A publisher’s proof copy of a novel, with the author’s own edits and revisions hand-written throughout, gives us a rare glimpse into the author’s writing process. What sections did he or she cut? How were phrases rewritten, or words exchanged for other, better choices? We have such a view into the writing process of the 20^th-century Austrian novelist Joseph Roth, thanks to the generosity of the Kallir family.

Joseph Roth’s novel, Die Geschichte der 1002. Nacht, written in the late 1930s, has been described as an “anti-fairy tale,” mixing exotic settings and characters (a harem in Persia, the Persian Shah and his chief eunuch) with those of a morally lax and callous Vienna during the final period of the Hapsburg Monarchy.

In 1937, the Dutch publisher, De Gemeenschap, printed a small run of copies of the novel for Roth’s friends. But before the novel’s official publication in 1939, Roth made extensive revisions, cuts, and edits in a proof copy that his publisher had sent him. The final version is over 60 pages shorter than the original. That proof copy is now owned by Wesleyan’s Special Collections department. Scholars can now study exactly what cuts and changes Roth made to his text, indicated in his own handwriting.

Do you know where this window is at Wesleyan? 

Too often we are so caught up in our own lives and that we forget to look at the things around us. 115 years have passed since a certain Wesleyan student graduated but his generosity is still all around us to enjoy from one corner of the campus to the other. George W. Davison graduated in 1892, served as a Trustee from 1912 until his death in 1953 and President of the Board of Trustee’s from 1928-1943. We know the Davison Art Center, which Mr. Davison’s donation of his print collection makes it one of the most important at an American university. His many contributions to Wesleyan University include funding of the Davison Health Center and Alsop House purchase and renovation.

What does this have to do with the picture of the stained glass window?

The Davison’s funded the creation of the Davison Rare Book Room in Special Collections & Archives of Olin Library and donated a superb collection of rare books. Two of the many items donated by George Davison go mostly unnoticed because of the need to close the drapes in the Davison Rare Book Room. These two items are large stained glass windows believed to come from his home in Somerset, MA.  Two-thirds of the 1500 volumes in the room belonged to George Davison’s own collection. If you would like to see the Davison Rare Book Room, hand carved walnut paneling, built-in glass-fronted book shelves, a built-in exhibition case for his four Shakespeare folios, Bibles from the 13^th to the 20^th Centuries or the stained glass windows stop by Monday-Friday 1:00-5:00.

NOW AVAILABLE AT SPECIAL COLLECTIONS & ARCHIVES

The official SC&A pencil for only 25¢

●Everybody did you know for the small sum of 25¢ you can buy a writing instrument that writes under water, in zero gravity and upside down!!!!!!!!!

●Thesis writers did you know a pencil can write 45,000 words.

●Art majors did you know a pencil can draw a line 35 miles long.

●Environmentalists did you know more than two billion pencils are used in the
United States every day.

●College of Letters majors do you know what Henry David Thoreau and pencils have in common? In 1821, Charles Dunbar (the brother-in-law of author Henry David Thoreau) discovered a graphite deposit in
New England. This graphite was certified as far superior to any previously found in the
United States. With this high-quality material for its writing cores, the Thoreau pencil company came to be known as the maker of the finest pencils in
America.

Well, what’s not to love? It is easy to find, inexpensive, waterproof, and best of all,

it has a handy-dandy eraser. It’s the eraser that makes pencils our writing instrument of choice in Special Collections & Archives. Although we know our users are careful, mistakes can happen and an errant pencil marking is easily erased. A pen? Not so much.

Next time you visit, leave your pens at home and get ready to research!

photo source