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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | About 2200 items (27.0 linear feet) |
Abstract | Walker Percy was raised in Georgia, Alabama, and Greenville, Miss., and lived most of his adult life in Covington, La. He was the author of six published novels: The Moviegoer (1961), The Last Gentleman (1966), Love in the Ruins (1971), Lancelot (1977), The Second Coming (1980), and The Thanatos Syndrome (1987). He also wrote "The Gramercy Winner" and "The Charterhouse," neither of which was published during his lifetime. Works of non-fiction include The Message in the Bottle (1975), Lost in the Cosmos (1983), and "Symbol and Existence: A Study in Meaning" (collected essays, unpublished as a collection). He also wrote numerous short stories, book reviews, philosophical pieces relating to language and to religion, especially Catholicism. The collection includes drafts, notes, and other materials relating to all of Percy's major works and to many of his shorter efforts. Also included are subject files containing source materials and other items relating to authors and topics in which he was particularly interested, including religious themes in literature and the intellectual life of the American South. There are also materials relating to John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces (1980), which Percy helped publish. The collection contains a large amount of correspondence with authors, critics, and others. Most significant among Percy's correspondents were Shelby Foote, a life-long friend; Caroline Gordon, who, in the early 1950s, offered Percy in-depth critiques of his work and pointers on writing in general; and Donald Barthelme, who wrote about Percy's submissions to the journal Forum. Other correspondents include Zoltan Abadi Nagy, Malcolm Bell, Cleanth Brooks, Gary M. Ciuba, James Collins, Ansley Cope, John William Corrington, Robert Woodham Daniel, John N. Deely, Clifton Fadiman, Robert Giroux, Peter Handke, John Hofer, Paul Horgan, Kenneth Laine Ketner, Victor A. Kramer, Bernald Malamud, Jacques Maritain, Doug Marlette, Thomas Merton, Flannery O'Connor, Walter J. Ong, J. F. Powers, Thomas A. Sebeok, Elizabeth Spencer, Lewis P. Simpson, Allen Tate, Mark Taylor, Gene Usdin, Henry Babcock Veatch, Eudora Welty, and C. Vann Woodward. There are also over 200 formal and informal photographs, most of Percy with his family, including his uncle William Alexander Percy, but some of Percy with Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Eudora Welty, Cleanth Brooks, C. Vann Woodward, Elizabeth Spencer, Louis D. Rubin Jr., Ernest Gaines, Shelby Foote, and others. Also included are several hats and a sweater belonging to Percy. |
Creator | Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English. |
Processed by: SHC Staff
Encoded by: Jackie Dean, 1999
Updated: February 2020, February 2023
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Novelist and essayist Walker Percy was born 28 May 1916 in Birmingham, Ala., the oldest son of Leroy Pratt and Martha Phinizy Percy. After his father's death in 1929, when Percy was 13, the family lived in Athens, Ga., until 1930 when his mother moved the family to Greenville, Miss. Martha Phinizy Percy died on 2 April 1932 in an automobile accident. Thereafter, Percy and his two brothers lived with their father's cousin, William Alexander Percy, lawyer, landowner, and poet of Greenville, Miss. From Greenville, Percy went to the University of North Carolina (B.A., chemistry, 1937) and then to the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, from which he was graduated in 1941. The next year, while working as an intern, he contracted tuberculosis and spent the following two years in a sanatorium in the Adirondacks. An attempt to return to Columbia to teach in 1944 failed when he suffered a relapse. Upon his recovery, Percy decided to abandon medicine in favor of a career in writing.
In 1946, Percy married Mary Townsend ("Bunt"), a native of Mississippi, and settled shortly afterwards in Covington, La. He and his wife became Roman Catholics at about the time of their marriage. Percy published a number of essays in the 1950s and his first published novel, The Moviegoer, won the 1962 National Book Award for fiction. Other published novels were The Last Gentleman (1966), Love in the Ruins (1971), Lancelot (1977), The Second Coming (1980), and The Thanatos Syndrome (1987). He published two works of non-fiction, The Message in the Bottle (1975) and Lost in the Cosmos (1983).
Walker Percy died of cancer on 10 May 1990. He was survived by his wife and their two daughters, Mary Pratt Percy Lobdell and Ann Boyd Percy Moores.
(This note draws from material in Southern Writers: A Biographical Dictionary; Robert Coles, Walker Percy: An American Search; and the Encyclopedia of Southern History.)
Back to TopThese papers consist chiefly of material produced by Walker Percy while working on his six published novels, two published book-length works of non-fiction, various essays and reviews, and three unpublished long works--two fiction (one of which is not extant) and one non-fiction.
The collection is arranged in seven series: Novels (Series I), Other Works (Series II), Correspondence (Series III), Subject Files (Series IV), Other Papers (Series V), Restricted Material (Series VI), and Pictures (Series VII).
For most of the published book-length works in Series I and II, there are notes, partial and/or preliminary drafts, complete or nearly complete drafts, and sets of galley and/or page proofs. For the unpublished works, there are one or two complete drafts (with the exception of "The Charterhouse," for which there is only a page of notes). In Series II, there are also numerous essays, interviews, book reviews, speeches, and short stories by Percy. Correspondence in Series III contains a large amount of correspondence with authors, critics, and others, including Shelby Foote, Caroline Gordon, Flannery O'Connor, and Thomas Merton. Subject files in Series IV are resource materials compiled by Percy on various subjects. In Series V, there is a draft of John Kennedy Toole's "Ignatius Reilly" and photocopies of correspondence, 1964-1966, relating to the book. Percy was instrumental in the posthumous publication of this work A Confederacy of Dunces (1980).
Materials in Series VI are restricted at the request of Mary Bernice Townsend Percy as of the date of this inventory and a few letters from the December 1996 addition. Series VII contains photographs.
The material received in 1981 (all filed in Series I and II) was accompanied by an inventory, prepared by Percy, briefly listing the items transferred. The present arrangement of those items generally follows the order established by Percy in that inventory. Percy listed items in the general order of their production; the present arrangement differs from Percy's order only when a different order of production is apparent or in cases of obvious filing errors.
Percy briefly identified some of the items received in the 1983 and 1989 additions; those identifications were used in preparing the descriptions of those items. With a few exceptions, the 1983 and 1989 items in Series I and II follow the 1981 items for each work. For "The Gramercy Winner," all items were part of the 1983 addition. Lost in the Cosmos items were received in 1983, 1989, and 1994. The Thanatos Syndrome items were part of the 1989 and 1994 additions.
In the descriptions of items in Series I and II, "leaf" refers to a sheet of paper and "page" to a side of a sheet bearing typescript or handwriting (autograph manuscript). A leaf with writing on both recto and verso thus consists of two pages. Leaves not assigned numbers by Percy were numbered during processing. Some leaves to which Percy assigned numbers were given additional numbers during processing in order to provide consecutive numbering schemes and to assure preservation of the original order of leaves. For galley and page proofs, only the number of leaves is indicated in order to avoid confusion due to multiple pages printed on each leaf.
The additions of 1994 contain drafts and proofs of Lost in the Cosmos and The Thanatos Syndrome, many essays (and some apparently unfinished longer works), as well as notes and much significant correspondence. Items received in May 1994 were accompanied by an annotated item list prepared when the material was acquired. Items from this addition have been integrated into the collection, but retain the numbers from the item list in parenthesis after the description (e.g., Received May 1994, #423). In Series I and II, these items have been placed after earlier accessions, despite the possibility of earlier production. Two folders, 209 and 210, were part of the May 1994 accession, but do not appear on the item list.
The materials in the Addition of December 1996 have been filed with similar materials from the original deposit and are described so that the materials in this addition can be clearly identified. The addition adds materials to Series III Correspondence. The correspondence, 1971-1990, is between Walker Percy and Gene Usdin; there are also copies of clippings about Percy.
The Addition of January 2007 has been filed with similar materials from the original deposit and is described so that the item can be clearly identified. This addition adds a letter from Walker Percy to Willis B. Glover to Series III.
The Addition of July 2007 has been filed with similar materials from the original deposit and is described so that materials in the addition can be clearly identified. This addition adds materials to Series I, II, III, IV, V, and VII. The materials added to Series I consist of several drafts of the novel The Thanatos Syndrome. Items added to Series II consist of one typescript of the unpublished work "Symbol and Existence: A Study in Meaning" and a number of drafts of speeches and articles written by Percy. Materials added to Series III consist of 16 letters between Walker Percy and family, friends, and business acquaintances. Subject files added to Series IV contain notes, source materials, printed materials, and published materials written about Percy. Materials added to Series V include several works written by others that were given to Percy, as well three hats and a sweater that belonged to him. Materials added to Series VII are about 225 photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated (bulk 1940-1989). Many of these photographs depict members of Percy's family, but some show Walker Percy with Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Eudora Welty, and Shelby Foote, and others.
The materials in the Addition of February 2008 have been filed with similar materials from the original deposit and are described so that materials in the addition can be clearly identified. This addition adds materials to Series I, II, III, and IV. The materials added to Series I consist of a typescript of the novel The Thanatos Syndrome and a folder of materials related to that novel. Materials added to Series II include a draft of "How to be an American Novelist in Spite of being Southern and Catholic," a speech entitled Love and Death, two untitled drafts, and a draft by Walker Percy regarding Jan Gretlund's collection of writings about Percy. Materials added to Series III include photocopies of two letters by Walker Percy to a Dr. Hodd, 1989-1990. Materials regarding a collection of verse and letters by William Alexander Percy were added to Series IV.
The Addition of March 2008 has been filed with similar materials from the original deposit and is described so that materials from the addition can be clearly identified. This addition adds materials to Series III Correspondence. The letter dated 17 August 1975 is from Walker Percy to John Hofer and concerns their ontological and metaphysical differences.
The materials in the Addition of April 2008 and the Addition of December 2008 have been filed with similar materials from the original deposit and are described so that materials in these additions can be clearly identified. These additions add approximately 100 photographs of Percy and his family and friends to Series VII Pictures.
The materials in the Addition of June 2008 have been filed with similar materials from the original deposit and are described after similar materials from the original deposit so that materials in this addition can be clearly identified. The addition adds to Series V Other Materials undated notes kept by Walker Percy that were removed from between the pages of primarily non-fiction works on the topics of philosophy and language.
The materials in the Addition of July 2012 have been filed with similar materials from the original deposit and are described so that materials in this addition can be clearly identified. This addition adds materials to Series I.A, II.B, II.D, and III. The materials added to Series I.A include an essay about the publication history of The Moviegoer and two related letters. The materials added to Series II.B include a single page (numbered 248) of typescript draft, followed by about thiry handwritten pages, possibly pertaining to Lost in the Cosmos. The materials added to Series II.D Other Writings include typescripts of a 1989 letter by Percy to the editor of Commonweal and essays titled "Why Are You Catholic" and "Some Random Thoughts About Culture, the Church, and Evangelization"; a Lenten journal beginning "Ash Wednesday"; handwritten notes and a typescript of an essay titled "Two Beliefs"; and handwritten notes on religion and fiction. The materials added to Series III are chiefly letters to Walker Percy regarding publishing and other related matters.
The materials in the Addition of April 2013 have been filed with similar materials from the original deposit and are described so that materials in this addition can be clearly identified. This addition adds materials to Series III, IV, V, and VII. The materials added to Series II include copies and transcriptions of correspondence between Walker Percy and David Duty, regarding Duty's dissertation on educational psychology. The materials added to Series IV are chiefly Percy's semiotics research files of published and unpublished journal articles. There are also a few sheets of handwritten notes by Percy. The materials added to Series V include copies of a dissertation on Walker Percy and an article about Will Percy and his contemporaries. The materials added to Series VII chiefly include black-and-white and color publicity portraits of Walker Percy.
Back to TopNote that this series contains materials from a number of additions made to the original deposit. Most additions have been integrated into the original deposit with the date of the additions noted individually where they occur. However, materials in the Addition of July 2007 (Folders 515-520), which includes six drafts of the novel The Thanatos Syndrome, and the Addition of February 2008 (Folder 577), which includes a typescript of The Thanatos Syndrome with editor's marks, appear after the corresponding material in the original deposit.
Notes, outlines, draft material, the setting copy, and proofs. Included are a short story with a similar title (Folder 2), an early draft (Folder 3), which is relatively complete, and the bulk of a later draft (Folder 4). See Series III, folder 358, for a draft of Chapter 1 that was enclosed in correspondence with Donald Barthelme.
Unpublished manuscript of Heather Moore, "Walker Percy's The Moviegoer: A Publication History" and two letters to Bunt Percy from the author seeking copyright permissions.
Folder 588 |
Moore, Heather, 1992 |
Character sketches, notes, outlines, draft material, editor's comments and some source material, the setting copy, and galley proofs. Folder 15 includes notes about characters and ideas for the novel, as does the early portion of the item Percy called "first draft" (Folder 16). In addition to the setting copy, four other relatively complete drafts are included (Folders 17-27 and 29-31). Editor's comments are included in Folder 28.
Notes, source material, outlines, draft material, the setting copy, and proofs. Folder 42 consists of source material. Notes are included in many items, but appear most extensively in Folders 41 and 51-52. Other items are chiefly either drafts of parts of the work or relatively complete drafts. The fullest drafts, in addition to the setting copy, are Folders 47-48, the bulk of 51-52, and 53-58.
Notes, outlines, partial and relatively complete drafts, the setting copy, and proofs. Notes are included in many items, but are most extensive in Folders 70, 72, and 80. Many items are partial or preliminary drafts; among these is Folder 71, a short early version titled "The Prisoner." In addition to the setting copy, there are four relatively complete drafts (Folders 77-79 and 81-84). See Series II: Folder 167 for notes and draft material apparently relating to Lancelot that is mixed with The Message in the Bottle material.
As received at the Southern Historical Collection, the material now constituting Folders 72-76 and 81-82 was filed together in a package, identified by Percy as "First draft, pencil manuscript." The order of this material has been maintained; divisions are based on groupings of leaves as received and on differences among types of material.
Notes, partial and complete drafts, the setting copy, and proofs. Most items are drafts of parts of the work, the many parts of Folders 100-115 forming an extensive group of partial drafts. Notes are concentrated particularly in parts of Folders 92-99 and in Folder 101. In addition to the setting copy, there are five relatively complete drafts-- Folders 94-97 and 114-123.
Note: All parts of Folders 92-99, described by Percy as "First draft, pencil manuscript," were filed together as received at the Southern Historical Collection. Divisions in Folders 92-99 are based on groupings of leaves as received and on differences among types of material. Material now constituting Folders 100-113 were the bulk of material Percy identified as "6 carbon copies of early versions." These are in the order they were when received. Subdivisions, established during processing, are based on differences among types of material. Because it was clearly composed later, Percy's sixth "version" is filed separately as Folders 122-124. Included in Folders 114-114 is a typescript received in 1989, identified by Percy as "Typescript Early Version."
Outlines, notes, partial and complete drafts, and setting copy. Except for Folder 158, most drafts are fairly complete.
Researchers should note the separation between the original deposit, the Addition of July 2007 (Folders 515-520), and the Addition of February 2008 (Folder 577). The Addition of July 2007 added galley proofs, page proofs, "repros," and "blue lines" of The Thanatos Syndrome that relate to the earlier drafts and typescripts found in the original deposit. The Addition of February 2008 added a typescript of The Thanatos Syndrome that includes editor's marks and possibly those of Walker Percy as well as a file of clippings and other materials related to this novel.
Galley proofs, page proofs, repros, and blue lines.
Typescript of The Thanatos Syndrome that includes editor's marks and possibly those of Walker Percy as well as a file of clippings and other materials related to this novel.
Bound draft of an unpublished novel, apparently written in the early 1950s. In April 1983, in a conversation with Tim West of the Southern Historical collection staff, Percy said that this is the second or third of three novels (including The Charterhouse, see Folder 164 in this series) written before The Moviegoer that were not published.
Note that this series contains materials from a number of additions made to the original deposit. Most additions have been integrated into the original deposit with the date of the additions noted individually where they occur. Materials in the Addition of July 2007 (Folders 521-555), however, have been placed after similar materials from the original deposit.
Notes, draft material, offprints, part of the setting copy, proofs, and paste-ups. Most draft material relates to essays "The Delta Factor," "The Message in the Bottle," and "A Theory of Language." Item 10 consists of unidentified material. Folder 167 3 may include some material relating to Lancelot. See Series III, Folder 381, for an early draft, chiefly of "The Delta Factor" (15 leaves [18 pages]) enclosed in a November 1974 letter from Percy to Shelby Foote.
Notes, source material, diagrams, draft material, and proofs. Folders 183-190 are widely varying versions of the book. Folders 191-201 are drafts that resemble the published version in format and organization.
A single page (numbered 248) of typescript draft, followed by about thiry handwritten pages, possibly pertaining to Lost in the Cosmos.
Folder 589 |
Notes for "Thought Experiment" |
Three drafts of an unpublished work compiled in 1960-1961, consisting of ten chapters, a preface, and a conclusion. Percy indicated that seven of the chapters were published as articles in the late 1950s. The journals in which those articles appeared are listed on the second leaf of Folders 213-215. Several of the previously published articles later appeared in Message in the Bottle. There are a very few autograph changes or insertions in each draft.
Folder 211-212
Folder 211Folder 212 |
Draft (carbon typescript, 318 leaves [318 pages]). (Received 1983) (Formerly II:C:Folder C:1.1-2) |
Folder 213-215
Folder 213Folder 214Folder 215 |
Draft (ribbon typescript, 316 leaves [318 pages]). Later revised draft (not a copy) of Folders 211-212. (Received 1983) (Formerly II:C:Folder C:2.1-3) |
Folder 216 |
Carbon typescript, 315 pages. (Received May 1994, #274) (Formerly II:C:Folder C:3) |
One draft of an unpublished work compiled in 1960-1961.
Folder 521 |
Draft (carbon typescript, 303 leaves [303 pages]). Earlier revised draft (not a copy) of above Folders 211-212 of the original deposit. (Formerly Addition 2007:II:C:Folder C:4) |
Principally essays, interviews, book reviews, speeches, and short stories produced by Percy from the early 1950s through the late 1980s. Many of these works were published or recorded, while others were not. Some of the titles were used by Percy to identify particular drafts; some titles are of finished drafts; and some titles were created during processing to aid in description (in square brackets).
Researchers should note the separation between the original deposit and the Addition of July 2007 (Folders 522-555), which contains drafts of some of the same titles found in the original deposit, but is filed after the materials in the original deposit. Note that some short works are included as enclosures with correspondence in the Addition of July 2007 materials in Series III.
Similarly, the Addition of February 2008 (Folders 579-583), which contains drafts of some of the same titles found in the original deposit, is filed after the materials in the original deposit.
Arrangement: alphabetical by title of work, or by title of folder.
Principally Percy's lectures and speeches, 1962-1989. Also included are a few articles and essays. Some of these items were published or recorded, but others were not. Some of the folder titles were used by Percy to identify particular drafts; some titles were created at the time of processing the collection to aid in identification. Publication or presentation information is given when known. Drafts of the same work are, for the most part, housed in the manner in which they were received. Note that some correspondence and other items are filed with the materials to which they relate. Note also that some short works are included as enclosures in the Addition of July 2007 materials in Series III.
Arrangement: alphabetical by title of work, or by title of folder.
Materials added to Series II include a draft of "How to be an American Novelist in Spite of being Southern and Catholic," a speech entitled Love and Death, two untitled drafts, and a draft by Walker Percy regarding Jan Gretlund's collection of writings about Percy.
Materials include a 1989 letter by Percy to the editor of Commonweal, typescripts of "Why Are You Catholic" and "Some Random Thoughts About Culture, the Church, and Evangelization," a Lenten journal beginning "Ash Wednesday," handwritten notes and a typescript of an essay titled "Two Beliefs," and handwritten notes on religion and fiction.
Folder 590 |
TypescriptsLetter, "Why Are You Catholic," "Some Random Thoughts About Culture, the Church, and Evangelization," and Lenten journal |
Folder 591 |
"Two Beliefs"Handwritten notes and typescript draft of essay. |
Folder 592 |
Notes on religion and fiction |
Arrangement: by correspondent.
Correspondence between Walker Percy and various friends and acquaintances. Unless marked with a date, letters in this series were received in 1989.
Included are about 70 letters, notes, and postcards, 1960-1982, from Percy to Shelby Foote. Most are originals (handwritten or typed) that Foote returned to Percy. Two early items are carbon copies. Percy wrote to Foote, his lifelong friend, about his and Foote's writing projects, personal and family activities, shared experiences, and feelings about life, work, and other matters. Note that many letters from Shelby Foote to Percy are filed in the Shelby Foote Papers (#4038).There is also a series of letters, 1951-1955, of Caroline Gordon. In 1951, Percy sent Gordon, who he had met years earlier, the manuscript of a novel that was to be called "The Charterhouse" (no known draft of this novel survives). Gordon read the manuscript and, in a series of long, single-spaced, typed letters, offered Percy advice about it and about writing in general. In the fall of 1952, Percy sent Gordon a revised version of the manuscript which, once again, she critiqued in detail and later tried to help him place with a publisher. In these letters, Gordon also discussed Catholicism; other writers, including Flannery O'Connor, whose manuscripts Gordon was critiquing, and Dorothy Day, whom Gordon was getting to know during this period; and her own work. Gordon also passed along suggestions about Percy's work made by her husband Allen Tate. One letter from Tate, offering advice about writing, is also included.
There is also a series of letters, 1957-1960, to Percy from Donald Barthelme concerning Percy's submissions to the journal Forum. Percy had, in the 1950s, submitted various articles as well as a chapter (included here) from his novel then titled "Confessions of a Moviegoer."
Also included are letters from Cleanth Brooks, Jacques Maritain, Thomas Merton, Flannery O'Connor, Lewis P. Simpson, and Allen Tate.
Note that a few letters are filed with drafts of writings in Series I (with Folders 22-24 and 28) and Series II (with Folders 194-195).
The Addition of July 2007 materials (Folders 556-559) include personal correspondence, publishing correspondence, and other letters sent to Walker Percy.
The Addition of February 2008 materials (Folder 584) include photocopies of two letters by Walker Percy to a Dr. Hodd, 1989-1990.
These letters were restricted until 2009.
Folder 510 |
Correspondence, 1971-1990, between Walker Percy and Gene Usdin and copies of clippings about Percy. |
Letter from Walker Percy to Willis B. Glover.
Folder 557 |
Personal correspondence (Formerly Addition 2007:III:Folder 79B)One letter from Walker Percy to Willis B. Glover concerning the theory of evolution. |
Correspondence between Walker Percy and family, friends, and business acquaintances.
Note that there is also correspondence that accompanies drafts of writings and notes in the Addition of July 2007 materials in Series II and Series V.
Folder 556 |
Personal correspondence (Formerly Addition 2007:III:Folder 79A)Includes one postcard from seven-year-old Walker Percy to his mother and father and two undated letters from Walker Percy to Mary Bernice Townsend Percy. |
Folder 558 |
Publishing correspondence (Formerly Addition 2007:III:Folder 80)Letters requesting permission to republish Percy's work, letters of congratulations, and other publishing-related correspondence. |
Folder 559 |
Other letters sent to Walker Percy (Formerly Addition 2007:III:Folder 81)A postcard from Percy's physician about Percy's tendonitis, a copy of a 1992 letter from a P. J. Townsend describing his medical condition, and a letter enclosing information about the Federal Prison Camp at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Ala. |
Includes photocopies of two letters by Walker Percy to a Dr. Hodd, 1989-1990.
Folder 584 |
Walker Percy to Dr. Hodd, 1989-1990 (Formerly Addition 2008:III:Folder 82) |
Folder 586 |
Letter from Walker Percy to John Hofer, 17 August 1975About their ontological and metaphysical differences. |
Chiefly letters to Walker Percy regarding publishing and other related matters.
Folder 593 |
1953-1996 |
Copies and transcriptions of correspondence between Walker Percy and David Duty, regarding Duty's dissertation on educational psychology.
Folder 594 |
David Duty, 1978-1992 |
Folder 602 |
Letter to Thomas Hubert, 1980A letter from Walker Percy to Thomas Hubert, dated July 19, 1980. The letter is in response to a letter Hubert wrote to Percy about "the prospect of entering the Catholic Church" and Hubert's reservations about it. The letter concludes with a mention to Cross Currents, an interfaith monthly magazine to which Percy had ties. The original letter from Hubert is now lost. |
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Notes, source materials, and other items. About half of this material is holograph notes that are nearly illegible. Most of the other material consists of printed items that Percy used as resources for his philosophical and fictional writings and files on miscellaneous subjects relating to routine matters. The Addition of July 2007 materials (Folders 560-573) contain notes, source materials, printed materials, and published materials written about Percy. The Addition of February 2008 materials (Folder 585) contain materials regarding a collection of verse and letters by William Alexander Percy. Note that, in most cases, Percy's original folder titles have been retained.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Notes, source materials, and other items. Included are printed items that Percy used as resources for his philosophical and fictional writings and files on miscellaneous subjects. Also included are lecture programs and published materials written about Percy. Note that, in most cases, Percy's original folder titles have been retained.
Material regarding a collection of verse and letters by William Alexander Percy. Includes typed and handwritten commentary by Walker Percy as well as typed and photocopied correspondence between William Alexander Percy and Allen Tate.
Folder 585 |
Percy, William Alexander. (Formerly Addition 2008:IV:Folder 83) |
Research files on semiotics, chiefly published and unpublished journal articles, including "Five Chambered Heart" by Charles Greenleaf Bell; "Where Have All the Flowers Gone: An Eschatological Time-Motion Study of the Higher Learning and Other Desert Plants" by Theodore D. Nordenhaug; "Studies in Peirce's Semiotic" edited by D. Savan, et al.; "Grasping the Nettle" by Harley C. Shands; "Peirce and Turing Comparisons and Conjectures" by Kenneth Laine Ketner; and "Scenes and Other Situations" by Jon Barwise. There are also a few sheets of handwritten notes by Walker Percy and the transcript of "TV or Not TV," a documentary aired in 1979 by the Educational Broadcasting Corporation.
Folder 595-598
Folder 595Folder 596Folder 597Folder 598 |
Semiotics, 1970s-1980s. |
Draft of "Ignatius Reilly" (published as A Confederacy of Dunces) by John Kennedy Toole.
Percy was instrumental in the posthumous publication of Toole's novel and wrote a preface for it (not included in this draft). See also correspondence with H. Patrick Oglesby and Paul E. Gallis.
Several works by others that were given to Percy. Also included are three hats and one sweater that belonged to Percy.
Undated notes kept by Walker Percy that were removed from between the pages of primarily non-fiction works on the topics of philosophy and language. These notes relate to the subject of the books from which they were removed and are annotated with the book's title and the page numbers indicating the location from which they were taken.
Folder 587 |
Notes removed from books, undated |
Folder 599-600
Folder 599Folder 600 |
Copy of "Comedy and Christianity in the Novels of Walker Percy," by Linda Whitney Hobson, inscribed to PercyInscription to Percy is on cover sheet of the Hobson's dissertation. |
Folder 601 |
Copy of "Cato's Republic: Will Percy and his Contemporaries," by Richard H. King. |
In accordance with the donor agreement, all items in series 6 (VI) are closed indefinitely and are not accessible for research or duplication of any type.
Folder 511 |
Poteat, Patricia. ALS, 5 February 1985Letter [photocopy 4 pp], from Percy to Poteat about her book titled Walker Percy and the Old Modern Age. (Formerly VI:Folder 1) |
Folder 512 |
Samway, Patrick. Correspondence, 1986-1987Letters between Samway and Percy about an interview for America and letters from Samway suggesting he undertake a full-scale biography of Percy. (Formerly VI:Folder 2) |
Folder 513 |
"The Second Coming"Screenplay (photocopy), undated, adapted from Percy's novel by actress Karen Allen and Michael Lally [119 pp.]. (Formerly VI:Folder 3) |
Folder 514 |
Wyatt-Brown, Bertram. Copy of Percy's March 1989 letterLetter concerning his cooperation with Wyatt-Brown on his study of the Percy family. (Formerly VI:Folder 4) |
The original deposit (received 1989 and 2003) includes five images (P-4294/1-5), 1946 and undated. The Addition of July 2007 materials include about 225 items, circa 1910-1990 and undated (bulk 1940-1989).
Image P-4294/1 |
"Percy: Percy with El Capitan, Southwest Champion quarter horse--Rancho la Merced--Santa Fe, 1946."Black-and-white 3" x 4" snapshot, inscribed on verso by "Percy: Percy with El Capitan, Southwest Champion quarter horse--Rancho la Merced--Santa Fe, 1946." This photograph was enclosed in a Christmas card from Walker Percy to Shelby Foote. (Received 1989) |
Image P-4294/2-3
P-4294/2P-4294/3 |
Snapshots of Percy as a young man, undated(Received September 1989) |
Image P-4294/4 |
Percy in later years, undated8" x 10" glossy photograph. (Received September 1989) |
Image P-4294/5 |
Margaret Steiner's shrine to Walker Percy, undatedReceived in December 2003 (Acc. 99677). 4" x 6" glossy photograph. |
Arrangement is by category as noted below. In general, images within each group are in rough chronological order.
About 225 photographs and related items. Images are black-and-white photographs, color photographs, sepia photographs, and contact sheets. The bulk of these pictures are candid photographs of Walker Percy alone and Percy with his family. Family images depict Percy's wife, children, parents, brothers, grandchildren, and others. Also included are professional photographs of Percy and photographs of him with Pope John Paul II, Nancy Reagan, Shelby Foote, C. Vann Woodward, Ernest Gaines, Louis D. Rubin Jr., Elizabeth Spencer, Cleanth Brooks, Eudora Welty, and others.
Image P-4294/6-23
P-4294/6P-4294/7P-4294/8P-4294/9P-4294/10P-4294/11P-4294/12P-4294/13P-4294/14P-4294/15P-4294/16P-4294/17P-4294/18P-4294/19P-4294/20P-4294/21P-4294/22P-4294/23 |
Early family photographs, circa 1910-1920Portraits and candid snapshots of Walker Percy's mother, Martha Phinizy Percy, with identified and unidentified individuals. Images P-4294/6-20 were kept by Martha Phinizy Percy in a photograph album that was given to Walker Percy after his mother's death in 1929. Some of these images have descriptive notes on versos that were written by Percy's mother. Other verso notes and numbers were added later by Mary Bernice Townsend Percy and Mary Pratt Percy Lobdell for identification purposes. Photographs are arranged as received, with the scrapbook snapshots first, followed by posed portraits. |
Image P-4294/24-29
P-4294/24P-4294/25P-4294/26P-4294/27P-4294/28P-4294/29 |
Childhood photographs of Walker PercyIndividual and group photographs of Walker Percy as a child. Image P-4294/27 shows Walker Percy with his father, LeRoy Percy, and his brother, LeRoy Percy Jr. Images P-4294/28 and P-4294/29 show Percy with both of his brothers, LeRoy and Billups Phinizy ("Phin") Percy. |
Image P-4294/30-45
P-4294/30P-4294/31P-4294/32P-4294/33P-4294/34P-4294/35P-4294/36P-4294/37P-4294/38P-4294/39P-4294/40P-4294/41P-4294/42P-4294/43P-4294/44P-4294/45 |
Walker Percy in his youth and early adulthood, 1934-1949 and undated |
Image P-4294/46-102
P-4294/46P-4294/47P-4294/48P-4294/49P-4294/50P-4294/51P-4294/52P-4294/53P-4294/54P-4294/55P-4294/56P-4294/57P-4294/58P-4294/59P-4294/60P-4294/61P-4294/62P-4294/63P-4294/64P-4294/65P-4294/66P-4294/67P-4294/68P-4294/69P-4294/70P-4294/71P-4294/72P-4294/73P-4294/74P-4294/75P-4294/76P-4294/77P-4294/78P-4294/79P-4294/80P-4294/81P-4294/82P-4294/83P-4294/84P-4294/85P-4294/86P-4294/87P-4294/88P-4294/89P-4294/90P-4294/91P-4294/92P-4294/93P-4294/94P-4294/95P-4294/96P-4294/97P-4294/98P-4294/99P-4294/100P-4294/101P-4294/102 |
Walker Percy in later adulthood, 1962-1989 and undatedProfessional and candid photographs, among them two images of Walker Percy taken by Alfred A. Knopf in 1962, the year The Moviegoer was published by Knopf, and one image of Percy at a book signing for The Last Gentleman. A large number of these images are candid shots of Percy, many taken outdoors at his home in Covington, La. |
Oversize Image OP-P-4294/1-4
OP-P-4294/1OP-P-4294/2OP-P-4294/3OP-P-4294/4 |
Oversize photographsFour images including black-and-white and sepia-toned photographs of Walker Percy, undated. |
Image P-4294/103-116
P-4294/103P-4294/104P-4294/105P-4294/106P-4294/107P-4294/108P-4294/109P-4294/110P-4294/111P-4294/112P-4294/113P-4294/114P-4294/115P-4294/116 |
Mary Bernice Townsend Percy (Bunt Percy)Photographs of Bunt Percy, Walker Percy's wife. Included are individual portraits and candid shots of Bunt, as well as many images of Bunt and Walker Percy together. Bunt also appears in images in other image groupings in this series. |
Image P-4294/117-136
P-4294/117P-4294/118P-4294/119P-4294/120P-4294/121P-4294/122P-4294/123P-4294/124P-4294/125P-4294/126P-4294/127P-4294/128P-4294/129P-4294/130P-4294/131P-4294/132P-4294/133P-4294/134P-4294/135P-4294/136 |
Walker Percy with familyPhotographs of Walker Percy with various members of his immediate and extended family. Among these images are two photographs of Percy with his brothers and several friends. There are also a number of images of Percys daughters Mary Pratt Percy Lobdell and Ann Boyd Percy Moores, and several images of the Percys with their grandchildren. |
Image P-4294/137-143
P-4294/137P-4294/138P-4294/139P-4294/140P-4294/141P-4294/142P-4294/143 |
Percy family membersPhotographs of Walker Percy's uncle and childhood guardian, William Alexander Percy; several images of Percy's two brothers, Billups Phinizy ("Phin") Percy and LeRoy Percy Jr.; and images of other Percy family members. |
Image P-4294/144-155
P-4294/144P-4294/145P-4294/146P-4294/147P-4294/148P-4294/149P-4294/150P-4294/151P-4294/152P-4294/153P-4294/154P-4294/155 |
Walker Percy with identified individuals, 1940-1989 and undatedIncludes two images from 1940 of Walker Percy, his brother LeRoy Percy Jr., and Percy's lifelong friend writer Shelby Foote (P-4294/144-145). Also included are a 1989 photograph of a meeting of the Fellowship of Southern Writers in Chattanooga, Tenn., with Shelby Foote, C. Vann Woodward, Ernest Gaines, Louis D. Rubin Jr., Elizabeth Spencer, Cleanth Brooks, and others in attendance (P-4294/152); a photograph (P-4294/153) of Percy, C. Vann Woodward, and Eudora Welty; and two undated photographs of Walker and Bunt Percy meeting Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in Rome (P-4294/154-155). |
Image P-4294/156-164
P-4294/156P-4294/157P-4294/158P-4294/159P-4294/160P-4294/161P-4294/162P-4294/163P-4294/164 |
Walker Percy with unidentified individualsMost images show Percy participating in a graduation ceremony (believed to be at Marquette University). |
Image P-4294/165-178
P-4294/165P-4294/166P-4294/167P-4294/168P-4294/169P-4294/170P-4294/171P-4294/172P-4294/173P-4294/174P-4294/175P-4294/176P-4294/177P-4294/178 |
Identified places, scenes, and eventsIncludes images of the home of Percy's uncle, William Alexander Percy, where Walker and his two brothers spent most of their childhood; photographs of Walker Percy's home in Covington, La.; and an image of "The Patriot," a statue that stands over the grave of Walker Percy's great-uncle, Senator LeRoy Percy (1861-1929). Identified events include one honoring Walker Percy for his 1989 Jefferson Lectureship with the National Endowment of the Humanities, and Walker and Bunt Percy meeting President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan at the White House in 1987. With the two Reagan photographs are the event invitation, program, and menu for the White House dinner at which the photographs were taken. The photographs and the invitation are autographed by Nancy Reagan. |
Image P-4294/179-184
P-4294/179P-4294/180P-4294/181P-4294/182P-4294/183P-4294/184 |
Unidentified places, scenes, and eventsIncludes several snapshots of what appears to be a Mardi Gras float commemorating Percy's first novel The Moviegoer. |
Image P-4294/185-219
P-4294/185P-4294/186P-4294/187P-4294/188P-4294/189P-4294/190P-4294/191P-4294/192P-4294/193P-4294/194P-4294/195P-4294/196P-4294/197P-4294/198P-4294/199P-4294/200P-4294/201P-4294/202P-4294/203P-4294/204P-4294/205P-4294/206P-4294/207P-4294/208P-4294/209P-4294/210P-4294/211P-4294/212P-4294/213P-4294/214P-4294/215P-4294/216P-4294/217P-4294/218P-4294/219 |
Travel photographsImages of Walker Percy and Percy with family on trips to various locations throughout the world, including Cuba, Mexico, Italy, France, and Gulf Shores, Ala. The earliest of these are snapshots from a family trip to Havana, Cuba, in January 1951. |
Arrangement: Arrangement is by category as noted below. In general, images within each group are in rough chronological order.
Twenty-five photographs, most of Walker Percy at various times in later adulthood. Included are both professional and candid images of Percy. Most of the photographs show Percy in casual settings. Also included are images of Walker Percy with his wife, Mary Bernice Townsend Percy (Bunt Percy), friends, and colleagues. There is one photograph of the Percy house, and a photograph of an unidentified statue of a knight in chain mail. Most of the photographs are undated, but appear to range from the 1940s to the 1980s.
Image P-4294/220-232
P-4294/220P-4294/221P-4294/222P-4294/223P-4294/224P-4294/225P-4294/226P-4294/227P-4294/228P-4294/229P-4294/230P-4294/231P-4294/232 |
Walker Percy in later adulthood, undatedIncludes both posed and candid photographs of Percy. |
Image P-4294/233-238
P-4294/233P-4294/234P-4294/235P-4294/236P-4294/237P-4294/238 |
Walker Percy with unidentified individuals, 1940s-1980s and undatedIncludes two copies of a photograph of a young Percy with friends (P-4294/233-234) and an older Percy with one of his daughters (P-4294/236). |
Image P-4294/239-241
P-4294/239P-4294/240P-4294/241 |
Walker Percy with family, 1970sThree photographs of Walker and Bunt Percy, two shopping and one on vacation in Maine. There is also a photograph of Percy with his daughter, Anne Boyd Percy Moores. |
Image P-4294/242 |
Percy family house, undatedCaption on verso reads "original Percy house." |
Image P-4294/243 |
Statue of a knight in chain mail, 1930 |
Data Compact Disc DCD-4294/1 |
Digital PhotographsDigital copies of all of the images contained in the Addition of April 2008. |
Arrangement: Arrangement is by category as noted below. In general, images within each group are in rough chronological order.
Contains both posed and candid images of Walker Percy alone and with various members of his immediate and extended family and friends. The images range from the 1940s to the 1990s and include one photograph of Percy as an infant (P-4294/259). Also included are three photographs of Walker Percy in official group settings: standing with a portrait of himself (P-4294/315), at dinner with a group of men (P-4294/316), and at what appears to be at Loyola University New Orleans (P-4294/317); and several images of unidentified places.
Image P-4294/259 |
Walker Percy, undatedPhotograph of Walker Percy as an infant. |
Image P-4294/244-258
P-4294/244P-4294/245P-4294/246P-4294/247P-4294/248P-4294/249P-4294/250P-4294/251P-4294/252P-4294/253P-4294/254P-4294/255P-4294/256P-4294/257P-4294/258 |
Walker Percy, undatedImages of Walker Percy at various times in later adulthood, primarily undated. Includes both posed and candid images of Percy. |
Image P-4294/259-314
P-4294/259P-4294/260P-4294/261P-4294/262P-4294/263P-4294/264P-4294/265P-4294/266P-4294/267P-4294/268P-4294/269P-4294/270P-4294/271P-4294/272P-4294/273P-4294/274P-4294/275P-4294/276P-4294/277P-4294/278P-4294/279P-4294/280P-4294/281P-4294/282P-4294/283P-4294/284P-4294/285P-4294/286P-4294/287P-4294/288P-4294/289P-4294/290P-4294/291P-4294/292P-4294/293P-4294/294P-4294/295P-4294/296P-4294/297P-4294/298P-4294/299P-4294/300P-4294/301P-4294/302P-4294/303P-4294/304P-4294/305P-4294/306P-4294/307P-4294/308P-4294/309P-4294/310P-4294/311P-4294/312P-4294/313P-4294/314 |
Walker Percy with family and friends, 1940s-1990sPhotographs of Walker Percy with various members of his immediate and extended family. There are many images of Walker and Bunt Percy with their daughters, Mary Pratt Percy Lobdell and Ann Boyd Percy Moores, and several images of the Percys with their grandchildren. |
Image P-4294/315-323
P-4294/315P-4294/316P-4294/317P-4294/318P-4294/319P-4294/320P-4294/321P-4294/322P-4294/323 |
Other photographsThree photographs of Walker Percy in official group settings: standing with a portrait of himself (P-4294/315), at dinner with a group of men (P-4294/316), and at what appears to be at Loyola University New Orleans (P-4294/317). Also contains one photograph of Walker Percy's house and five photographs of unidentified places. |
Black-and-white and color photographs, mostly publicity portraits, and many of their corresponding negatives. There are also portraits of Ernest Hemingway, Flannery O'Connor, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Eudora Welty. Other images include a slide of the cover of The Moviegoer and photographs of Percy's signature, an illustrated bookplate that reads "Walker Percy Veni Creator," and what may be Percy's spot for writing.
Image P-4294/324-345
P-4294/324P-4294/325P-4294/326P-4294/327P-4294/328P-4294/329P-4294/330P-4294/331P-4294/332P-4294/333P-4294/334P-4294/335P-4294/336P-4294/337P-4294/338P-4294/339P-4294/340P-4294/341P-4294/342P-4294/343P-4294/344P-4294/345 |
Walker Percy portraits |
Image P-4294/346-347
P-4294/346P-4294/347 |
Walker Percy portraits |
Image P-4294/348-352
P-4294/348P-4294/349P-4294/350P-4294/351P-4294/352 |
Ernest Hemingway, Flannery O'Connor, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Eudora Welty portraits |
Image P-4294/353-356
P-4294/353P-4294/354P-4294/355P-4294/356 |
Other imagesSlide of the cover of The Moviegoer and photographs of Percy's signature, an illustrated bookplate that reads "Walker Percy Veni Creator," and what may be Percy's spot for writing. |
Image Folder PF-4294/1 |
Negatives for selected Walker Percy portraitsP-4294/326, P-4294/327, P-4294/328, P-4294/332, P-4294/333, P-4294/334, P-4294/335, P-4294/336, P-4294/345. |