Letters, Papers, and Clippings

Seumas MacManus, 1869-1960

Originally from County Donegal, Ireland, Seumas MacManus moved to the United States in 1899, already a known writer. Upon his arrival, he submitted six stories to the editors of Harper's, and almost immediately, they were accepted. Over the next five decades, Mr. MacManus would continue to, eventually penning thirty books. An artists, traveler, and writers, Seumas MacManus considered himself a "shanachie," or writer in the tradition of Irish storytelling that dated back to that country's antiquity. In 1901, MacManus married the Irish poet Anna Johnston, who unfortunately died the following year. In 1911, he remarried, and in 1917, Mr. MacManus received an LL. D. degree from Notre Dame University. Seumas MacManus died in 1960 at the age of 91.

This recent acquisition includes several newspaper clippings, a post card, and 27 letters exchanged between Mr. MacManus and his American agent, W.G. Chapman of the International Press Bureau, Chicago Illinois. These letters date between 1909 and 1911. Also included in the collection is a four-page illustrated quarto flyer promoting the "Third American Lecture Tour of Seumas MacManus," and an eight-page octavo leaflet printed for the bookseller Donal O'Molloy of Mt. Charles, Donegal to promote MacManus's novel, A Lad of the O'Friel's. In the advertisement, the book is labeled, "An admirable piece of work," "A literary achievement," and "a breath of morning freshness clarifying a dazed and slumberous afternoon." Mr. MacManus also wrote Dr. Kilgannon, The Leadin' Road to Donegal, The Bend of the Road, The Hard-Hearted Man, Woman of Seven Sorrows, and Irish Nights, among others.

Other Seumas MacManus items can be found in the Traveling Culture:Circuit Chautauqua in the 20th Century collection.

Above, left: The cover of the four-page illustrated quarto flyer promoting the "Third American Lecture Tour of Seumas MacManus."

Above, right: A signed letter from Seumas MacManus (New York) to W.G. Chapman (Chicago) dated October 15, 1909. In the letter, MacManus questions Chapman about the photographs needed for a series of articles he is writing, thanks him for his efforts, and notes that "The Evening Post of New York used to take my Irish stories - also the Sunday Sun was partial to them. These papers would be worth trying again."

Above: The eight-page octavo leaflet printed for the bookseller Donal O'Molloy of Mt. Charles, Donegal to promote MacManus's novel, A Lad of the O'Friel's.