumas

All of Dumas' major works are represented in Slater's collection. Two holograph manuscripts in Dumas' hand begin the first series, followed by translations of various editions of Dumas' works arranged alphabetically. Many of the translations are handwritten in notebooks. Also included in the first series are bound volumes containing typed translations of Dumas' plays, novels, short stories, and poetry. The bound volumes are arranged alphabetically by title, with some volume numbers assigned by Slater and some assigned by the cataloger for organizational purposes.

 1 1 Two Dumas holographs, 1 autographed note, 1 page from Neron 1 2 The Alchemist 1 3 Aught Save Death or Ruth the Moabit The Bride of Monte Cristo 1 4 Handwritten manuscript 1 5 Typescript Burry d'Amborse and Mine de Montsoreau 1 6 I 1 7 II 1 8 III 1 9 The Cabriolet Driver 1 10-11 Caligula, 2 typescripts 2 1 Catherine Howard 2 2 Chicot 2 3 Le Comte de Mazzara and other items 2 4 The Comte de Morcerf 2 5 Don Juan de Maraua, Piquillo 2 6 Dumas in England 2 7 L'Ecassais The End of Chicot 2 8 I 2 9 II 2 10 III 2 11 IV Isaac Laquedem 2 12 vol. I 3 1 vol. II 3 2 vol. III 3 3 vol. IV 3 4 Jeannic Le Breton 3 5 Julien 3 6 The Legend of Cologne Cathedral 3 7 Madame Chamblay 3 8 Le Mariage Sons Louis XV 3 9 Mediterranee 3 10 Monte Cristo, fragments 4 1 Orestes 4 2 Paul Jones 4 3 Personal Recollections of Alexandre Dumas 4 4 Le Roi Robert et la Belle Edith 4 5 Souvenirs Dramatiques par Alexandre Dumas 4 6 The Twenty-fourth of February 4 7 What's Sauce for the Goose is Sauce for the Gander The Youth of Louis XV 4 8 Part 1 4 9 Part 2 4 10 Various works in a notebook The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, The Corsican Brothers, and others 4 11 Various works, notebooks The Duke of Ossuna Bauorts, Padre Rocco's Sermon, Seynor Mercurio, and others 4 12 Various works: Alexandre's Pen Cesar, A Chat with My Readers, Comment Je Mis Garibaldi, Dauzats, The Exiles, How a Great Friendship Began, The Lazzarne and the Englishman Locmaria/D'Artagnen, Man and the Years of Life, preface to Memoirs of Horace, Memoirs of Horace, Preface in the Form of a Chat, To His Fellow Citizens of the Department of Seine-et-Oise, and other fragments Bound Plays 1 Love & the Chase, The Wedding & the Burial, Henri III & His Court, Christine, Napoleon Bonaparte, 1955 1 Supp. vol. 1 The Son of the Emigre, The Scotsman, Pietro Tasca, 1958 2 Antony, Charles VII, Richard Darlington, Teresa, 1946 2 Supp. vol. 2 The Youth of Louis XV, La Bacchante, The Prisoner of the Bastille, Joseph Balsamo, 1958 3 The Husband of the Widow, The Tower of Nesle, Angele, Catherine Howard, 1947 3 Supp. vol. 3 Cromwell et Charles, Le Bourgeois de Grand, Leo Burkart, 1960 4 Don Juan De Marana, Kean, Piquillo, Caligula, 1949 4 Supp. vol. 4 Bartardi, Perrinet Leclerc, La Venitienne, La Tour de Babel, 1961 5 Paul Jones, The Alchemist, Mlle. De Belle Isle, A Marriage Under Louis XV, 1949 5 Supp. vol. 5 Cricri et ses Mutrons, Caligula, Les Trois Gendermes, 1962 6 Lorinzino, Halifax, The Demoiselles of Saint-Cyr, Louise Bernard, 1950 6 Supp. vol. 6 Bathilde, Caesar's Will, Le Roi Robert et la Belle Edith, 1962 7 The Laird of Dumbiky, A Daughter of the Regent, Queen Margot, 1955 8 Intrigue and Love, Chevalier De Maison Rouge, Hamlet, The Green Cashmere, 1957 9 Monte Cristo 1 & 2, Comte De Morcerf, Villefort, 1957 10 The Youth of the Musketeers, The Musketeers, Catilina, 1958 11 Chevalier D'Harmental, The War of the Women, Count Hermann, 1958 12 Three Interludes, Urbain Grandier, The 24th February, Chase of the Chastre, Barrier de Clichy, 1958 13 The Vampire, Romulus, The Youth of Louis XIV, The Marble Mason, Conscience, 1958 14 Orestes, Tower of St. Jacques, The Queen's Bolt, Invitation to the Waltz, The Foresters, 1958 15 Honour Is Satisfied, The Romance of Elvire, The other Side of a Conspiracy, The Gentleman of the Mountain, The Lady of Monsoreau, 1958 16 The Mohicans of Paris, Gabriel Lambert, Madame De Chamblay, The White & the Blues, 1958 Bound Novels 17 The Bride of Monte Cristo 18 The Comte de Moret vol. 1 19 The Comte de Moret vol. 2 20 The Count of Mazzara 21 Isaac Laquedem 22 Melanges Curieux 23 Monte Cristo's Daughter 24 Montevideo on une Nouvelle Troie 25 Parisians and Provincials 26 The Watchmaker, Herminie 27 Bound Short Stories 28 Bound Poetry II. Works about Alexandre Dumas

The life of Alexandre Dumas is represented in the second series. The manuscript of Craig Bell's Alexandre Dumas, as well as various other works about Dumas are arranged alphabetically by the author's name. Also included are Charles Robin's and Gustave Simon's texts concerning the collaboration of Alexandre Dumas with Auguste Maquet. The second series includes bound volumes containing works about Dumas.

 Bell, Craig. Alexandre Dumas. All revisions by F. W. Reed 5 1 Preface, handwritten and typescript 5 2 Prologue and forward 5 3 Acknowledgement 5 4 Chapters I, II, III, IV 5 5 Chapters V, X, XI, XII (chapters VI, VII, VIII, and IX are missing) 5 6 Chapters XIII, XIV, XV, XVI 5 7 Chapters XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX 5 8 Chapters XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV 5 9 Chapters XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII 5 10 Chapters XXIX, XXX, XXXI, XXXII 5 11 Chapters XXXIII, XXXIV, XXXV 5 12 Appendix 5 13 Working drafts--pages 13, 327, and 328 6 1 Bryant, Margaret. Alexandre Dumas, and Lenorte, G. Alexandre Dumas Pere 6 2 Chincholle, Charles. Dumas Today 6 3 Cook, Dutton. Nights at the Play Monte Cristo 6 4 Croton-Duvivier. Alexandre Dumas 6 5 Croton-Duvivier. Voltaire Bantered by Alexandre Dumas 6 6 D'Almeras, Henri. Alexandre Dumas and the Three Musketeers 6 7 Dash, Comterre. Memoires des Autres 6 8 D'Hauterive, Ernest. General Alexandre Dumas 6 9 Dumas, Marie Alexandre. Prelude to My Life 6 10 Ferry, Gabriel. The Last Years of Alexandre Dumas, 1864-1870 6 11 Garnett, R.S. The New Dumas 7 1-3 Glinel, Charles. The Poetical Works of Dumas Pere 7 4 Janin, Jules. Alexandre Dumas and Dumas' Mme de Chamblay 7 5 Lecomte, L. Henry. Theatre Historique 7 6-7 Mahalin, Paul. D'Artagnan 7 8 Nielsen, Askel J. Bibliographie d'Alexandre Dumas Pere in Danemark, Norvege et Suede 7 9 Pifteau, Benjamin. Alexandre Dumas in His Shirt Sleeves: An Anecdotal Study Reed, F. W. 7 10 Captain Marion 7 11 A Chronology of Alexandre Dumas 7 12 Dumas and "Captain Marion", Dumas Wins Success 7 13 Dumas as Dramatist 7 14 Dumas' First Long Works other than Collected Stories 8 1 The Dumas Museum, The Small Museum of a Great Man, Detached Leaves, The Centenary Festival 8 2 The French Periodical Press 8 3 Introducing Alexandre Dumas 8 4 A Life of Dumas 8 5 Portraiture of Dumas Pere 8 6 Storied Romance 8 7 Telepathy in Books; some bibliographical information on Dumas' plays 8 8 Les Trois Mousquetaires, articles regarding the text 8 9 Alexandre Dumas 8 10-11 Robin, Charles. Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet 8 12 Simon, Gustave. The Story of Collaboration: Dumas and Maquet Slater, I. H. 9 1 Alexandre Dumas and His Romances 9 2 Andrens Lang and Harry Spurr Cross Swords 9 3-4 Notes on Dumas--forward to vol. 13, 9 5 Motion Pictures of Dumas' Romances 9 6 A Museum of Essays 9 7 The Years of Alexandre Dumas Pere 9 8 Various notes concerning Alexandre Dumas and his works 9 9 Early book reviews from the British Museum 9 10 Extracts from British Museum Catalog "Dumas" 9 11 Extracts from various magazines 10 1 Various articles about Alexandre Dumas 10 2 Notes on Dumas vol. 13, incomplete 10 3-4 Notes on Dumas, duplicate Bound Works about Dumas 29-41 Notes on Dumas, vols. 1-12 42 d'Almeras, Henri. The Letters of Van Engelgom 43 Audebrand, Philibert. Alexandre Dumas at the Maison D'Or, and De Bury, H. Blaze. Alexandre Dumas, His Life, His Times, His Works 44 Garnett, R.S. The Dumas Notebooks I to IV 45 Glinel, Charles. Alexandre Dumas and His Work 46 Lecomte, L. Henry. Alexandre Dumas, His Private Life, His Works; Querard, J.M. Literary Deceits Revealed; Asselineau, Charles. Romantic Bibliography; Parran, A. Romantics; Goizet, J. Anecdotal History of Theatrical Collaboration Mahalin, Paul. 47 D'Artagnan 48 Guise and Valois 49 Nodier, Charles. Stories Parigot, Hippolyte. 50 Alexandre Dumas Pere 51 The Drama of Alexandre Dumas Reed, F. W. 52 Chronological Data Concerning Alexandre Dumas Pere 53 A Life of Alexandre Dumas Pere 54 Notes on English and American Translations of Dumas Pere 55 Storied Romance 56 Robin, Charles. Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Maquet; Chincholle, Charles. Alexandre Dumas Today; Janin, Jules. Alexandre Dumas; Pifteau, Benjamin. Alexandre Dumas in His Shirt Sleeves; Michaux, M.A. Personal Recollections of Alexandre Dumas; Courmeaux, Eugene. Alexandre Dumas; Gautier, Theophile. The References to Alexandre Dumas in Dramatic Art in France 57 Slater, I. H. One Hundred Short Biographies of Alexandre Dumas Collaborators, Secretaries, and Other Persons Connected in Some Way or other with Him. III. Correspondence

The third series comprises correspondence primarily between F. W. Reed and I. H. Slater from 1925 to 1953, in which they shared bibliographical information about Dumas. This series also includes Slater's correspondence with such figures as A. Craig Bell, Blackwell's, N.P. Davis, Douglas Munroe, as well as many others. There is one folder of unidentified correspondence. There is a complete list of correspondents at the end of the inventory.

 Correspondence between F. W. Reed and I. H. Slater 11 1 1925 11 2 1926 11 3 1927 11 4 1934 11 5 1935 11 6 1936 11 7 1937 11 8 1938 11 9 1939 11 10 1940 11 11 1941 12 1 1942 12 2 1943 12 3 1944 12 4 1945 12 5 1946 12 6 1947 12 7 1948 12 8 1949 12 9 1950 12 10 1951 12 11 1952-1953 13 1 Correspondence between A. Craig Bell and I. H. Slater, 1951-1953 13 2 Correspondence between Blackwell's and I. H. Slater, 1964 13 3 Correspondence between N.P. Davis and I. H. Slater, 1953-1958 13 4 Correspondence between Douglas Munroe and I. H. Slater, 1940-1965 13 5 Aksel J. Nielsen and I. H. Slater, 1956-1968 13 6 Other I. H. Slater correspondence 13 7 Unidentified correspondence IV. Bibliographical Works about Dumas

The fourth series contains bibliographical works about Dumas, compiled predominantly by I. H. Slater and F. W. Reed. The bound bibliographical works are arranged chronologically to reflect the progression of Slater's and Reed's collection.

 14 1 Catalogue of the Dorothy H. Knot Dumas Collection 14 2 Reed, F. W. Catalogue of Dumas Material 14 3 Reed, F. W. and Slater, I. H. The Length of Dumas' Chief Romances as English Publishers Give Them Slater, I. H. 14 4 List of Books by Alexandre Dumas 14 5 Bibliography of Dumas Notes, I and II 14 6 Bibliography of A. Dumas: First drafts and material 14 7-10 A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas (Pere) 15 1-2 A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas (Pere) duplicate 15 3-4 Catalogue of the Slater Dumas Collection 1961 15 5 Lists of Various Dumas Collections 15 6-7 Bibliographical Information Regarding Dumas 15 8-9 Reed, F. W. Notes on English and American Translations of Dumas Pere Bound volumes 58 Reed, F. W. A Bibliography of the Works of Alexandre Dumas Pere, vol. 1, 1928 59 Reed, F. W. A Bibliography of the Works of Alexandre Dumas Pere, vol. 2, 1928 60 Slater, I. H. Catalogue of the Slater Dumas Collection, 1941 61 Reed, F. W. A Bibliography of the Romances of Dumas Pere, 1942 62 Reed, F. W. A Bibliography of the Romances of Dumas Pere, 1943 63 Reed, F. W. A Bibliography of Books and Periodical Articles on Alexandre Dumas Pere, 1945 64 Slater, I. H. Catalogue of the Slater Dumas Collection, 1945 65 Reed, F. W. A Bibliography of the Plays of Alexandre Dumas Pere, part I to 1848, 1946 66 Reed, F. W. A Bibliography of the Plays of Alexandre Dumas Pere, part II from 1849, 1946 67 Slater, I. H. A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas Pere, vol. 1, 1949 68 Slater, I. H. A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas Pere, vol. 2, 1949 69 Reed, F. W. A Bibliography of the Miscellaneous Works of Dumas Pere, 1949 70 Slater, I. H. The Catalogue of the Slater Dumas Collection, 1949, 2 copies 71 Slater, I. H. A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas Pere, vol. 1. 1949 72 Slater, I. H. A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas Pere, vol. 2, 1949 73 Slater, I. H. A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas Pere, vol. 1, 1956 74 Slater, I. H. A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas Pere, vol. 2, 1956 75 Slater, I. H. The Catalogue of the Slater Dumas Collection, 1961, revised and augmented up to the end of 1968 V. Works by F. W. Reed not pertaining to Alexandre Dumas

In the fifth series, works by F. W. Reed that do not pertain to Alexandre Dumas can be found. These plays, novels, and other various works are arranged alphabetically by title, and cover a wide range of subjects. Some of the titles include Early Pharmacy in Whangarei, A Pawn to Play, and Three Playlets.

The final series, Miscellaneous Items, contains a variety of materials collected by Slater. Various works not relating to Dumas, a picture of Dumas, Dumas' coat of arms, printing blocks, photographs, and a scrapbook are some of the items found in this series.

 16 1 Aught Save Death or Ruth the Moabites 16 2 Early Pharmacy in Whangarei 16 3 In Old Damaseus, 2 copies 16 4 Into a Far Country 16 5 Joseph in Egypt I and II 16 6 Keep Your Old Bones 16 7 Laadau the Samaritan 16 8 Oddsfish! Mistress Nelly A Pawn To Play 16 9 Chapters I-V 16 10 Chapters VI-XII 16 11 Chapters XIII-XVIII 17 1 The Prophecy of Cozette 17 2 What Shall I Profit a Man? 17 3 Three Playlets, The Forgetful Angel, The Literary Scarecrow, A Preliminary Note VI. Miscellaneous Items 17 4 Various works by authors; not related to A. Dumas: Calamus. A Star To Steer By; Moliere. Three Interludes for "Love the Physician"; Piquello. Giants, Horse Sense, Puns and Maori Bulls, Human Balloons, The Woman in White; Pushkin, Alexander. The Coffin Maker 17 5 Picture of Dumas, coat of arms, drawing of Quinze Jours a Sinai 17 6 Mock bookplate of I. H. Slater, printing block of bookplate, printing block of A. Dumas, printing block of a house 17 7 Prints of Alexandre Dumas and house from blocks 17 8 Account of the journey of I. H. Slater to Whangarei in 1939, 2 newspaper articles on F. W. Reed 17 9 Various items belonging to F. W. Reed and I. H. Slater 17 10 Photographs 17 * Scrapbook, shelved in oversize I. H. Slater Collection of Alexandre Dumas Papers--Index of Correspondents

Names in boldappear in the RLIN record

Allen, Betty--13.6 Banz, J.--13.6 Barklock, Professor--13.6 Bell, A. Craig--13.1 B. H. Blackwell Ltd.--13.2 British Museum--13.6 Bybee, Medora M.--13.6 Campanella, A. P.--13.6 Clouston, V. J.--13.6 W. M. Collins Sons and Co.--13.6 Cunard, Douglas--13.6 Davis, N. P.--13.3 Dingwall, E. J.--13.6 Dunthie, R.--13.6 Feil, M. B.--13.6 The Gisborne Herald--13.6 Josserand, P.--13.6 Knot, Miss--13.6 Leeson, Ida--13.6 Legation de France en Nouvell Felande--13.6 Lough, Mrs.--13.6 Louttit, William--13.6 Lowe, Marjorie--13.6 Muir, Mr.--13.6 Munroe, Douglas--13.4 Newbold's Bookshop Ltd.--13.6 New Zealand Observer--13.6 Necolet, A.--13.6 Nielsen, Aksel J.--13.5 Reed, Frank Wild, 1874- --Boxes 11,12 Sania, A.--13.6 Scholefield, G. H.--13.6 Shelly, James--13.6 Tyng, Dorothy--13.6 The Weekly News--13.6 White, Richard--13.6 Withers, H. S.--13.6