Guide to the Papers of Melva Thomas

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MS 9003

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Collection Summary

Creator
Melva Thomas
Title
Papers of Melva Thomas
Date Range
1901-1995
Collection Number
MS 9003
Extent
0.42 metres (3 boxes, 1 folio item)
Language of Materials
English
Repository
NLA

Introduction

Scope and Content

The collection contains biographical papers, copies of short stories and material relating to her historical research.

The original donation of 1993 contained the annotated typescripts, research materials, notes, and correspondence used and created by Melva Thomas in the course of writing "The Inky Way" and The Vincent printers. Both works are histories of newspaper publishing in New England and North Coast regions of New South Wales. An abridgment was published of The Vincent printers (Campbelltown: Ruse Publishing, c1980).

In 1997 Thomas made a further donation of biographical papers, including notes, correspondence and early publications, as well as a collection of short stories including five anthologies to which she was a contributor and photocopies of short stories published in The Bulletin and other magazines.

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2825079).

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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Melva Thomas, National Library of Australia, MS 9003, [series and/or file number]'.

Provenance

The original collection was donated by Melva Thomas in June 1993 and an addition in September 1997.

Arrangement

Manuscripts of 'The Inky Way' and The Vincent printers were originally held in ring binders.

Biographical Note

Melva Thomas was born in Dorrigo, N.S.W in 1912. She is the daughter of Reg Vincent, who with his brother Herb, co-founded the Don Dorrigo gazette, which Mrs Thomas worked on as a reporter for seven years. The Vincent family first became involved with newspapers in northern New South Wales and New Zealand over 160 years ago. Newspapers the family has been involved with include the Clarence and Richmond River examiner, the Armidale chronicle, the Glen Innes examiner, the Uralla and Walcha times, and the Moree examiner.

Mrs Thomas is also a short story writer and has had much of her work published in The Bulletin and other magazines. She has published under her maiden name, M.G. Vincent.

Item Descriptions

Class. Original consignment

Ring binder no.1 labelled 'Part 1 of The Vincent printers history by M.G. Vincent'. (File 1-4) - Box 1

Contains typescript of 'The Inky Way' and several pieces of research notes and correspondence.

Ring binder no.2 labelled 'The Vincent Printers. Research material'. (File 5-9) - Box 1

Contains research notes and material interspersed amongst heavily annotated typescripts.

Includes and several pieces of correspondence.

Ring binder no.3 labelled 'The Vincent printers by M.G. Vincent. Manuscript (the original) of The Vincent printers as well as newspapers, articles, clippings, photographs, etc' (File 11-14) - Box 2

Research notes and material are interspersed amongst typescripts with some annotations.

Folio item labelled 'Xerox copies of New Zealand newspapers and N.S.W. newspapers including separate packet of Xerox copies of Don Dorrigo gazette, also special edition of The Inverell times - 1875. The Vincent printers'. (File 15)

Newspapers represented include: Don Dorrigo gazette - 1911-18; Various New Zealand newspapers - 1841-53; Various Northern New South Wales newspapers - 1860-62; 1898-1905; 1959.

Class. Consignment received 9th September 1997

Biographical notes, correspondence and early publications including copies of the 'Sunbeam' supplement to the Sunday Sun 1930-31; list of published short stories and other newspaper clippings. (File 16) - Box 3

Stories published in The Bulletin and other magazines, 1948-65 (photocopied) (File 17-19) - Box 3

Anthologies containing Vincent's stories (File 20-24) - Box 3

'Casa Bell', in Le PiĆ¹ Belle Novelle di tutti i paesi 1961, Aldo Martello. Editore.

'Il pericolo Pringle' in Carosello di narratori Australiani, Aldo Martello. Editore, Milano.

'The eye stopper', in The Literary Review, Winter 1963-4.

'The vineyard' in Meanjin Quarterly, no. 110, vol. xxvi, 1967.

'The bettelman', in Coast to coast - Australian stories 1973 chosen by Frank Moorhouse, Angus and Robertson, 1973.


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