Robert Hammond Papers
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Abstract
Robert Hammond (1920-2009) was an educator and author in French literature and cinema. He taught at the University of Arizona-Tuscon, Harvard University, and SUNY-Cortland, where he also served as chair of the International Communications and Culture Department. Hammond wrote numerous plays, published analyses and criticisms of French filmography, translated various texts, and contributed to the scholarship on French theater and cinema. The Robert Hammond Papers contain original manuscripts of plays, books, articles, interviews, correspondence and other collected works of Hammond.
Biographical Note
Robert Hammond (b. 1920) was Professor Emeritus of French Literature and Cinema at SUNY-Cortland. He earned a BA from the University of Rochester (1942), and both an MA (1947) and PhD (1952) from Yale University. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to France (1949-1950) along with numerous other honors, fellowships and grants. Hammond was an instructor, and then professor of French at the University of Arizona-Tuscon (1953-1967). He later was professor of French at Harvard University (1965-1966), and a visiting professor of French Literature and Cinema at Wells College in Aurora, NY (1967-1968). After 1968 Hammond taught at SUNY-Cortland, where he also served as chair of the International Communications and Culture Department.
Along with being a dedicated instructor, Hammond published numerous analyses and critiques of French literature and films, translated texts between French and English, and contributed countless papers and general scholarship on the French cinema. Much of Hammond's extensive scholarly work focused on French filmmaker Jean Cocteau, and his bilingual edition of Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast (NYU Press, 1970) is widely cited within the academy. Hammond wrote over 40 plays in both English and French and various other works of both poetry and prose. Hammond died in May 2009 in Paris, France.
Arrangement
Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject within each subseries.
The files are grouped into 6 series:
Missing Title
- Series I: Manuscripts, Play and Film Scripts
- Series II: Manuscripts, Prose
- Series III: Interviews
- Series IV: Miscellaneous
- Series V: Correspondence
- Series VI: Production Photos
Scope and Content Note
The Robert Hammond Papers consist of 14 boxes or approximately 12 linear feet of materials. The majority of the collection represents original manuscripts of plays, films, books and other prose authored by Hammond. Most contain various drafts and formats of a particular item, including handwritten pages, typed or mimeographed sheets, both bound and unbound. The Papers also include the work of other authors and playwrights, most notably a collection of plays written by Pascal Vrebos, a friend of Hammond. Also included with the Papers are research materials, reviews & news clippings, production notes and receipts, correspondence, and other various notes and annotations regarding his creative works. The majority of the collection is in English, with some French manuscripts where noted.
SERIES 1: Manuscripts: Play and Film Scripts
Series I contains numerous drafts and formats of various play and film scripts. Series 1 consists of 6 boxes (8 linear feet) and is divided into 5 subseries.
Subseries I.A contains five boxes of scripts written by Robert Hammond.
Subseries I.B contains scripts written by Pascal Vrebos
Subseries I.C contains scripts written by various other authors
Subseries I.D contains scripts of unidentified authorship (presumably by Hammond)
Subseries I.E contains various notes regarding unwritten plays
SERIES II: Manuscripts: Prose
Series II contains numerous drafts and formats of various fiction and non-fiction books and articles. Series II consists of 2 boxes (3 linear feet) and is divided into 4 subseries.
Subseries II.A contains prose written by Robert Hammond.
Subseries II.B contains prose written by various other authors
Subseries II.C contains prose of unidentified authorship (presumably by Hammond)
Subseries II.D contains various notes regarding unwritten prose
SERIES III: Interviews
Series III contains interviews conducted by Robert Hammond and is divided into 2 subseries.
Subseries III.A contains written interviews conducted by Robert Hammond.
Subseries III.B contains 28 audiocassettes of interviews conducted by Robert Hammond
SERIES IV: Miscellaneous
Series IV contains various printed material and media and is divided into 3 subseries.
Subseries IV.A contains various French cinema publications featuring screenplays and directors.
Subseries IV.B contains various French cinema promotional materials
Subseries IV.C contains one box of: diskettes containing various correspondence, audio tapes and a large-format, dated database printout of the Hammond Film Script Archive
SERIES V: Correspondence
Series V contains 1 box (1.5 linear feet) of correspondence Robert Hammond received from various professional and personal acquaintances.
SERIES VI: Production Photos
Series VI contains original production photos (along with photocopies) of three French films.
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Access Restrictions
Materials are open to researchers. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Use Restrictions
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The Robert Hammond Papers ; MSS 164; [box number]; [folder number]; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.
Location of Materials
Provenance
The Robert Hammond Papers were donated to the Fales Library in 1995 by Robert Hammond.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Audiovisual and born-digital materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers.
Separated Material
There is no information about materials that are associated by provenance to the described materials that have been physically separated or removed.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2019 have not yet been recorded. In February 2019 materials for Box 1, Box 41 and Box 42 were prepared to be sent offsite. Documents were placed in new archival folders. Materials were kept in their original order in the box.
In April 2019, accession 2003.164 box 1 were prepared for offsite storage by rehousing materials in original order in acid-free archival folders and box 44 was created. A/V materials were rehoused in shared fales box 023.
