George and Helen Papashvily
Archives
Held by Special Collections, Linderman Library
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015
Call No.: SC MS 0090
24 boxes and 5 cartons; 17 linear feet
Abstract:
George and Helen Papashvily Archives consists of manuscripts, correspondence with publishers and agents, and clippings of articles Helen Papashvily wrote. Also included are photographs of George's sculptures, exhibition catalogs and programs, and correspondence concerning his ventures. The third section of the material includes cartons of letters from readers, fans, and friends; a box of slides and other ephemera, including the two hoods from their honorary degrees.
Contact Information:
Special Collections
Linderman Library
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, USA
Phone: 610-758 4506
Fax: 610-758 6091
URL: http://www.lehigh.edu/library/speccoll/specialcoll.html
Processed by
Staff
Processing Date
1996
Repository
Lehigh University, Linderman Library, Special Collections
Creator
George Papashviliy, 1898-1978
Helen Papashvily, 1906-1996
Title
George and Helen Papashvily Archives
Restrictions to Access
This collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Cite as: [Identification of item], George and Helen Papashvily Archives, SC MS 0090, Special Collections, Linderman Library, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
Acquisition Information
Acquired in 1996
Provenance
The material in this collection was donated to Lehigh University after Helen Papashviliy’s death in 1996.
Copyright Notice
Please inquire about copyright information.
Biographical / Historical Note
George Papashvily was born in Caucasus, the village called Kobiantkari (Kartli region of Eastern Georgia), Georgia in August 23, 1898, and came to the United States in 1922. A series of jobs led him to California, where he met and married his wife, Helen.
Helen Waite was born in Stockton, California, in 1906, educated in the public schools there, and The University of California, Berkeley (1924-1928), majoring in English literature. She worked in California, and opened her own antiquarian book store, where she specialized in children's books and the domestic novels of the 19th century.
George and Helen met in 1931, and got married. He was, by now a sculptor. In 1935 they moved to Pennsylvania, where they bought Ertoba Farm outside Quakertown, and lived there until George’s death in 1978, and where Helen resided into the 80's. She died in 1996 in California.
When they lived in Pennsylvania, Helen bought an antiquarian bookstore in Allentown, renamed it Moby Dick, and maintained a general stock of old and out of print books, specializing in children's books, the domestic novel of the 19th century, and Pennsylvania.
In 1945, they together wrote a small book, “Anything Can Happen,” detailing George's experiences as an immigrant, which was co-selected for the Book-of-the-Month Club and was a best-seller, selling more than 600,000 copies in the USA and 1.5 million worldwide. It was translated into 15 foreign languages. Hollywood made it into a movie in 1952, starring Jose Ferrer as George, and Kim Hunter as Helen. George and Helen collaborated on five other books; “Yes and No Stories,” a collection of Georgian folk tales; “Dogs and People,” “Russian. Cooking,” and “Home and Home Again,” the story of George's childhood and youth and his return visit after sixty years in the U.S.
Helen wrote “Louisa May Alcott,” a biography for younger readers; “All the Happy Endings,” a review of-the domestic novel in America in the 19th century. Between 1950-1970, she also wrote for many popular magazines of the day, including The Herald Tribune Sunday Magazine, N.Y. Times Magazine, Holiday, Gourmet, Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, as well as for several children's magazines, including Jack and Jill, American Girl and others.
Scope and Content Note
George and Helen Papashvily Archives consists of twenty four manuscript boxes and 6 cartons of manuscripts, correspondence with publishers and agents, and clippings of articles by Helen Papashvily. (Section 1) Also included are photographs of George's sculptures, exhibition catalogs and programs, and correspondence concerning his ventures.(Section 2) The third section of the material includes cartons of fan letters, extensive correspondence to the couple from friends, a box of slides and other ephemera, including the two hoods from her honorary degrees.
Organization of the Content
Indexing Terms
Personal names
Papashvily, George, 1898-1978
Papashvily, Helen, 1906-1996
Corporate names
Geographical names
Georgia (Republic)
Bucks County (Pa.)
Topical subject
Artists, Georgian – 20th century
Sculptors—Unites States
Genre index term
Notebooks
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Occupations
Writers
Sculptors
Related Material
Description of Collection
Box 1: Biographical material
Folder 1:01 Biographical information Folder 1:02 Material sold prior to 1945
Folder 1:03 Letters of Ann Parrish 1940s-1950s
Folder 1:04 George's obituary and comments 1978
Folder 1:05 Passport problems 1950s
Folder 1:06 Plans for European and Russian trip 1961
Folder 1:07 “Sold” not published
Folder 1:08 PA Historical & Museum Comm. 1983
Folder 1:09 Bank books, deeds
Folder 1:10 Misc. correspondence
Folder 1:11 Lehigh University Honorary Degree 1985
Folder 1:12 Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania 1986
Box 2: Helen's agent
Folder 2:01 Correspondence with agent 1945-48
Folder 2:02 Correspondence with agent 1949
Folder 2:03 Correspondence with agent 1950
Folder 2:04 Correspondence with agent 1951
Folder 2:05 Correspondence with agent 1952-53
Folder 2:06 Correspondence with agent 1954
Folder 2:07 Correspondence with agent 1955-57
Folder 2:08 Correspondence with agent 1958-60
Folder 2:09 Correspondence with agent 1961-65
Folder 2:10 Correspondence with agent 1970s
Folder 2:11 Correspondence with Nannine Joseph 1973-74
Folder 2:12 Expense vouchers (trip on Russian cooking 1969
Folder 2:13 Nannine Joseph materials
Box 3: Business: 1940s-1950s
Folder 3:01 Lectures 1940s
Folder 3:02 Business letters 1940s
Folder 3:03 Translations, permissions 1944-1965
Folder 3:04 Translations, etc. 1950s
Folder 3:05 Paramount Pictures 1950s
Folder 3:06 Correspondence with Sterling North 1950s-1960s
Folder 3:07 Harper's Magazine 1940s-1960s
Folder 3:08 Misc. Information
Box 4: Royalties etc.
Folder 4:01 Royalty statements 1940s
Folder 4:02 Royalty statements 1960s
Folder 4:03 Royalty statements 1970s
Folder 4:04 Lippincot Royalties
Folder 4:05 Royalties Jack & Jill, Scott Foresman
Folder 4:06 Correspondence re Russian cook book
Folder 4:07 Correspondence with Harpers re payments
Folder 4:08 Correspondence re payments 1970s
Box 5: Correspondence
Folder 5:01 Speaking engagements 1947-1950
Folder 5:02 “What do you know about Russia?” 1946
Folder 5:03 Programs and publicity
Folder 5:04 Nannine Joseph - recipes
Folder 5:05 Recipes for book
Folder 5:06 Letters from Elizabeth
Box 6: Magazine Articles
Folder 6:01 Typescripts of magazine articles
Folder 6:02 Clippings of articles from magazines
Folder 6:03 Magazine articles
Folder 6:04 Magazine articles 1960s
Folder 6:05 Hat from Hangtown (TV play) typescript
Folder 6:06 Holiday magazine correspondence
Folder 6:07 Handbook of herbs...for Holiday
Folder 6:08 Holiday magazine clippings
Box 7: Articles - mostly Holiday Magazine
Folder 7:01 “Six tours of San Francisco”
Folder 7:02 cookbooks--correspondence
Folder 7:03 “Handbook of Garden Flowers” Holiday
Folder 7:04 “Handbook of 20th Century Antiques” Holiday
Folder 7:05 “Handbook of Kitchens” Holiday
Folder 7:06 Shunpike-Redwoods-San Francisco to Mendocino for Holiday
Folder 7:07 Correspondence, notes on Spas
Folder 7:08 Spa articles
Folder 7:09 “Handbook of American Spas” (4 copies)
Folder 7:10 “Handbook of Breakfasts” for Holiday
Folder 7:11 Holiday resignations 1964
Folder 7:12 Philco Television Playhouse “Anything can Happen” 1950
Folder 7:13 “The Hat from Hangtown” 2 drafts
Box 8: Books
Folder 8:01 Galleys, “Anything Can Happen”
Folder 8:02 “Anything can Happen” abridged version
Folder 8:03 “All the Happy Endings” correspondence, etc.
Folder 8:04 “Yes and No Stories” manuscript. and notes
Folder 8:05 “Home and Home Again” manuscript.
Folder 8:06 “Home and Home Again” manuscript.
Folder 8:07 Typescript “Home and Home Again”
Box 9: Books
Folder 9:01 “My Friend Kola”
Folder 9:02 “Yes and No Stories” manuscript.
Folder 9:03 “Home and Home Again” galleys
Folder 9:04 “Louisa May Alcott”
Folder 9:05 “Louisa May Alcott” manuscript.
Folder 9:06 Correspondence with Caroline Lee Hentz related to Notable American Women 1950s
Box 10: Manuscripts and other material
Folder 10:01 “Thanks to Noah” (Early manuscript)
Folder 10:02 “Thanks to Noah” typescript 1950
Folder 10:03 Revisions and Publicity
Folder 10:04 “Scrapbook file”
Folder 10:05 Clippings, etc. 1940s and 1980s
Folder 10:06 Harper & Row 1960s-1980s
Box 11: Books and pamphlets approximately 30 books and pamphlets used for articles; card file “Bibliography of books in English relating to Georgia”
Box 12: Fan letters
Folder 12:01 Fan letters after publication of “Anything Can Happen” in 1945
Box 13: Fan letters
Folder 13:01 Fan letters
Folder 13:02 Fan letters
Folder 13:03 Fan letters 1947-48
Folder 13:04 Fan letters 1951
Box 14: Hoods
Hood from Honorary degrees
Box 15: George Papashvily material
Folder 15:01 Sales tax & exemption 1969-78
Folder 15:02 Retrospective, Kemerer and Albright 1978
Folder 15:03 Allentown Art Museum
Folder 15:04 Misc. re sculpture
Folder 15:05 Correspondence re sales 1970s
Folder 15:06 “Old Price Book” sculptures
Folder 15:07 Correspondence re sculptures
Folder 15:08 Hazleton Art League
Folder 15:09 Community Gallery of Lancaster County
Folder 15:10 Kemerer Museum, Bethlehem
Folder 15:11 Newman Galleries, Philadelphia
Folder 15:12 Art Association, Harrisburg
Folder 15:13 William Penn Memorial Museum, Harrisburg
Folder 15:14 Gallery 100, Princeton, NJ
Box 16: George's Sculpture: Programs and Correspondence
Folder 16:01 Philadelphia Free Library
Folder 16:02 Woodmere Art Gallery, Philadelphia
Folder 16:03 Reading Public Museum & Art Gallery
Folder 16:04 Provident National Bank, Philadelphia
Folder 16:05 Greystone Gallery
Folder 16:06 Williamsburg, VA
Folder 16:07 Gallery West, & Greystone, California
Folder 16:08 Fleisher Art Gallery, Philadelphia
Folder 16:09 Donmart Interiors, Reading, PA
Folder 16:10 C West Gallery
Box 17: Programs
Folder 17:01 Collection of programs and clippings showing George's work
Box 18: Photographs:
Approximately 50 photos of sculptures
Album of shots of George
Photos of their house
Other misc. photos of them
Box 19: Photographs
Photos and albums of George's sculptures
Some programs and clippings
George's initials in Georgian (cardboard)
Box 20: George's patents
(Tubular box) with rolled drawings
Box 21: Slides
Boxes of slides and two reels of tape
Box 21: Scrapbooks
Two large scrapbooks of mounted clippings.
Photo of Helen with Governor and Mrs. Thornburg
Box 22: Slides, Videos, Records Two tin boxes of slides
Video of interview with George Two audiotapes
Record - Young Book Critics Record of “Anything Can Happen”
Box 23: Scrapbooks
Five scrapbooks of photos of sculpture
Box 24: Letters to Helen & George
Folder 24:01 Responses from article in Saturday Evening Post 1962
Folder 24:02 Personal letters to Helen 1970s -1980s
Carton 25: Letters
Letters to Helen 1970s-1980s
Carton 26: Letters and clippings
Carton of clippings and letters
Carton 27: Letters
Carton of letters to Helen
Carton 28: Letters
Carton of letters to Helen