The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Ervin Hanwit Tax Papers 1910-1950
© 2009 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Tax, Ervin Hanwit. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1910-1950 |
| Size: | 6 linear feet (12 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Ervin Hanwit Tax (1910-1950) writer. The collection includes articles on political and sociological topics; correspondence, notably with his brother, Sol Tax, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, and Louis Wirth; and drafts of Tax's epic poem, The Wraith of Gawain. |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Tax, Ervin Hanwit. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Ervin Hanwit Tax was born on June 14, 1910 in Milwaukee, the youngest of four children of Morris and Kate Hanwit Tax. After high school, he chose to attend only one year of college, but was a voracious reader and prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Tax's writings ranged from economics to aesthetics to sociology. He authored several plays, movie scripts, and a novella as well.
Erwin Tax lived at home in Milwaukee, and with his brother, Sol Tax, in Chicago. When the United States entered World War II, Ervin Tax enlisted and served with the Army in North Africa and Italy. While abroad he composed an epic poem, The Wraith of Gawain, fragments of which he sent home in letters to his brother. Upon returning to the United States after the war, Ervin secured a publisher, the Decker Press, for his epic. The Decker Press delayed publication of Tax's poem for so long that he eventually visited the business, finding it in disarray. Tax took an interest in the press and offered his assistance; by 1948, he had invested heavily in the company, eventually owning it. Although indebted, the Decker Press began to turn a profit. The Wraith of Gawain was published and considered a success. Ervin Hanwit Tax was killed on May 10, 1950.
The Ervin Hanwit Tax Papers comprise 6 linear feet of manuscript material. The collection includes articles on political and sociological topics; correspondence, notably with his brother, Sol Tax, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, and Louis Wirth; and drafts of Tax's epic poem, The Wraith of Gawain.
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Correspondence, Ashcraft-Humphries
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| Box 1 Folder 2 | Correspondence, Kirk-Stoll
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| Box 1 Folder 3 | Correspondence, Tax-Thomas
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| Box 1 Folder 4 | Correspondene, Wells-Yamin
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| Box 1 Folder 5 | Documents relating to military service, copyrights, and patents |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Documents relating to inventions |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | "Defense Strikes, Closed Shop, Common Sense," undated |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | "It's a Small World: A Comedy," 1939? |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | "A Liberal Manifesto: Addressed to Liberals, Socialists, and Marxists," 1939 |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | "A Liberal Manifesto: Addressed to Liberals, Socialists, and Marxists," incomplete copy (pp. 54-136), undated |
| Box 1 Folder 11 | "A Liberal Manifesto: Addressed to Liberals, Socialists, and Marxists," draft, February 1939 |
| Box 1 Folder 12 | Articles of Association, The League for American Ideals, and draft copies, 1940 |
| Box 1 Folder 13 | "Inaugural Declaration of the League for American Ideals," 1940 |
| Box 1 Folder 14 | "Advice to the Lovelorn," 1940 |
| Box 1 Folder 15 | "Dante and Beatrice in the Big City: A Lyric Novella In American Tempo," 1940 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | "The Lady in the Portrait," 1940 |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | "The `Missing Link' in American Foreign Policy," 1940 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | "The Rollcall on the Reef," 1940 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | "The First World Peace," 1941 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | "The Wraith of Gawain," manuscript, 1944 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | "The Wraith of Gawain," typed draft, title to IV-11 |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | "The Wraith of Gawain," typed draft, title to IV-11 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | The Esthetic Spectrum, manuscript notes and citation search |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | The Esthetic Spectrum, manuscript notes and citation search |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | The Esthetic Spectrum, manuscript notes and citation search |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | The Esthetic Spectrum, manuscript notes and citation search |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | The Esthetic Spectrum, manuscript notes and citation search |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | The Esthetic Spectrum, draft one incomplete |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | The Esthetic Spectrum, draft two |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | The Esthetic Spectrum, draft two |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | The Esthetic Spectrum, draft two |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | The Esthetic Spectrum, draft two |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | The Esthetic Spectrum, draft two |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | The Esthetic Spectrum, draft two |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | The Esthetic Spectrum, draft two |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript one |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript one |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript one |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript one |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript one |
| Box 5 Folder 3 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two |
| Box 5 Folder 4 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two |
| Box 6 Folder 1 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two |
| Box 6 Folder 2 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two |
| Box 6 Folder 3 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two |
| Box 6 Folder 4 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two, carbon |
| Box 6 Folder 5 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two, carbon |
| Box 6 Folder 6 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two, carbon |
| Box 6 Folder 7 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two, carbon |
| Box 6 Folder 8 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two, carbon |
| Box 6 Folder 9 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two, carbon |
| Box 6 Folder 10 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two, carbon |
| Box 6 Folder 11 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two, carbon |
| Box 7 Folder 1 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two, carbon |
| Box 7 Folder 2 | The Esthetic Spectrum, typescript two, carbon |
| Box 7 Folder 3 | Descriptive Prospectus, "Theory of Monadism and Universal Mechanics," undated |
| Box 7 Folder 4 | "A Platform for Progressives," 1945 |
| Box 7 Folder 5 | "A Private's Prescription for Permanent Peace," undated, 5 copies |
| Box 7 Folder 6 | "A Private's Prescription for Permanent Peace," undated, 5 copies |
| Box 7 Folder 7 | "A Private's Prescription for Permanent Peace," undated, 5 copies |
| Box 7 Folder 8 | "A Private's Prescription for Permanent Peace," undated, 5 copies |
| Box 7 Folder 9 | "A Private's Prescription for Permanent Peace," undated, 5 copies |
| Box 7 Folder 10 | "The Baggage: A Comedy in Two Acts," 1945 |
| Box 7 Folder 11 | "The Burning of Njal's House," 1946 |
| Box 8 Folder 1 | "The Ten Errors of Marxism," 1946 |
| Box 8 Folder 2 | "Eleven Errors On The Left: A Liberal Manifesto," early corrected draft, 1946 |
| Box 8 Folder 3 | "Eleven Errors On The Left: A Liberal Manifesto," galleys |
| Box 8 Folder 4 | "Mr. Columbia's Dream: The Vision of Joe Columbia," 1946 |
| Box 8 Folder 5 | Burton Page, "The Decker Press" |
| Box 8 Folder 6 | The Wraith of Gawain, typescript |
| Box 8 Folder 7 | The Wraith of Gawain, typescript |
| Box 8 Folder 8 | The Wraith of Gawain, typescript |
| Box 9 Folder 1 | The Esthetic Spectrum, notes on sources and footnotes, typed cards |
| Box 10 Folder 1 | The Esthetic Spectrum, notes on sources and footnotes, manuscript cards |
| Box 11 Folder 1 | The Esthetic Spectrum, microfilm of text, 3 reels |
| Box 11 Folder 2 | The Wraith of Gawain, microfilm, 1 reel |
| Box 11 Folder 3 | Scale models of inventions |
| Box 12 Folder 1 | The Wraith of Gawain (Prairie City, Illinois: James Decker, 1948), inscribed by the author to Louis Wirth |
| Box 12 Folder 2 | The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, inscribed by Ervin Tax |
| Box 12 Folder 3 | The English Poems of John Milton, inscribed by Archie Tax |