David Lovett Papers, 1920-2006

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Lovett, David
Title
David Lovett Papers
Dates
1920-2006 (inclusive)
1930-1950 (bulk)
Quantity
0.4 linear feet, (1 box)
Collection Number
WCMss.039
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
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Penrose Library, Room 130
345 Boyer Avenue
Walla Walla, WA
99362
Telephone: 5095275922
Fax: 5095264785
archives@whitman.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

David Lovett was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 5, 1907, into a working-class Jewish family. He attended 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. Despite 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 DescriptionReturn to Top

The David Lovett Papers include Lovett's unpublished literary manuscripts, his published dissertation and the first two issues of "The Voice of Levindale", photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings,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.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by David Kairys, December 2006. The accession number is 2006-016.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
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

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Corporate Names

  • Whitman College