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Yaffa Draznin's interest in the life of
South African feminist author, Olive Schreiner, led her to the Harry Ransom Center
in 1979 to
begin work on Schreiner's biography. However, during the course of Draznin's
research, the need for a different approach to Schreiner's life emerged,
culminating in the 1992 publication of
My Other Self: The Letters of Olive Schreiner and
Havelock Ellis, 1884-1920. This compilation of transcribed and
annotated holograph letters from the Ransom Center provided the only volume of
its kind published to date. |
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The collection described here represents
Draznin's extensive research materials gathered and used in the preparation of
her book. The arrangement corresponds to Draznin's original order and folder
descriptions. Her file folders are retained to preserve her descriptions and
emendations. |
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The collection is divided into six series. The first,
"Documentary Material," comprises letter annotations; a typescript draft of the
text portion of the book; handwriting specimens; editing and progress notes;
and a roster of all the OS/HE letters in the Ransom Center collection, numbered
and
listed in chronological order. The subseries "Transcriptions and Support
Documentation" contains all the edited typescripts of the holograph letter
transcriptions which Draznin calls "typescriptions." Supporting documentation
in the form of corresponding letters from other published sources are also
attached to these transcriptions. |
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The second subseries, which Draznin
called "semi-documentation," includes related OS/HE correspondence with others,
bibliographies, transcription of Ellis's
Journal, and information about OS from
works by Schreiner's husband, Samuel Cron Cronwright-Schreiner; Ellis's
literary executor, François Lafitte; and Schreiner's friend, Karl
Pearson. |
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The second half of the collection contains Draznin's
administrative correspondence with booksellers and libraries, surveys of
library holdings, OS biographers, biographical sources, copies of Schreiner's
works, information on South Africa, OS chronologies, and card file
transcriptions of OS/HE letters. |
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This collection also contains two reels
of microfilm containing Havelock Ellis Papers (1875-1890) from the State
Library of New South Wales. The papers cover Ellis's Australian period,
including his diary, poems, Common Place Books I-VI (1875-1885), and letters to
his parents (1867, 1875-l877). The State Library granted permission for these
reels to be retained in the Ransom Center microfilm collection. Permission was
also
given for reference copies of specific pages to be supplied to
researchers. Inquiries concerning reproduction of the complete reels should be
referred to the State Library of New South Wales. |
