Frank Laurence Collection-Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park
Scope and Contents
Over thirty screenplays, fourteen vinyl records, seventeen folders of promotional materials, and twenty-two posters were collected by Frank M. Laurence. The collection showcases how the works of Ernest Hemingway were adapted, recorded, and advertised to the masses for over 6 decades of the 20th century through the mediums of film and television.
Dates
- 1905-1987
Language of Materials
English
Biographical / Historical
Dr. Frank M. Laurence was an Ernest Hemingway scholar who wrote the book “Hemingway and the Movies,” published in 1981. The book was based on his thesis he wrote at the University of Pennsylvannia. He received degrees in English and American literature from Yale University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Pennsylvania. He served as a faculty member of the Mississippi University for Women in the 1970s and 1980s.
Laurence actively communicated with the Foundation during its early years and attended the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park’s Hollywood and Hemingway event in July 1986, which corresponded with Hemingway's birthday. Laurence provided commentary for the seven films shown, supporting the film festival's purpose of showing how Hollywood and the medium of film interpreted Hemingway’s works and characters.
Extent
10 Linear Feet
Abstract
A personal collection of items from the 1900s - 1980s curated by scholar and author Frank M. Laurence, that consists of screenplays for film, television, and radio; 33 1/3rd vinyl records; and lobby cards, promotional materials, sheet music; and posters; that document how the entertainment industry has adapted the works of Ernest Hemingway. Laurence acquired the items while doing research for his 1981 book "Hemingway and the movies," and donated his collection in several accruals over subsequent years.
Accruals
The collection was donated by Frank M. Laurence and processed by the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park in different stages between 1994-1997 and in 2007. Laurence first donated the twenty-two movie posters in 1994 to the EHFOP, which were processed between 1997-1998. A majority of the movie posters were originally exhibited in the Museum, while the remaining posters were housed in two flat file drawers in the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park Archives housed at the Oak Park Public Library's Special Collections. Several of the posters in flat file drawers are mounted on foamcore for display purposes. In 1995 Laurence donated fourteen vinyl records, which were processed in 1998. Thirty screenplays were donated in 1997 and were processed at two separate times: the first eighteen screenplays were processed in 1997, while the remaining twelve screenplays were processed in 2004. A majority of the screenplays were rehoused in two legal size boxes and one half size legal box. The promotional materials were donated by Laurence in 1997 and processed in 2004. In 2016-2017 one new folder was created to rehouse promotional materials for a different version of one of the films. Laurence's final donation was in 2007, a piece of sheet music commissioned for one of the film adaptions, which was processed the same year. Additional posters were transferred to the Archives after the closure of the Museum in 2017 and are now housed in a flat file case.
Bibliography
Physical Description
Thirty screenplays, each housed separately in their own individual folder in two legal size boxes; one-half size legal box; and one cubic foot box; includes both bound and unbound screenplays. Fourteen vinyl records, with the vinyl records housed in plastic sleeves and their respective album jackets housed in plastic sleeves; both separated from each other to prevent damage in one vinyl record box. Seventeen folders of lobby cards and promotional materials for motion pictures, radioplays, and television shows; with a piece of sheet music commissioned specifically for one of the films housed in a flat file box. Twenty-two movie posters housed in two flat file drawers.
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park Archives Repository
