Scope and Contents
The James L. Weil papers contain correspondence, production files and writings, records of the Elizabeth Press, printed and audiovisual materials, and personal papers. The collection is made up of twenty-one separate donations made by Weil from 1983 to 2005. The first several accessions consist exclusively of materials relating to publications by Weil, while later accessions, beginning with the October 1990 Acquisition, consist of larger groups of material including correspondence, production files, and other papers. Correspondence in the collection, which features letters from writers, journal editors, publishers, booksellers, the many libraries to which Weil made donations, and others, is thus spread over multiple accessions. It is either sorted roughly, into so-called letter general folders ("A" - "Z") or by date, or it is unsorted; the bulk of the letters are also still housed in original envelopes. Individual correspondents include: Bob Arnold of Longhouse Publishers & Booksellers, Cid Corman, Theodore Enslin, David Giannini, Lyman Gilmore, Henry Lyman, Simon Perchik, Felix Stefanile, Jack Stillinger, Pierre Ullman, and others. Correspondence can include enclosures, such as drafts of writings, photographs, and printed material. Most of the production files in the collection appear to relate to the limited edition chapbooks and printed keepsakes published by Weil under his own name (James L. Weil, Publisher) from the mid 1980s onward, though records relating to the Elizabeth Press (1963-1981) can also be found. The production files, which include correspondence, drafts, specifications, proofs, and printed versions, feature work by William Bronk, Cid Corman, Larry Eigner, Aleksis Rannit, Karl Shapiro, Felix Stefanile, and others. Printed materials include newspapers, journals, clippings, and offprints containing reviews and concerning literary matters such as modern fine printing and small press publishing.
Dates
- 1927-2005
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Boxes 5 and 9 (reel-to-reel tapes): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Boxes 6 and 25 (audio and video cassettes): Use of originals is restricted. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The James L. Weil Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of James L. Weil, 1983-2005.
December 2016 Acquisition: Gift of Anthony, Jennifer, and Peter Weil, 2016.
Arrangement
Organized into twenty-two groupings: January 1983 Acquisition, April 1984 Acquisition, October 1984 Acquisition, February 1985 Acquisition, October 1985 Acquisition, January 1986 Acquisition, September 1986 Acquisition, January 1987 Acquisition, December 1987 Acquisition, June 1989 Acquisition, October 1990 Acquisition, January 1992 Acquisition, March 1993 Acquisition, December 1994 Acquisition, July 1997 Acquisition, April 1998 Acquisition, May 1998 Acquisition, February 2000 Acquisition, January 2002 Acquisition, May 2005 Acquisition, September 2005 Acquisition, and December 2016 Acquisition.
Extent
22.62 Linear Feet (31 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
The Weil papers contain correspondence, production files and writings, records of the Elizabeth Press, printed and audiovisual materials, and personal papers. The collection is made up of twenty-one separate donations made by Weil from 1983 to 2005. The first several accessions consist exclusively of materials relating to publications by Weil, while later accessions, beginning with the October 1990 Acquisition, consist of larger groups of material including correspondence, production files, and other papers. Correspondence in the collection, which features letters from writers, journal editors, publishers, booksellers, the many libraries to which Weil made donations, and others, is thus spread over multiple accessions. It is either sorted roughly, into so-called letter general folders ("A"-"Z") or by date, or it is unsorted; the bulk of the letters are also still housed in original envelopes. Individual correspondents include: Bob Arnold of Longhouse Publishers & Booksellers, Cid Corman, Theodore Enslin, David Giannini, Lyman Gilmore, Henry Lyman, Simon Perchik, Felix Stefanile, Jack Stillinger, Pierre Ullman, and others. Correspondence can include enclosures, such as drafts of writings, photographs, and printed material. Most of the production files in the collection appear to relate to the limited edition chapbooks and printed keepsakes published by Weil under his own name (James L. Weil, Publisher) from the mid 1980s onward, though records relating to the Elizabeth Press (1963-1981) can also be found. The production files, which include correspondence, drafts, specifications, proofs, and printed versions, feature work by William Bronk, Cid Corman, Larry Eigner, Aleksis Rannit, Karl Shapiro, Felix Stefanile, and others. Printed materials include newspapers, journals, clippings, and offprints containing reviews and concerning literary matters such as modern fine printing and small press publishing.
James L. Weil (1929-2006)
James L. Weil, born 15 June 1929 in New York to Morris, a financier, and Charlotte (Ullman) Weil, was a poet and publisher. He attended the University of Chicago (1950) and Oxford University (1954) before going to work for the Dialight Corporation (1954-1968). Weil founded the Elizabeth Press (1963-1981), an important publisher of American poetry in the 1960s and 1970s, and published limited edition chapbooks and keepsakes under his own name from 1985 onward. His authors include William Bronk (1918-1999), Cid Corman (1924-2004), Larry Eigner (1927-1996), Theodore Enslin (1925-2011), Felix Stefanile (1920-2009), and others.
Processing Information
This collection has received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and in some instances minimal organization. Various acquisitions associated with the collection have not been merged and organized as a whole. Each acquisition is described separately in the contents list below, identified by month and year of acquisition.
The finding aid for this collection was originally compiled from individual preliminary lists for each acquisition that were created at or around the time of receipt by the library. The preliminary lists were migrated to comply with current archival descriptive standards and merged into a single file in 2007-2008. As part of the migration, modifications were made to the formatting of individual lists; however, the content of the lists was neither modified nor verified. In January 2014, additional work was done on the collection to standardize the housing and description across acquisitions, and a single call number was assigned.
Former call numbers: Uncat Za Ms Weil, Uncat Za Ms 107, Uncat Za Ms 152, Uncat Za Ms 242, Uncat Za Ms 274, Uncat Za Ms 338, Uncat Za Ms 339, Uncat Za Ms 418, Uncat Za Ms 535, Uncat Za Ms 557, Uncat Za Ms 560, Uncat MSS 17, Uncat MSS 206, Uncat MSS 250, Uncat MSS 772 and Uncat Za File 708.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- American literature -- 20th century
- Arnold, Bob, 1952-
- Audiovisual materials
- Bronk, William, 1918-1999
- Corman, Cid, 1924-
- Eigner, Larry, 1927-1996
- Elizabeth Press
- Enslin, Theodore, 1925-
- Fine books -- United States
- Giannini, David, 1948-
- Gilmore, Lyman, 1933-
- James L. Weil (Publisher)
- Longhouse (Firm)
- Lyman, Henry, 1942-
- Perchik, Simon
- Photographic prints
- Poets -- United States -- 20th century
- Poets, American -- 20th Century -- Archives
- Publishers and publishing -- United States
- Rannit, Aleksis
- Shapiro, Karl, 1913-2000
- Small presses -- United States
- Sound recordings
- Stefanile, Felix, 1920-
- Stillinger, Jack
- Ullman, Pierre L., 1929-
- Weil, James L.
- Title
- Guide to the James L. Weil Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- by Beinecke staff
- Date
- 2007-05-16
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.