Guide to the David Lovett Papers
1920-2006

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Overview of the Collection

Creator: Lovett, David, 1907-
Title: David Lovett Papers
Dates: 1920-2006 ( inclusive )
1930-1950 ( bulk )
Quantity: 2.5 linear feet (3 boxes)
Collection Number: HTM_WCMss39
Summary: David Lovett was a Whitman College English professor in the 1930s. This collection includes his literary manuscripts, correspondence, and other personal papers
Repository: Whitman College and Northwest Archives

345 Boyer Avenue
Walla Walla, WA 99362
(509) 527-5922
archives@whitman.edu
http://www.whitman.edu/archives

Languages: Materials are in English 

Biographical Note

David Lovett was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 5, 1907, into a working-class Jewish family. He attended public schools public schools and was the first in his family to attend college. He graduated from The Johns Hopkins University with a bachelor's degree in 1927 and a PhD in English in 1932.

In his mid twenties, Lovett began suffering from an illness that was later diagnosed as Parkinson's disease. In spite of his failing health, Lovett pursued his academic vocation and joined the Whitman College English faculty in 1936. When he arrived in Walla Walla, Lovett was surprised to discover that he was the only Jew among the faculty and students. Nevertheless, Lovett thrived and immensely enjoyed his time at Whitman.

After two years, due to declining health, Lovett left Whitman and returned east. He was not able to work regularly and became a resident of the Levindale Hebrew Home and Infirmary, where in 1947 he started a literary periodical, "The Voice of Levindale." Lovett died in January 1950.

Content Description

The papers of David Lovett include Lovett's unpublished literary manuscripts; his published dissertation and the first two issues of "The Voice of Levindale"; photographs; correspondence; newspaper clippings; student's recollections of Lovett; and a booklet titled "The David Lovett Collection," with an introductory biographical essay by David Kairys. Also included in Lovett's papers are some of his books on teaching English.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access :  

Collection is open for research.

Restrictions on Use :  

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. for copyright not held by Whitman College.

Preferred Citation :  

David Lovett Papers, Whitman College and Northwest Archives.

Administrative Information

Arrangement :

By item.

Acquisition Information :  

Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by David Kairys, December 2006.


Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Box/Folder
1/1 Shakespeare's Characters in Eighteenth-Century Criticism (PhD dissertation, Johns Hopkins) 1935
1/2 Photographs Circa 1920-1948
1/3 Correspondence 1936-1943
1/4 Poem Undated
1/5 Prose compositions Undated
1/6 Manuscript: "Remnant" Undated
1/7 Program from "Is Zat So?" Undated
1/8 Officers and members of the Tudor and Stuart Club 1938
1/9 The Voice of Levendale 1:1 Undated
1/10 The Voice of Levendale 1:2 1947
1/11 Newspaper clippings and obituaries Undated
1/12 Remembrances of Whitman students and others Undated
1/13 David Lovett Collection, compiled by David Kairys 2006
1/14 Inventory of David Lovett's library 2006
boxes
2-3 Books on teaching English from the library of David Lovett Circa 1930s

Subjects

  • Lovett, David, 1907- -- Archives.

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Subjects

  • Whitman College -- History

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Subjects

  • English literature -- Study and teaching -- United States

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