B. Roland Lewis papers
Collection
Identifier: MS 0137
Scope and Contents
The B. Roland Lewis papers (1885-1955) consist largely of correspondence having to do with the publication of his scholarly works. There is little personal or biographical information. The First box does contain a biographical sketch written about 1930, a copy of a Who's Who sketch from about 1948 and a newspaper article about his early life. There are a few letters and some general information about Lewis' family genealogy. This first box also includes general correspondence from friends and professional associates.
Two boxes of correspondence about Lewis' books are divided according to the manuscript being discussed. These letters include publishing arrangements for each book, and letters asking permission to reprint various articles in Lewis' work. Royalty reports and receipts are included, and arranged according to the publishing house from which they came.
Correspondence related to the compilation and publication of The Shakespeare Documents is arranged by date and subject. There are many letters and receipts to and from various English sources negotiating for photographs of Shakespeare related items to be used in the work. Included in this section are letters to and from the Folger and Huntington Libraries relative to Lewis' use of their Shakespearian collections.
Combined in one box are Deseret News poems and materials on pageants. The poems are those compiled from the newspaper, 1885-1901, for the use in Lewis' poetry class. The material on pageants consists largely of manuscripts and programs for the Pilgrim Tercentenary, 1920-1921. There are other pageants, programs, and scripts from Utah and out of state unrelated to the Pilgrim celebration.
The last half of the collection consists of bound typescripts of Professor Lewis' work. These are the preliminary carbon copies, not the published books.
Two boxes of correspondence about Lewis' books are divided according to the manuscript being discussed. These letters include publishing arrangements for each book, and letters asking permission to reprint various articles in Lewis' work. Royalty reports and receipts are included, and arranged according to the publishing house from which they came.
Correspondence related to the compilation and publication of The Shakespeare Documents is arranged by date and subject. There are many letters and receipts to and from various English sources negotiating for photographs of Shakespeare related items to be used in the work. Included in this section are letters to and from the Folger and Huntington Libraries relative to Lewis' use of their Shakespearian collections.
Combined in one box are Deseret News poems and materials on pageants. The poems are those compiled from the newspaper, 1885-1901, for the use in Lewis' poetry class. The material on pageants consists largely of manuscripts and programs for the Pilgrim Tercentenary, 1920-1921. There are other pageants, programs, and scripts from Utah and out of state unrelated to the Pilgrim celebration.
The last half of the collection consists of bound typescripts of Professor Lewis' work. These are the preliminary carbon copies, not the published books.
Dates
- 1915-1955
Creator
Language of Materials
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Biographical / Historical
Benjamin Roland Lewis (1884-1959) was a member of the English Department faculty of the University of Utah from 1915-1951. His studies, both at the University and abroad, enabled him to assemble a fairly complete collection of Shakespeariana. On the basis of this material he produced several scholarly works that earned him an international reputation as a Shakespearian authority.
Lewis was born 3 December 1884 at St. Marys, Ohio, to Samuel and Katherine Fox. His mother died shortly after his birth and his father died when he was two years old; the three children of the family were placed with families in the neighborhood. Lewis learned to speak German fluently by the age of five. After attending common school and high school in St. Marys, Lewis began teaching at the age of seventeen. He worked his way through Ohio Northern University taking a Bachelor of Science degree in 1905 and Master of Science in 1907. During 1907-1908 he was a graduate student at the University of Chicago and from 1913 to 1915 was at Harvard University. He received a Master of Arts from Harvard in 1915. Ohio Northern University and the University of Utah gave him honorary Doctorates of Literature in 1941 and 1943.
Lewis was superintendent of schools at Hammond, Louisiana in 1905-1907; head of the English department of Grand Island College at Grand Island, Nebraska from 1907-1908; and head of the Department of English at Ellsworth College at Ellsworth, Illinois from 1908-1913. In 1915, on leaving Harvard University, he went to the University of Utah and for seven years was head of the department of English. The administrative duties interfered with his research work so he resigned as department head and remained as a faculty member. As a specialist in dramatic literature, Lewis lectured at the University of Chicago, Stanford University and other schools. During the school year 1932-1933 he was a Visiting Professor at Catholic University of America. During 1925-1926, Lewis was in London engaged in research in the British Museum, Bodleian Library at Oxford University, and Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. He spent many summers researching at the Huntington Library, and he spent 1932-1933 at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Lewis was the author of many books of drama, including the Technique of the One Act Play, 1918, One Act Plays in Colleges and High Schools, 1920, Contemporary One Act Plays, 1922, and University of Utah Plays, 1928, the first of a series of one act plays written and produced by students of the University of Utah. Effective Writing, written with Osborne J. P. Widstoe, who died before its completion, was published in 1923. Lewis' book Creative Poetry was published in 1930. The Shakespeare Documents, Lewis' monumental work comprises the fruits of many years of scholarship and research in a two volume work, published in 1942. These volumes represent a complete photographic reproduction of documents related to Shakespeare and his work. Another study on Shakespeare, published in 1942, was his biography of the man, The Life of William Shakespeare, based on the documents in Lewis' possession.
In 1938 Lewis was elected to the Institute of Art and Literature of France for his outstanding research on Shakespeare. He was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, the national scholastic fraternity, and Sigma Tau Delta fraternity. Lewis was a vice-president of the Shakespeare society (International) and vice-president of the Utah section. He was also a member of the Modern Language Association of America, the Harvard Club, and in 1936 was appointed to the Advisory Council of the Scholars' Facsimiles and Reprints Syndicate. In 1924-1925, Lewis was president of the Utah Teachers' Association.
B. Roland Lewis married Bessie Blanche Collins on 22 August 1906. They had two daughters, Catherine and Ruth. Lewis retired from teaching at the University of Utah in 1951, and died in 1959.
Lewis was born 3 December 1884 at St. Marys, Ohio, to Samuel and Katherine Fox. His mother died shortly after his birth and his father died when he was two years old; the three children of the family were placed with families in the neighborhood. Lewis learned to speak German fluently by the age of five. After attending common school and high school in St. Marys, Lewis began teaching at the age of seventeen. He worked his way through Ohio Northern University taking a Bachelor of Science degree in 1905 and Master of Science in 1907. During 1907-1908 he was a graduate student at the University of Chicago and from 1913 to 1915 was at Harvard University. He received a Master of Arts from Harvard in 1915. Ohio Northern University and the University of Utah gave him honorary Doctorates of Literature in 1941 and 1943.
Lewis was superintendent of schools at Hammond, Louisiana in 1905-1907; head of the English department of Grand Island College at Grand Island, Nebraska from 1907-1908; and head of the Department of English at Ellsworth College at Ellsworth, Illinois from 1908-1913. In 1915, on leaving Harvard University, he went to the University of Utah and for seven years was head of the department of English. The administrative duties interfered with his research work so he resigned as department head and remained as a faculty member. As a specialist in dramatic literature, Lewis lectured at the University of Chicago, Stanford University and other schools. During the school year 1932-1933 he was a Visiting Professor at Catholic University of America. During 1925-1926, Lewis was in London engaged in research in the British Museum, Bodleian Library at Oxford University, and Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. He spent many summers researching at the Huntington Library, and he spent 1932-1933 at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Lewis was the author of many books of drama, including the Technique of the One Act Play, 1918, One Act Plays in Colleges and High Schools, 1920, Contemporary One Act Plays, 1922, and University of Utah Plays, 1928, the first of a series of one act plays written and produced by students of the University of Utah. Effective Writing, written with Osborne J. P. Widstoe, who died before its completion, was published in 1923. Lewis' book Creative Poetry was published in 1930. The Shakespeare Documents, Lewis' monumental work comprises the fruits of many years of scholarship and research in a two volume work, published in 1942. These volumes represent a complete photographic reproduction of documents related to Shakespeare and his work. Another study on Shakespeare, published in 1942, was his biography of the man, The Life of William Shakespeare, based on the documents in Lewis' possession.
In 1938 Lewis was elected to the Institute of Art and Literature of France for his outstanding research on Shakespeare. He was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, the national scholastic fraternity, and Sigma Tau Delta fraternity. Lewis was a vice-president of the Shakespeare society (International) and vice-president of the Utah section. He was also a member of the Modern Language Association of America, the Harvard Club, and in 1936 was appointed to the Advisory Council of the Scholars' Facsimiles and Reprints Syndicate. In 1924-1925, Lewis was president of the Utah Teachers' Association.
B. Roland Lewis married Bessie Blanche Collins on 22 August 1906. They had two daughters, Catherine and Ruth. Lewis retired from teaching at the University of Utah in 1951, and died in 1959.
Extent
4 Linear Feet (12 boxes)
Abstract
The Benjamin Roland Lewis papers (1885-1955) consist largely of correspondence having to do with the publication of his scholarly works and also contains peoms, and drafts and bound typescripts of Lewis' work. B. Roland Lewis taught English at the University of Utah from 1915 to 1951. He was considered an authority on William Shakespeare.
Processing Information
Processed by W. Harold Dalgliesh, Marlene Lewis in 1977 and Elizabeth Rogers in 2007.
- Drama
- Literature
- Poetry
- Shakespeare Association of America
- Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Criticism and interpretation
Creator
- Title
- Inventory of the B. Roland Lewis papers, 1915-1955
- Author
- Finding aid created by W. Harold Dalgliesh and Marlene Lewis
- Date
- © 1977 (last modified: 2019)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid encoded in English.
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu