University of Oregon Libraries
Special Collections & University Archives
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1299 USA
URL: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/index.html



Guide to the Dana Burnet Papers, 1915-1963


Coll. 141





Finding aid prepared by James A. Kenny

Finding aid encoded by Kay M. Brooks, 2007
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.


Overview of the Collection

 
Repository Name:
 

University of Oregon Libraries
Special Collections & University Archives

1299 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1299 USA
URL: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/index.html

 
Collection Number:
 

Coll. 141

 
Creator:
 

Burnet, Dana, 1888-1962

 
Title:
 

Dana Burnet Papers

 
Dates:
 

1915-1963 (inclusive)

 
Quantity:
 

6 linear feet
12 containers

 
Languages:
 

Collection materials are in English. 

 
Summary:
 

The papers consist of Dana Burnet's correspondence, 1926-1959, primarily with his literary agents Carl and Carol Brandt; manuscripts of short stories, plays and screenplays, most notably The Great Commandment; tearsheets; and contracts.

 

Biographical Note

Dana Burnet (1888-1962), a writer of short stories, plays and poems, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 3, 1888. He was educated at Cornell University, where he earned a law degree in 1911.

Instead of practicing law, however, he immediately launched his writing career by serving as a reporter and editor for the New York Sun from 1911 to 1918. It was during this period that Burnet also began writing and publishing his own poems and short stories. A book entitled Poems was published by Harper Brothers in 1915.

Burnet was married twice: to Marguerite Dumary in 1913, and to Eugenia Chapin in 1936. He and his second wife lived in Beverly Hills, California, until around 1948. During this time Burnet was writing screenplays, one of which was released as a film titled The Great Commandment, in 1939. He also was employed for a brief time as a staff writer for Twentieth Century-Fox.

Meanwhile, Burnet continued to write and sell numerous short stories and articles which were published in such magazines as Collier's, Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, and Red Book. In 1948, he and his wife moved to the Narragansett Bay community of Stonington, Connecticut, where he spent the rest of his life. There he designed and built his own house in 1959.

Dana Burnet died on October 22, 1962.

Content Description

The Dana Burnet Papers contain correspondence, manuscripts, magazine tearsheets, publicity material, contracts, and personal material. Correspondence comprises the first series and is arranged chronologically, spanning the years 1926-1959. Primarily business-related, most of the correspondence consists of exchanges between Burnet and his literary agents in New York, Carl and Carol Brandt.

Manuscripts, separated by type, are arranged alphabetically by title. They consist of both published and umpublished works. In some cases, the published title will vary from the working title. Short stories form the largest segment. The remainder consists of plays, screenplays, and synopses for both stage and screen. Of note in this series is the script for The Great Commandment, which was made into a film by a small, private firm (Cathedral Films) and later sold to Twentieth Century-Fox. The film was released in 1939. Reviews of the film and other publicity is filed separately.

The next series contains tearsheets from magazines of stories and articles by Dana Burnet. These are arranged alphabetically by title and contain stories published by Collier's, Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and Red Book, among other magazines. Contracts releasing motion picture rights for some stories are filed under "Contracts."

Many of the stories in this collection can be characterized as light comedies or romances, usually set in small towns. Burnet often used locales in which he resided for the settings of his stories. Some of his stories, for example, are set in "Lymington," Connecticut, a clear reference to Stonington, Connecticut. In some stories, he modeled characters after himself, his wife, and other people he knew. The true names of persons and locales were changed, of course.

Arrangement

Collection is organized into the following series:

  • Correspondence
  • Manuscripts: Short stories
  • Manuscripts: Plays
  • Manuscripts: Other
  • Tearsheets
  • Publicity material: The Great Commandment (Film)
  • Contracts
  • Personal material

Administrative Information

Processing Note 

Collection processed by James A. Kenny.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access 

Collection is open to the public.

Collection must be used in Special Collections & University Archives Reading Room.

Restrictions on Use 

Property rights reside with Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the Manuscripts Librarian in Special Collections & University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation 

[Identification of item], Dana Burnet Papers, Coll. 141, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Subjects

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

 
Burnet, Dana, 1888-1962
Burnet, Dana, 1888-1962--Correspondence
Authors, American--20th century--Correspondence
Screenwriters--United States
Love stories
Manuscripts for publication
Screenplays
Short stories
Tear sheets
Great commandment
Other Creators :
Brandt, Carl G. (contributor)
Brandt & Brandt (contributor)

Detailed Description of the Collection

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


 
box
1
folder
1

Inventory

 

 

Correspondence

 
Container(s)
Description
Dates
 
box
1
folder
2

1926-1944
  1926-1944
 
3
January 1948-February 1948
  January 1948-February 1948
 
4
March 1948-April 1948
  March 1948-April 1948
 
5
May 1948-August 1948
  May 1948-August 1948
 
6
September 1948-December 1948
  September 1948-December 1948
 
7
January 1949-March 1949
  January 1949-March 1949
 
8
April 1949-October 1949
  April 1949-October 1949
 
9
November 1949-February 1950
  November 1949-February 1950
 
10
March 1950-April 1950
  March 1950-April 1950
 
11
May 1950-July 1950
  May 1950-July 1950
 
12
August 1950-October 1950
  August 1950-October 1950
 
13
November 1950-December 1950
  November 1950-December 1950
 
14
February 1951-April 1951
  February 1951-April 1951
 
15
May 1951-June 1951
  May 1951-June 1951
 
16
July 1951-August 1951
  July 1951-August 1951
 
17
September 1951-October 1951
  September 1951-October 1951
 
18
November 1951-December 1951
  November 1951-December 1951
 
19
January 1952-March 1952
  January 1952-March 1952
 
20
April 1952-May 1952
  April 1952-May 1952
 
21
June 1952-August 1952
  June 1952-August 1952
 
22
September 1952-December 1952
  September 1952-December 1952
 
2 1
January 1953-March 1953
  January 1953-March 1953
 
2
April 1953-May 1953
  April 1953-May 1953
 
3
June 1953-July 1953
  June 1953-July 1953
 
4
August 1953-December 1953
  August 1953-December 1953
 
5
January 1954-March 1954
  January 1954-March 1954
 
6
April 1954-June 1954
  April 1954-June 1954
 
7
August 1954-December 1954
  August 1954-December 1954
 
8
January 1955-October 1955
  January 1955-October 1955
 
9
November 1955-December 1955
  November 1955-December 1955
 
10
January 1956-April 1956
  January 1956-April 1956
 
11
May 1956-July 1956
  May 1956-July 1956
 
12
August 1956-December 1956
  August 1956-December 1956
 
13
January 1957-February 1957
  January 1957-February 1957
 
14
March 1957-April 1957
  March 1957-April 1957
 
15
May 1957-September 1957
  May 1957-September 1957
 
16
October 1957-December 1957
  October 1957-December 1957
 
17
January 1958-March 1958
  January 1958-March 1958
 
18
April 1958-December 1958
  April 1958-December 1958
 
19
January 1959-March 1959
  January 1959-March 1959
 
20
April 1959-October 1959
  April 1959-October 1959

 

Manuscripts: Short stories

 
Container(s)
Description
 
box
2
folder
21

Absolution in April
 
 

The Admiral Gets the Word
 
 

American Liar
 
 
22
Arbutus
 
 
3 1
Attractive, Double, Piano, Refined
 
 
2
Bay Window
 
 

A Bed for Young Lovers (2 versions)
 
 
3
The Beautiful Island
 
 
4
Biological Accident
 
 
5
Breakfast with Bettina
 
 
6
Bus-Driver's Dream (2 versions)
 
 
7
Business Engagement
 
 
8
Business is Business
 
 
9
The Butterfly
 
 

The Butterfly Wife
 
 
10
The Candy Box Murder Case (2 versions)
 
 
11
Carousel
 
 
12
Checkbook
 
 

Children Write on Walls (2 versions)
 
 
13
Chins Up
 
 

The Claws of the Bear
 
 

A Costume for Katy (2 versions)
 
 
14
A Couple of Guys Named Joe
 
 

The Curse of Drink
 
 
15
Death of a Rabbit
 
 

Delegate from the Dead
 
 
16
The Doctor Always Doodled (2 versions)
 
 

Don't Miss Mystic, Mister (2 versions)
 
 
17
Dream's End
 
 

The Drowning of Annie
 
 

Duel in Connecticut
 
 
4 1
The Dumps Family
 
 

Duration, One Minute
 
 
2
Farewell to the Moon
 
 
3
A Flag Can Be a Prayer
 
 

Fog
 
 
4
A Friendly Game
 
 

The Gay Lady (2 versions)
 
 
5
The Giant Land
 
 

The Gold Dress (2 versions)
 
 
6
Goliath
 
 
7
The Grand March of the United States of America
 
 

Grandpa's Whiskers
 
 

The Happy Worrier
 
 
8
Hazel in Hollywood
 
 

Hole in One
 
 
9
Honesty, Industry, Perspicacity
 
 
10
The Incalculable Risk
 
 
11
The Inferiority Complex
 
 
12
Interlude (2 versions)
 
 
13
It All Worked Out Fine
 
 

It Seems to Be Fate (2 versions)
 
 
14
The Kick
 
 

Kisses for a Blonde
 
 

Last Nickel
 
 
15
Letter to a Neighbor
 
 
5 1
Life of the Mole (2 versions)
 
 
2
The Little Dog Laughed
 
 

A Look of Scorn
 
 
3
The Lost Hands of Lieutenant Edward Lord
 
 

Love and Laundry
 
 
4
The Man Who Burned a Hole in His Coast (2 versions)
 
 
5
The Man Who Got Hungry (2 versions)
 
 
6
The Man Who Loved a Statue
 
 

The Minnow
 
 
7
The Mirror (2 versions)
 
 
8
Miss Jenny
 
 

Miss Simpson Goes Wrong
 
 
9
A Mite O'Life (2 versions)
 
 

Moonlight and Honeysuckle
 
 
10
The Moose (2 versions)
 
 
11
Mr. Onion
 
 

Mrs. Trevalyn Serves Tea
 
 
12
No Idea
 
 

No Mother to Guide Her
 
 
13
The Old Man of the Tribe
 
 
14
Old Watch Dog
 
 

The Orange Bird
 
 
15
The Orange Tree (2 versions)
 
 
16
Pageant
 
 
6 1
The Pale Woman of Vedado
 
 
2
Papa
 
 
3
The Picture Was Crooked
 
 

The Pinwheel Age
 
 
4
A Prayer for the Little People
 
 

A Present for Patricia
 
 

The Rare, Rare Lily (fragment)
 
 
5
Reggie
 
 
6
Rescue
 
 

Rescued Romance (2 versions)
 
 
7
Revelation (2 versions)
 
 
8
Revolution of a Lady
 
 
9
Revolution on Wheels (2 versions)
 
 

The Road in the Shadow (fragment)
 
 

The Scrambled Lovers
 
 
10
The Sea Wall
 
 

Secret Desire
 
 
11
The Senator's Shadow (2 versions)
 
 
12
The Shaming of Willie Lord
 
 

A Slight Case of Connecticut
 
 

Something Appalling
 
 
13