Guide to the Papers of Martin Boyd

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MS 6810

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Created: May 1983

Collection Summary

Creator
Martin Boyd
Title
Papers of Martin Boyd
Date Range
1911, 1947-1972
Collection Number
MS 6810
Extent
0.4 metres (41 folders)
Language of Materials
English
Repository
National Library of Australia

Introduction

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn686011) for the access conditions.

Conditions Governing Use

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred Citation

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Martin Boyd, National Library of Australia, MS 6810, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Item Descriptions

Series 1. General Correspondence

Boyd's diaries show that he received many thousands of letters during his residence in Rome, 1957-1972. It is not clear why he retained the ones he did, although he does seem to have kept letters concerning Why They Walk Out. The correspondents include members of the Boyd family, Sir Walter Crocker, Australian Ambassador to Italy, 1967-1970, many of Boyd's friends, e.g. Alan Shadwick, Hugh Fausset, Joan Burnett, Dallas Kenmare; Australian academics such as Dorothy Green, Brian Elliott, and Leonie Kramer, and editorial staff from Lansdowne Press. Comprises Folders 1-12.

Series 2. Diaries

The diaries comprise eight volumes covering the period August 1955 - May 1972. They include, for most years, details of the letters Boyd wrote and received and summaries of his literary earnings. Boyd kept a diary for many years before 1955 but the whereabouts of these earlier volumes is not known. The 1955-1972 diaries give a detailed account of Boyd's day-to-day life, from August 1955 when he was living at Trumpington Hall, Cambridge; they cover the entire period of his residence in Rome (1957 to 1972). Comprises Folders 13-17

Series 3. Manuscripts

These consist of handwritten drafts of the article 'De Gustibus", and of chapter 22 of Day of My Delight with insertions; two typescripts of Day of My Delight, one with handwritten chapter headings, corrections and index; and an uncorrected typescript of the short story "Expatriates Dine". Copies of the published versions of "Expatriates Dine", 'De Gustibus", and 'The Young Are Good' extract from Why They Walk Out are included, as well as two copies of Why They Walk Out. Comprises Folders 18-23.

Series 4. Notebooks

There are two small notebooks which contain notes for Why They Walk Out, originally called 'The Divine Comparison', and an early draft of 'De Gustibus'. Comprises Folder 24.

Series 5. Financial Documents

This series comprises cheque books, bank statements, receipts and royalty statements, mainly for the period 1969-1972. It includes notification from the Office of the High Commissioner for Australia and the ANZ Bank regarding the payment of Boyd's Commonwealth Literary Fund pension, 1971-1972. The 1961 contract for When Blackbirds Sing with Abelard Schumann is also in this series, as well as a note from Mario Scopel, printer, giving an estimate of, costs for printing Why They Walk Out. Comprises Folders 25-26.

Series 6. Personal Papers

Material in this series includes Boyd's passports, 1947-1952, 1957-1962 and Italian visa, 1957-1961; doctors' prescriptions and pathology reports; invitations including one to the exhibition of Martin Boyd's water-colours and drawings at South Yarra Gallery, 27 October 1967. Comprises Folder 27.

Series 7. Paintings and Drawings

This series contains many drawings by Boyd, executed in pencil, crayon and ink, and a number of watercolours. It also includes a list, in Boyd's handwriting of paintings labelled "Showable? 30 May 1965" and "Possible for Luc" (i.e. Luciano Trombini). There is also his design for the dust jacket of The Tea-Time of Love. Comprises Folders 28-29.

Series 8. Photographs

This series includes photographs of Boyd, alone and with others, e.g. Alan Shadwick and Luciano Trombini. They are of the period of his years in Rome, with the exception of two early items: a photograph of Boyd with the History and English VI Pass Class at Trinity Grammar School in September 1911 and one of Yarra Glen c. 1929 sent to Boyd by D. Chable. Comprises Folder 30.

There are 97 photographs of Martin Boyd's own paintings and several photographs of subjects he used in his paintings.

Also included are negatives and 18 unused postcards, including two of Ostia Lido.

Series 9. Greeting Cards

This series comprises 34 Christmas cards, including some hand-painted cards by Boyd's sister, Helen a 'Beckett Read. Comprises Folder 31.

Series 10. Press Cuttings

Included in this series are published letters by Boyd to newspapers, reviews of some of his books, in particular Outbreak of Love, Much Else in Italy and Day of My Delight and the Lansdowne edition of the Langlow novels, and a range of miscellaneous newspaper cuttings on a variety of topics, such as Australian painting, censorship, war, church affairs, and some relating to friends and members of his family. Comprises Folders 32-34.

Series 11. Pamphlets and Manuscripts by Friends and Acquaintances

This series comprises poems written by Joan Burnett, Gerard Shelley and Luciane Trombini, including two dedicated to Boyd, monographs, pamphlets and articles written by friends and acquaintances, including an inscribed copy of E.G. Whitlam's Beyond Vietnam, and Kathleen Fitzpatrick's monograph, Martin Boyd, annotated by Boyd. Comprises Folders 35-36.

Series 12. Miscellaneous

This series comprises Folders 37-41. Various items, including the following.

(a) a number of envelopes, which give evidence of Boyd's many changes of address while in Rome

(b) horoscopes prepared by Boyd, together with Raphael's Astronomical Ephemeris of the Planets's Places, 1962-1972. (Some with covers decorated by Boyd).

(c) publications, including List of members of the Society of St Francis, 1971, Trinity Grammar School magazines.

(d) Hugo's Italian Grammar Simplified, with cover decorated by Boyd.

(e) the script of a television advertisement for the Lansdowne editions of the Langlow novels.

(f) a photocopy of a section of a thesis sent to Boyd in February 1972, with references to Boyd's great-grandfather, William a'Beckett.

Series 13. Additions to the Collection

This series includes Material added to the papers in November 1993 (correspondence, 1961-1971, Martin Boyd to Mr & Mrs Dagnall Ells; letter from Mrs Ells to Guy Boyd 27.10.1983) and items transferred from MS 6812 (Penguin edition of Lucinda Brayford, 27 letters from Martin Boyd to Guy Boyd and Phyllis Boyd, and paintings and sketches).


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