TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary of the Collection
Scope and Content of the Collection
Series 1: Correspondence, 1840-1933
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Inventory of the Wallace Rice Papers, 1779-1939, bulk 1885-1935
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Lisa Janssen, 2004. ©2004. |
Descriptive Summary of the Collection |
|
| Creator | Rice, Wallace, 1859-1939 |
| Title | Wallace Rice Papers |
| Dates | 1779-1939 |
| Dates | bulk 1885-1935 |
| Extent | 5 cubic ft. (8 boxes and 2 oversize boxes) |
| Abstract | Correspondence, almost all addressed to Chicago author, anthologist and lecturer Wallace Rice with a few outgoing letters; also many examples of his works, and a miscellany of associated material including a small collection of photographs. |
| Language | Materials are in English. |
| Repository | Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections |
| Collection Call Number | Midwest MS Rice |
| Collection Stack Location | 3a 42 1 |
Administrative Information
Cite As
Wallace Rice Papers, Midwest Manuscript Collection, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Provenance
Gift of Frances V. Rice (sister), 1948, 1950.
Processed by
Virginia H. Smith, 2004.
Access
The Wallace Rice Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 5 folders at a time maximum, and items in each folder will be counted before and after delivery to the patron (Priority I).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Wallace Rice Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
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Biography of Wallace Rice
Chicago author, anthologist and lecturer.
Wallace Rice, a life-long resident of Chicago, was the son of John A. Rice, the owner successively of the Old Sherman House, the Grand Pacific Hotel, and the historic Tremont Hotel, and a collector of a notable library of Americana. Rice was born in 1859, was educated at Racine College and Harvard, and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1884. However, he found he had little interest in the law, and a few years later he began his literary career.
Starting out as a newspaper reporter, Rice became a both a drama critic and a book critic. He worked for almost all the Chicago papers and at the same time was a prolific freelance writer. He was the author, coauthor, editor or compiler of more than ninety books and pamphlets. His interests were wide: he wrote pageants for historical occasions, plays and masques, hymns, song lyrics, special histories of utilities and hotels, and he served as a usage counselor for the English Journal. Rice was a member of the Illinois State Historical Society and the Chicago Historical Society and wrote histories of the Chicago Stock Exchange in 1923, the People's Gas Light and Coke Company, and the Palmer House. He also designed the Chicago Municipal flag, adopted in 1917, and the Illinois Centennial flag. Wallace Rice was an ardent writer of verse and a tireless anthologist with such compilations as Ballads of Valor and Victory, The Athlete's Garland, The Humbler Poets: Second Series and The Wealth of Friendship. His own poetry appeared throughout his lifetime in many anthologies, including The Oxford Book of American Verse. Also, with Clarence Darrow he edited an anthology of prose entitled Infidels and Heretics in 1929.
Rice was extremely active in theatrical and club activities and he often wrote articles or lectured on literary and dramatic themes. He was a member of the Cliff Dwellers, the Society of Midland Authors, the Stage Guild, the Playwrights Theater and several other Chicago societies. In 1889 he married Minna H. Angier of Chicago and they had two sons, John A. Rice and Benjamin W. Rice. Wallace Rice died in 1939.
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Scope and Content of the Collection
The collection consists primarily of correspondence and works, with a small collection of miscellaneous material and a few photographs.
The letters, most of which are addressed to Rice, mainly are regarding Rice's professional interests as a critic, lecturer, poet and anthologist, either from fans or from authors regarding permission to republish their work in some collection he was preparing, plus personal and social notes. Among the correspondents are Franklin P. Adams, Jane Addams, George Ade, Francis Fisher Browne, Bliss Carman, Mary H. Catherwood, Clarence Darrow, Finley Peter Dunne, Henry B. Fuller, Hamlin Garland, Edward Everett Hale, Alfred E. Housman, William Dean Howells, Julian Huxley, Ring Lardner, H.L. Mencken, Harriet Monroe, Frank Norris, Bliss Perry, Dorothy Richardson, Charles Edward Russell, George Santayana, Otis Skinner, Lincoln Steffens, Eunice Tietjens, Thorstein Veblen, Owen Wister, Frank Lloyd Wright and Edith Wyatt. There is also a letter from Horace Greeley to a Charles Stacy and two letters from William Gillette to others.
The works of Rice include many articles, both manuscript and published, mostly pasted in notebooks; a typescript of his book written with Clarence Darrow, Infidels and Heretics; also an unfinished novel, a play, song lyrics, speeches and a long story. The bulk of material is verse, both his and of others which he collected for anthologizing.
The miscellaneous material mainly consists of certificates, clippings, invitations and cards, programs, school items, memorabilia relating to Rice's father and ancestors, a notebook of articles and clippings about the Spanish-American War and six copies of the Centennial Bulletin, 1917-1918. Among the photographs are three of Wallace Rice and one of his father, John A. Rice, several cabinet photographs, including Frank Leslie and General William T. Sherman, and a few unidentified.
Narrative descriptions of the subject matter, types of material, and arrangement of series are available through the Organization section of the finding aid.
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Organization
Papers are organized in the following series, with two oversize boxes at end:
- Series 1: Correspondence, 1840-1933. Box(es) 1-3
- Series 2: Works, 1872-1938. Box(es) 4-7
- Series 3: Miscellaneous, 1799-1942. Box(es) 8
- Series 4: Photographs, ca. 1870-1939. Box(es) 8
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Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.
Names
- Adams, Franklin P., 1881-1960
- Addams, Jane, 1860-1935
- Ade, George, 1866-1944
- Bispham, David Scull, 1857-1921
- Browne, Francis Fisher, 1843-1913
- Carman, Bliss, 1861-1929
- Darrow, Clarence, 1857-1938
- Dunne, Finley Peter, 1867-1936
- Fuller, Henry Blake, 1857-1929
- Garland, Hamlin, 1860-1940
- Gillette, William, 1853-1937
- Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872
- Hale, Edward Everett, 1822-1909
- Housman, A.E. (Alfred Edward), 1859-1936
- Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920
- Huxley, Julian, 1887-1975
- Lardner, Ring, 1885-1933
- Mencken, H.L. (Henry Louis), 1880-1956
- Monroe, Harriet, 1860-1936
- Norris, Frank, 1870-1902
- Perry, Bliss, 1860-1954
- Rice family
- Rice, John A.
- Rice, Wallace, 1859-1939
- Richardson, Dorothy
- Russell, Charles Edward, 1860-1941
- Santayana, George, 1863-1952
- Skinner, Otis, 1858-1942
- Steffens, Lincoln, 1866-1936
- Tietjens, Eunice, b. 1884
- Veblen, Thorstein, 1857-1929
- Wister, Owen, 1860-1938
- Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959
- Wyatt, Edith 1873-1958
Subjects
- Anthologies - Illinois - Chicago - 1890-1930
- Book editors - Illinois - Chicago - History - 20th century - Sources
- Chicago (Ill.) - Intellectual life - 20th century
- Correspondence - 1880-1935
- Critics - Illinois - Chicago - History - 20th century - Sources
- Lyricists - Illinois - Chicago - History - 20th century -- Sources
- Manuscripts, American
- Photographs - 1870-1939
- Poems - Illinois - Chicago - 1890-1935
- Poets, American - History - 20th century - Sources
- Spanish-American War, 1898
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Container List
Series 1: Correspondence, 1840-1933 |
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| Letters, almost all to Wallace Rice, from fans, friends, authors and editors, mostly concerned with Rice's professional life as a writer and anthologist, and social and personal notes. Among the correspondents are Franklin P. Adams, Jane Addams, George Ade, Francis Fisher Browne, Bliss Carman, Mary H. Catherwood, Clarence Darrow, Finley Peter Dunne, Henry B. Fuller, Hamlin Garland, Edward Everett Hale, Alfred E. Housman, William Dean Howells, Julian Huxley, Ring Lardner, H.L. Mencken, Harriet Monroe, Frank Norris, Bliss Perry, Dorothy Richardson, Charles Edward Russell, George Santayana, Otis Skinner, Lincoln Steffens, Eunice Tietjens, Thorstein Veblen, Owen Wister, Frank Lloyd Wright and Edith Wyatt. There is also a letter from Horace Greeley to a Charles Stacy and two letters from William Gillette to others. | |||||||||||
| Letters are arranged alphabetically by correspondent, with the more prominent names in separate folders. | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | A | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Adams, Franklin Pierce, 1902-1905, n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Adams, Franklin Upham, 1899-1905 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Adams, Samuel Hopkins, 1902-1904 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Addams, Jane, 1898-1903 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Ade, George, 1904-1905, n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Ba | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Be-By | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Bispham, David to Wallace Rice and Others, 1919-1920 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Black, Margaret Potter, 1903-1906 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Blanden, Charles Granger, 1901-1917 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Browne, Francis Fisher, 1898-1905, n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Browne, Aldo R., 1913-1917, n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | C-Cla | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Cli-Coo | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Cor-Cro | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Carmen, Bliss, 1899-1913 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Catherwood, Mary H., n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Da-Di | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | Do | |||||||||
| 1 | 21 | Du-Dy | |||||||||
| 1 | 22 | Darrow, Clarence, 1894-1933 | |||||||||
| 1 | 23 | Doyle, Arthur Conan, (Note), Feb. 12, 1905 | |||||||||
| 1 | 24 | Dunne, Finley Peter, 1905-1909 | |||||||||
| 1 | 25 | E | |||||||||
| 1 | 26 | Fa-Fl | |||||||||
| 1 | 27 | Fo-Fy | |||||||||
| 1 | 28 | Fuller, Henry B., 1901, n.d. | |||||||||
| 2 | 29 | G | |||||||||
| 2 | 30 | Garland, Hamlin, 1901-1907, n.d. | |||||||||
| 2 | 31 | Gillette, William to H. Chatfield-Taylor and to Mr. Sedgwick, 1913 | |||||||||
| 2 | 32 | Greeley, Horace, to Chas. R. Stacy, Jan. 8, 1851 | |||||||||
| 2 | 33 | Ha | |||||||||
| 2 | 34 | He | |||||||||
| 2 | 35 | Ho | |||||||||
| 2 | 36 | Hu | |||||||||
| 2 | 37 | Hale, Edward Everett, n.d. | |||||||||
| 2 | 38 | Housman, Alfred E., Feb. 15, 1905 | |||||||||
| 2 | 39 | Howells, William D., Mar. 26, 1899 | |||||||||
| 2 | 40 | Huxley, Julian, Nov. 5, 1928 | |||||||||
| 2 | 41 | I-J | |||||||||
| 2 | 42 | K | |||||||||
| 2 | 43 | La | |||||||||
| 2 | 44 | Le-Ly | |||||||||
| 2 | 45 | Lang, Andrew, Feb. 14, n.d. | |||||||||
| 2 | 46 | Lardner, Ring, Apr. 27, 1928 | |||||||||
| 2 | 47 | Mc/Mac | |||||||||
| 2 | 48 | Ma-Me | |||||||||
| 2 | 49 | Mi-Mon | |||||||||
| 2 | 50 | Moo-Mu | |||||||||
| 2 | 51 | Mencken, Henry Lewis, 1927, n.d. | |||||||||
| 2 | 52 | Monroe, Harriet, 1902-1912 | |||||||||
| 2 | 53 | Moore, George, Nov. 1, 1928 | |||||||||
| 2 | 54 | N | |||||||||
| 2 | 55 | Norris, Frank, 1901, n.d. | |||||||||
| 2 | 56 | O | |||||||||
| 2 | 57 | Pa-Pe | |||||||||
| 2 | 58 | Ph-Pu | |||||||||
| 2 | 59 | Perry, Bliss, Feb, 11, 1904 | |||||||||
| 3 | 60 | Ra-Rh | |||||||||
| 3 | 61 | Ri-Ru | |||||||||
| 3 | 62 | Rice Family, 1868-1913 | |||||||||
| 3 | 63 | Richardson, Dorothy, 1901, n.d. | |||||||||
| 3 | 64 | Russell, Charles Edward, 1906, n.d. | |||||||||
| 3 | 65 | Sa-Sch | |||||||||
| 3 | 66 | Scr-Sh | |||||||||
| 3 | 67 | Sk-Sp | |||||||||
| 3 | 68 | Sta-Stel | |||||||||
| 3 | 69 | Stev | |||||||||
| 3 | 70 | Sto | |||||||||
| 3 | 71 | Str-Sy | |||||||||
| 3 | 72 | Santayana, George, Mar. 3, 1905 | |||||||||
| 3 | 73 | Scollard, Clinton, 1899-1914 | |||||||||
| 3 | 74 | Skinner, Otis, n.d. | |||||||||
| 3 | 75 | Steffens, J. Lincoln, July 11, 1902 | |||||||||
| 3 | 76 | Ta-To | |||||||||
| 3 | 77 | Tr | |||||||||
| 3 | 78 | Tietjens, Eunice, 1817 | |||||||||
| 3 | 79 | V | |||||||||
| 3 | 80 | Veblen, Thorstein, Feb. 12, 1902 | |||||||||
| 3 | 81 | Wa | |||||||||
| 3 | 82 | We-Wi | |||||||||
| 3 | 83 | Wo-Wy | |||||||||
| 3 | 84 | Wister, Owen, 1902 | |||||||||
| 3 | 85 | Wright, Frank Lloyd, July 14, 1915 | |||||||||
| 3 | 86 | Wyatt, Edith, Dec. 31, 1901 | |||||||||
| 3 | 87 | Y-Z | |||||||||
| 3 | 88 | Zeisler, Sigmund | |||||||||
| 3 | 89 | Unidentified | |||||||||
Series 2: Works, 1872-1938 |
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| Collection of works that display Rice's range of literary activities as an anthologist, critic, language usage consultant, lecturer, lyricist, writer of drama, poetry, and prose on a variety of topics. The bulk of this material is poetry - primarily Rice's - which Rice kept in a series of loose-leaf notebooks. Also, a typescript of Infidels and Heretics, an Agnostic Anthology written with Clarence Darrow. | |||||||||||
| Arranged alphabetically by type of material. | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 4 | 90 | Article: "Chicago Literature for Thirty Years", Oct. 10, 1923 | |||||||||
| 4 | 91 | Article: "Dictionaries, Through a Looking-glass", n.d. | |||||||||
| 4 | 92 | Article: "Gas Explosion, 75 Years of Gas Service in Chicago", 1925 | |||||||||
| 4 | 93 | Article: "Get, Got, Gotten, Have Got", n.d. | |||||||||
| 4 | 94 | Article: "Is Our Usual American Speech Efficient?" (incomplete), n.d. | |||||||||
| 4 | 95 | Article: [The McCormicks], n.d. | |||||||||
| 4 | 96 | Article: [Magic], n.d. | |||||||||
| 4 | 97 | Article: "The Magic of Words", March 15, 1923 | |||||||||
| 4 | 98 | Article: "Superstitious Lexicographers", Dec., 1928 | |||||||||
| 4 | 99 | Article: "Tips, Tippers, and Tippees", 1921 | |||||||||
| 4 | 100 | Article: "Unrolling the Scroll of Chicago's Literary Progress", (Original in Oversize #2), April, 1915 | |||||||||
| 4 | 101 | Article: "William Ernest Henley", n.d. | |||||||||
| 4 | 102-103 | Articles: The English Journal excerpts, June, 1934-Jan., 1938 | |||||||||
| 4 | 104-105 | Articles: Notebook of articles published by the Post, 1899-1901 | |||||||||
| 4 | 106 | Bibliography of Works, 1923 | |||||||||
| 4 | 107-110 | Book: Infidels and Heretics, an Agnostic Anthology, by Clarence Darrow and Wallace Rice (typescript), 1929 | |||||||||
| 4 | 111 | Brochure: Marshall Field and Co., Oct., 1908 | |||||||||
| 5 | 112 | Fragments of writings, n.d. | |||||||||
| 5 | 113 | Masque: "The Chaplet of Pan", Clippings, programs, 1908-1913 | |||||||||
| 5 | 114 | Masque: "The Masque of Illinois", 1918 | |||||||||
| 5 | 115 | Miscellaneous: Flag specifications for the city of Chicago, n.d. | |||||||||
| 5 | 116-119 | Notebook: "Speeches" (articles, clippings, miscellany), 1901-1937 | |||||||||
| 5 | 120 | Notebook: Notes in poetry and prose, 1907-1922 | |||||||||
| 5 | 121 | Notebooks: in shorthand; alphabets, codes, 1874 | |||||||||
| 5 | 122-123 | Novel: Why They Struck (unfinished), n.d. | |||||||||
| 5 | 124 | Play: "Balboa", 1927 | |||||||||
| 5 | 125 | Poem: "Ceremony for the Opening of the Lakes-to-Gulf Waterway", n.d. | |||||||||
| 5 | 126 | Poem: "Memorial for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Founding of Racine College" (with invitation), 1902 | |||||||||
| 5 | 127-130 | Poetry: Apples and Roses, n.d. | |||||||||
| 6 | 131-133 | Poetry: Ballads and Odes, n.d. | |||||||||
| 6 | 134 | Poetry: Ballads of Valor and Victory, 1904 | |||||||||
| 6 | 135 | Poetry: Flower O' the Rose, 1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 136-138 | Poetry: Short Verses, 1917-1932 | |||||||||
| 6 | 139-146 | Poetry: Verse, n.d. | |||||||||
| 7 | 147-148 | Poetry: Miscellaneous, n.d. | |||||||||
| 7 | 149 | Songs, 1917-1918 | |||||||||
| 7 | 150 | Speech at the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Opening of the Chicago Public Library (in The Chicago Public Library Proceedings), 1923 | |||||||||
| 7 | 151-152 | Story: "Annie", 1911 | |||||||||
| 7 | 153-156 | Story: " The Four Gifts of Solomon", n.d. | |||||||||
| 7 | 157 | Will made in childhood, Sept. 25, 1872 | |||||||||
Series 3: Miscellaneous, 1799-1942 |
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| Material consists of announcements, articles, cards and invitations, certificates, clippings, financial items, notebooks, programs, songs and a few pieces of miscellaneous memorabilia. Includes a few items concerning Rice's father, John A. Rice, and ancestors Amos and Anson Rice. Also, a notebook of articles and clippings relating to the Spanish-American War, six issues of the Centennial Bulletin, 1917-1918, and a collection of programs and songs for the Onwentsia Pow Wow, 1910-1930. | |||||||||||
| Arranged alphabetically by type of material. | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 8 | 158 | Announcements, 1885-1926 | |||||||||
| 8 | 159 | Article: "Distinguished Chicagoans" (in The Chicagoan), ca. 1930 | |||||||||
| 8 | 160 | Banquet Invitations, 1884-1921 | |||||||||
| 8 | 161 | Cards, Passes, Tickets, 1884-1917 | |||||||||
| 8 | 162 | Centennial Bulletin (six issues), 1917-1918 | |||||||||
| 8 | 163 | Certificate: Appointment as Notary Public (Removed to Oversize #1), 1888 | |||||||||
| 8 | 164 | Certificate: Appointment as Police Magistrate, Riverside, IL (Removed to Oversize #1), 1885 | |||||||||
| 8 | 165 | Certificate: Law Degree (Removed to Oversize #2), 1884 | |||||||||
| 8 | 166 | Clippings, 1904-1942 | |||||||||
| 8 | 167 | Examinations and Library Cards from Harvard and Grades from Racine Grammar School, 1879-1880, 1967 | |||||||||
| 8 | 168 | Financial Items, 1898-1929 | |||||||||
| 8 | 169 | Invitations, 1885-1931 | |||||||||
| 8 | 170 | Memorabilia: Form letter from China, with illustrations, 1929 | |||||||||
| 8 | 171 | Memorabilia concerning Amos Rice and Anson Rice (Originals removed to Oversize #1), 1799-1861 | |||||||||
| 8 | 172 | Memorabilia concerning John A. Rice, 1848-1887 | |||||||||
| 8 | 173 | Notebook: Articles and clippings relating to the Spanish-American War, 1898-1900 | |||||||||
| 8 | 174 | Programs, 1902-1917 | |||||||||
| 8 | 175 | Programs of Onwentsia Pow Wows, 1910-1930 | |||||||||
| 8 | 176 | Songs, Onwentsia Pow Wow, 1912-1922 | |||||||||
| 8 | 177 | Testimonial cards, ca. 1905 | |||||||||
| 8 | 178 | Writings, unidentified-1920, n.d. | |||||||||
Series 4: Photographs, ca. 1870-1939 |
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| Three photographs of Wallace Rice and one of his father, John A, Rice. Also, a small collection of miscellaneous photographs, including David Bispham, Frank T. Bullen, Robert G. Ingersoll, Frank Leslie, Samuel Merwin, Christine Nilsson, Clinton Scollard and William T. Sherman, and eight unidentified. | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 8 | 179 | Rice, Wallace; Rice, John A., 1893-1939; n.d. | |||||||||
| 8 | 180 | Bispham, David-Sherman, William T., ca. 1870-1919 | |||||||||
| 8 | 181 | Unidentified | |||||||||