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ca1000-155
Guide to the Albert Camus Papers,
1936 - 1959
Processed by: Valerie Gillispie; machine-readable finding aid created by: Valerie Gillispie
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© 2008 Wesleyan University. All Rights Reserved.
Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program.
Date of source: August 2008
Description is in
English
Finding aid was prepared using DACS
Guide to the Albert Camus Papers, 1936 - 1959
Special Collections & Archives
Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT, USA
© 2008 Wesleyan University. All Rights Reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan University
Camus, Albert, 1913-1960.
Albert Camus Papers, 1936 - 1959
1000-155
Material in French
0.25
1
For current information on the location of
these materials, please consult Special Collections & Archives staff.
Albert Camus (1913-1960) was an influential intellectual and writer. He was born and raised in Algeria, but spent most of his life during World War II and afterwards in France. Camus received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957.
The Albert Camus Papers consist of correspondence, manuscript and typescript drafts of Camus writings, photographs, and a questionnaire completed by Camus, which was sent to him by Wesleyan Professor Carl Viggiani. All materials are in French.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright Notice
Copyright for Official University records is held by Wesleyan University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Albert Camus Papers, Collection #1000-155, Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Questionnaire and correspondence: gift of Professor Carl Viggiani, 1957-1958. Fred B. Millett and Victor Butterfield letters transferred from their respective collections.
Hellenisme and Christianisme manuscript and typescript: gift of Camus via Viggiani. Aphorisms and Les Mines de Tipasa: gift of Camus. Photographs: gifts of Camus via Viggiani; Viggiani; and Jean Grenier.
Processing Information
Processed by Valerie Gillispie, August 2008
Encoded by Valerie Gillispie, August 2008
Biographical Note
Albert Camus was born in 1913 in Mondovi, Algeria. He attended the University of Algiers and graduated in 1936. Camus worked as a journalist following his graduation, and eventually moved to Paris, where he worked with the French resistance. During World War II and the years afterward, Camus increasingly focused on novels and plays. He is best known for
L'Etranger (The Stranger), La Peste (The Plague), L'Homme Revolte (The Rebel), and La Chute (The Fall). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. Camus died in 1960 as the result of a car accident in France.
Collection Overview
The Albert Camus Papers consist of correspondence, manuscript and typescript drafts of Camus writings, photographs, and a questionnaire completed by Camus, which was sent to him by Wesleyan Professor Carl Viggiani. All materials are in French.
The four pieces of correspondence are all from Camus. One is to Wesleyan English professor Fred B. Millett, dated 1946, in which he declines an invitation. A second piece of correspondence, dated 1957, is addressed to Romance Languages and Literatures professor Carl Viggiani, and addresses questions that had been posed by Viggiani. The final two letters are to Wesleyan President Victor Butterfield, dated 1959. In the first, dated Feburary 18, Camus declines an honor that has been offered him by Wesleyan University--possibly an honorary degree. The second letter, dated March 18, thanks Butterfield for his gift of a set of William Faulkner books.
The circa 1957 questionnaire is fourteen pages, and inquires about Camus' family, studies, experiences, opinions, and feelings, specifically for the time period 1913 to 1943. Camus has replied to all questions in pencil.
Hellenisme et Christianisme, written about Plotinus and St. Augustine, was Camus' thesis for the University of Algeria, submitted to the Faculty of Letters. A manuscript and typescript of this work can be found in this collection. A two page manuscript of aphorisms, and a piece of writing entitled Les Mines de Tipasa is present in both manuscript and typescript.
The photographs include pictures of Camus, his friends, his mentor Jean Grenier, and his work in directing
Caligula and Requium. One photo features his children, Catherine and Jean. There is also a photogrpah of a manuscript page from The Rebel.
Online Catalog Headings
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.
Camus, Albert, 1913-1960.
Algeria --Intellectual life --20th century.
France--Intellectual life--20th century.
Nobel Prize winners--Biography.
Viggiani, Carl Albert, 1922-
Photographs.
Questionnaires.
Detailed Description of the Collection
1
Questionnaire prepared by Carl Viggiani and answered by Camus, circa 1957
Letter from Camus to Viggiani, 18 July 1957
Letter from Camus to Victor Butterfield, 18 February 1959
Letter from Camus to Butterfield, 18 March 1959
Letter from Camus to Fred Millett, 26 April 1946
Hellenisme et Christianisme, 1936
Manuscript by Camus of thesis on Plotinus and St. Augustine. 87 pages.
Hellenisme et Christianisme, 1936
Uncorrected typescript of thesis presented to the Faculty of Letters, University of Algiers, 1936. 93 pages
Aphorisms
Manuscript by Camus. 2 pages.
Les Mines de Tipasa
Manuscript by Camus. 4 pages.
Les Mines de Tipasa
Typescript by Camus. 2 pages.
Photographs
Photo of one page of manuscript from L'Homme Revolte (The Rebel)
Camus and J. L. Barrault at the Theatre Marigny, 1948
Camus, about 1941-1942
Camus signing copies of La Peste for charity sale, with writers Jules Roy, Gabriel Audisio, and Jeanne Montupet
G. Audisio, M. Balloul, Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre at party for Mouloudji, circa 1944
Camus, Gabriel Audisio, and M. Balloul (Algerian mathematician) at party for Mouloudji, circa 1944
Camus and Gabriel Andisio at party for Mouloudji, circa 1944
Camus directing Michel Auclair in Caligula, 1957
Camus directing Caligula, 1957
4 different photos.
Camus directing A. Caus and Bernard Woringer in Caligula, 1957
Photo of charcoal sketch of Camus during the war by Marie Viton, circa 1943
Camus on balcony of apartment on Rue Madame, 1953
Jean Grenier, teacher of Albert Camus, undated
Le grand lycee d'Alger
Camus greets friend in front of Mathurius, where his adaptation of Requiem was playing from 1956 to 1958
Members of the cast also in photograph.
Camus directing play by Aldern in Bois de Boulogne, around 1956
Twin children Catherine and Jean standing next to Camus.