Harley Hammerman Collection on Eugene O’Neill (MSS160), 1879-2018 | MSS Manuscripts

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Collection Overview

Title: Harley Hammerman Collection on Eugene O’Neill (MSS160), 1879-2018

ID: MSS/MSS/160

Primary Creator: O'Neill, Eugene (1888-1953)

Extent: 55.0 Boxes

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Harley Hammerman Collection of Eugene O’Neill consists of manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and other materials related to the life and work of playwright Eugene O’Neill. Along with first editions of the playwright’s works located in Rare Books (many inscribed), the collection features autograph and typed letters written by O’Neill to significant cultural figures, handwritten manuscripts and typescripts, photographs of O’Neill and his immediate family and friends, and rare handbills, posters, scripts, recordings, films, and promotional books related to productions of his plays.

Collection Historical Note

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. O'Neill was born in a Broadway hotel room in Longacre Square (now Times Square), in the Barrett Hotel, to an Irish immigrant father and a mother of Irish descent. His father was an actor and his mother accompanied him on frequent tours with a theater company, so Eugene was sent to a Catholic boarding school, where he discovered a love of reading. He decided to devote himself full-time to writing plays after his experience in 1912–13 at a sanatorium where he was recovering from tuberculosis. O'Neill had previously written poetry and been employed by the New London Telegraph, as a reporter.

In the 1910's, O'Neill became a part of the Greenwich Village literary scene, including the Provincetown Players, which staged his early plays. His work was influenced by "radical" thinkers like Communist Labor Party founder John Reed. O'Neill brought to American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish playwright August Strindberg. His plays were among the first to include speeches in American vernacular and involve characters on the fringes of society, where they struggle to maintain their hopes and aspirations, but ultimately slide into disillusionment and despair.

O'Neill's first published play, Beyond the Horizon, opened on Broadway in 1920 to great acclaim, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His first major hit was The Emperor Jones, which also ran on Broadway in 1920, and obliquely commented on the U.S. occupation of Haiti that was a topic of debate in that year's presidential election. His best-known plays include Anna Christie (Pulitzer Prize 1922), Desire Under the Elms (1924), Strange Interlude (Pulitzer Prize 1928), Mourning Becomes Electra (1931), and his only well-known comedy, Ah, Wilderness!, a wistful re-imagining of his youth. In 1936, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. After a ten-year hiatus, O'Neill's now-renowned play The Iceman Cometh was produced in 1946. The following year, A Moon for the Misbegotten failed to make an impression, but decades later gained recognition as being among his best works.

O'Neill suffered from many illnesses in his life, including alcoholism and depression, and Parkinsons-like tremors took away his ability to write the last 10 years of his life, leaving many scripts unfinished. He died (also in a hotel room) in Boston, Mass., in 1953. Both Iceman and Moon were heavily autobiographical in nature, as was Long Day's Journey Into Night, widely considered to be his finest, but published and produced posthumously. Although his written instructions had stipulated that it not be made public until 25 years after his death, it was published in 1956 and produced on stage to tremendous critical acclaim and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1957. Other posthumously-published works include A Touch of the Poet (1958) and More Stately Mansions (1967).

Harley Hammerman (July 22, 1949 - ) was born in St. Louis, son of Irv and Selene Hammerman. He graduated from University City High School, where he met his wife, Marlene, in 1967. He obtained his undergraduate (A.B., 1971) and medical (M.D., 1975) degrees at Washington University in St. Louis. Hammerman completed his diagnostic radiology residency at Jewish Hospital and Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (1975-1979). While serving as staff radiologist at SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake St. Louis in the 1980s, Hammerman conceived the idea to start his own company. In 1994, Metro Imaging was born. Sold to Mercy in 2018, Hammerman continues to serve as president.

Hammerman collected rocks, stamps, and coins as a boy, but by the time he was 17, his passion for collecting Eugene O’Neill began with the purchase of a first edition of Ah, Wilderness! at the St. Louis Book Fair. After 35 years of amassing the largest O’Neill archive in private hands, Hammerman launched eOneill.com. In 2018, Hammerman sold his O’Neill collection to Washington University in St. Louis, creating the second-largest O’Neill collection at an institution.

Hammerman married Marlene in 1971. They have three children, Adam, Zachary and Abigail, and three grandsons, Calvino, Masa and Levi. Hammerman currently focuses his attention on his website, Lost Tables, documenting the culinary history of St. Louis.

Administrative Information

Repository: MSS Manuscripts

Access Restrictions: Open

Use Restrictions:

Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.

Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.

If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)

Acquisition Source: Gift and purchase

Acquisition Method:

Accession number 23001. Gift of Harley Hammerman. Originally laid in The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill. PS3529 N5 I3 1946

Accession number MSS2018-027. Purchase and gift of Harley Hammerman, December 7, 2018.

Separated Materials: Three hundred sixty-nine books and other publications have been cataloged separately. Click here to see these records.

Preferred Citation: Name of the Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Correspondence from Eugene O'Neill, 1918-1946],
[Series 2: Manuscripts by Eugene O'Neill, 1910-1967],
[Series 3: Correspondence and Documents Related to the Work of Eugene O'Neill, 1924-1961],
[Series 4: Photographs, 1893-2000],
[Series 5: Materials Related to Primary Eugene O'Neill Productions, 1919-2012],
[Series 6: Materials Related to Secondary Eugene O'Neill Productions, 1890-2018],
[Series 7: Materials Related to Eugene O’Neill’s Personal Life, 1907-1912, not dated],
[Series 8: Materials By Others Relating to Eugene O'Neill, 1879-2014, not dated],
[Series 9: Web Content],
[Series 10: Cataloged Items],
[All]

Series 1: Correspondence from Eugene O'Neill, 1918-1946

Series 1 consists of autograph and typed letters from Eugene O'Neill to 17 recipients, including: Cynthia Chapman Barnett, Carol Bird, Ernest Boyd, Whit Burness, St. John Ervine, Norman Hapgood, Horace Liveright, Richard Madden, Jane Malmgren, Leon Mirlas, Lester Roberts, Milton Salsbury, Robert Sick, Nellie Tharsing, Maurice Wertheim, etc. Arranged alphabetically by sender's last name, 92 items total.

Box 1

Folder 1: Cynthia Chapman Barnett, 1935: October

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 2 pages with envelope to Cynthia Chapman Barnett, 1935: October 30: Transcription of letter

Folder 2: Carol Bird, 1922: May

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Carol Bird, 1922: May 22: Transcription of letter

Folder 3: Ernest Boyd, 1921: December

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Ernest Boyd, 1921: December 6: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Ernest Boyd, 1921: December 13: Transcription of letter

Folder 4: Whit Burnett, 1942: May

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Whit Burnett, 1942: May 24: Transcription of letter

Folder 5: Mr. Emerson, 1933: October

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Mr. Emerson, 1933: October 20: Transcription of letter

Folder 6: St. John Ervine, 1920: February

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 3 pages to St. John Ervine, 1920: February 22: Transcription of letter

Folder 7: St. John Ervine, 1920: April

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 2 pages to St. John Ervine, 1920: April 8: Transcription of letter

Folder 8: St. John Ervine, 1920: November

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 2 pages to St. John Ervine, 1920: November 18: Transcription of letter

Folder 9: Norman Hapgood, 1925: January

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Norman Hapgood, 1925: January 9: Transcription of letter

Folder 10: Horace Liveright, 1930: December

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Horace Liveright, 1930: December 4: Transcription of letter

Folder 11: Richard Madden, 1918: December

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1918: December 16: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1918: December 24: Transcription of letter
Item 3: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1918: December 30: Transcription of letter

Folder 12: Richard Madden, 1919: January

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: January 10: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: January 13: Transcription of letter
Item 3: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: January 15: Transcription of letter
Item 4: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: January 17: Transcription of letter
Item 5: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: January 21: Transcription of letter
Item 6: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: January 30: Transcription of letter

Folder 13: Richard Madden, 1919: February

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1919: February 5: Transcription of letter

Folder 14: Richard Madden, 1919: July

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: July 17: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: July 17: Transcription of letter
Item 3: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: July 24: Transcription of letter

Folder 15: Richard Madden, 1919: August

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1919: August 1: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Autograph letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1919: August 20: Transcription of letter

Folder 16: Richard Madden, 1919: September

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: September 2: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1919: September 9: Transcription of letter
Item 3: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: September 13: Transcription of letter
Item 4: Autograph letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1919: September 23: Transcription of letter
Item 5: Autograph letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1919: September 25: Transcription of letter
Item 6: Autograph letter signed, 3 pages to Richard Madden, 1919: September 27: Transcription of letter
Item 7: Autograph letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1919: September 29: Transcription of letter

Folder 17: Richard Madden, 1919: October

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: October 1: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: October 2: Transcription of letter
Item 3: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: October 4: Transcription of letter
Item 4: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: October 8: Transcription of letter
Item 5: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: October 11: Transcription of letter
Item 6: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: October 16: Transcription of letter
Item 7: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: October 20: Transcription of letter
Item 8: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: October 23: Transcription of letter
Item 9: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: October 29: Transcription of letter

Folder 18: Richard Madden, 1919: November

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: November 2: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: November 5: Transcription of letter
Item 3: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: November 12: Transcription of letter
Item 4: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: November 13: Transcription of letter
Item 5: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: November 22: Transcription of letter
Item 6: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1919: November 26: Transcription of letter

Folder 19: Richard Madden, 1920: January

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: January 7: Transcription of letter

Folder 20: Richard Madden, 1920: March

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 3 pages to Richard Madden, 1920: March 19: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: March 27: Transcription of letter
Item 3: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1920: March 29: Transcription of letter

Folder 21: Richard Madden, 1920: April

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1920: April 3: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: April 6: Transcription of letter
Item 3: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: April 22: Transcription of letter

Folder 22: Richard Madden, 1920: August

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: August 28: Transcription of letter

Folder 23: Richard Madden, 1920: September

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1920: September 1: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: September 7: Transcription of letter
Item 3: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: September 17: Transcription of letter
Item 4: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: September 26: Transcription of letter

Folder 24: Richard Madden, 1920: October

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: October 27: Transcription of letter

Folder 25: Richard Madden, 1920: November

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: November 18: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: November 20: Transcription of letter
Item 3: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: November 22: Transcription of letter
Item 4: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: November 26: Transcription of letter
Item 5: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1920: November 27: Transcription of letter
Item 6: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: November 29: Transcription of letter

Folder 26: Richard Madden, 1920: December

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: December 2: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: December 4: Transcription of letter
Item 3: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: December 15: Transcription of letter
Item 4: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1920: December 15: Transcription of letter

Folder 27: Richard Madden, 1926: March

Item 21: Autograph letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1926: March 25: Transcription of letter

Folder 28: Richard Madden, 1926: May

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1926: May 2: Transcription of letter

Folder 29: Richard Madden, 1926: July

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1926: July 10: Transcription of letter

Folder 30: Richard Madden, 1926: September

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 2 pages to Richard Madden, 1926: September 13: Transcription of letter
Item 2: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1926: September 14: Transcription of letter

Folder 31: Richard Madden, 1926: October

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1926: October 10: Transcription of letter

Folder 32: Richard Madden, 1926: December

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Richard Madden, 1926: December 7: Transcription of letter

Folder 33: Jane Malmgren, 1937: January

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Jane Malmgren, [1937: January]

Transcription of letter

Includes letter and poem from Jane Malmgren, dated January 10, 1937, and envelope. NOTE: O'Neill's letter is possibly misdated "Sunday Jan. '36."

Folder 34: Leon Mirlas, 1934: September

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Leon Mirlas, 1934: September 11

Transcription of letter

Includes photocopy of transcription

Folder 35: Leon Mirlas, 1934: December

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 4 pages to Leon Mirlas, 1934: December 19

Transcription of letter

Includes photocopy of translation

Folder 36: Leon Mirlas, 1935: May

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 3 pages to Leon Mirlas, 1935: May 1

Transcription of letter

Includes photocopy of transcription

Folder 37: Leon Mirlas, 1935: September

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Leon Mirlas, 1935: September 10

Transcription of letter

Includes photocopy of transcription

Folder 38: Leon Mirlas, 1936: April

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Leon Mirlas, 1936: April 11

Transcription of letter

Includes photocopy of transcription

Folder 39: Leon Mirlas, 1936: November

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Leon Mirlas, 1936: November 30: Transcription of letter

Folder 40: Leon Mirlas, 1937: May

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Leon Mirlas, 1937: May 14: Transcription of letter

Box 2

Folder 1: Leon Mirlas, 1939: March

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Leon Mirlas, 1939: March 9

Transcription of letter

Includes photocopy of transcription

Folder 2: Leon Mirlas, 1939: June

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 2 pages to Leon Mirlas, 1939: June 9

Transcription of letter

Includes photocopy of transcription

Folder 3: Leon Mirlas, 1944: October

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Leon Mirlas, 1944: October 19: Transcription of letter

Folder 4: Leon Mirlas

Item 1: Transcription, 1 page to Leon Mirlas, No date: Notes that the original letter is autograph, 1 page

Folder 5: Lester Roberts, 1945: March

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Lester Roberts, 1945: March 12: Transcription of letter

Folder 6: Milton Salsbury, 1926: December

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page with envelope to Milton Salsbury, 1926: December 30: Transcription of letter

Folder 7: Robert Sisk, 1931: April

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 1 page to Robert Sisk, 1931: April 7: Transcription of letter

Folder 8: Robert Sisk, 1943: February

Item 1: Typed letter signed, 4 pages to Robert Sisk, 1943: February 22: Transcription of letter

Folder 9: Nellie Tharsing, 1934: November

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 1 page with envelope to Nellie Tharsing, 1934: November 28: Transcription of letter

Folder 10: Unidentified

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 1 page to Unidentified, 1946: Originally laid in The Iceman Cometh by O'Neill. PS3529 N5 I3 1946

Folder 11: Maurice Wertheim, 1931: June

Item 1: Autograph letter signed, 3 pages with envelope to Maurice Wertheim, 1931: June 15: Transcription of letter