Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton collection

The Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton collection houses various personal letters, writings, and other material of Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton. Atherton was an American novelist and nonfiction writer in the late nineteenth century, and the collection provides a unique look into her personal life.

The collection is organized into outgoing letters from Atherton, incoming letters, Atherton’s writings, and other material.

The outgoing letters are largely to Clifford Smyth, the editor of the New York Times Saturday Review of Books and Art, in which she discussed her own work and that of other writers, and responses to fan letters, in which Atherton discusses her writing. There is one letter to Atherton from Clarence Louis Cullen. The collection also contains a corrected and signed copy of “Marie Haye, Intellectual Romantic,” by Atherton. There is also a questionnaire from The Manuscript Club, which has been filled out and signed by Atherton, as well as a studio portrait of Atherton by Arnold Genthe, which is inscribed to Clifford Smyth.

Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton was a respected American author of novels, essays, short stories, and articles. She wrote on a variety of subjects, ranging from feminism to politics. The Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton collection provides insight into her relationship with Clifford Smith and with her fans, and would be of value to researchers hoping to gain a more nuanced view of Atherton beyond her published writings.