The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Martin Flavin Papers 1902-1966
© 2008 University of Chicago Library
The Martin Flavin Papers were processed and preserved as part of the "Uncovering New Chicago Archives Project," funded with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
| Title: | Flavin, Martin. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1902-1966 |
| Size: | 7.5 linear feet (8 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Martin Archer Flavin, author and playwright. Flavin wrote short stories, novels, screenplays, essays, and several plays that were produced on Broadway. Flavin won the Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for his novel, Journey in the Dark. The Martin Flavin Papers contain manuscripts, plays, memoirs, travel journals, essays, novels, short stories, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and scrapbooks. These papers document Flavin's writing career, family, and personal life. |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Flavin, Martin. Papers, [Box#, Folder#], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Martin Archer Flavin was born in San Francisco on November 2, 1883. Flavin was married three times and had three children from his first two marriages. He attended the University of Chicago from 1903-1905 where he was active in student theatre as well as the Sigma Chi Fraternity. For a short time he served in the United States Army in field artillery. He was a business man for a period of twelve years, beginning as an office boy and working himself up to the vice presidency of a wallpaper company, but left in 1929 to fully devote his life to writing.
As a playwright, Flavin had numerous plays appear on Broadway between 1923 and 1937. His play, "Children of the Moon" (1923) was praised by critics and saw nearly 100 performances. In 1929 he had three plays on Broadway simultaneously, including "Broken Dishes" which featured the debut of Bette Davis. After several plays failed on Broadway, Flavin concentrated on writing screenplays. He was a script writer for MGM from 1930-1934 and several of his plays were adapted for movies. The first cinema version of his play "The Criminal Code" starring Walter Huston and Boris Karloff was nominated for an Oscar in 1931 for Best Writing, Adaptation.
Flavin completed his first novel, Mr. Little-John, in 1940. In 1944 Flavin won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel Journey in the Dark, which also won a $10,000 Harper Prize. Flavin also wrote numerous short stories and essays, many of which were published in popular magazines. Flavin was a member of the Players Club, the Dutch Treat Club, and the Old Capital Club.
Martin Flavin died in Carmel, California on December 28, 1967.
The Martin Flavin Papers are divided into four series: Series I, Personal; Series II, Plays and Novels; Series III, Essays and Short Stories; and Series IV, Oversize. The Martin Flavin Papers contain manuscripts, plays, memoirs, travel journals, essays, novels, short stories, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and scrapbooks. These papers document Flavin's writing career, family, and personal life.
Series I, Personal, contains correspondence, memoirs, travel journals, a master's thesis, and theater programs. The correspondence includes letters to Flavin concerning his play "Blue Jeans" as well as letters from editors of various publications, mostly from The Reader's Digest. His memoir, "Play by Play" recounts Flavin's career as a playwright; the other documents his personal life.
Series II, Plays and Novels, contains manuscripts and drafts of Flavin's plays and books. Three books and seven plays are included.
Series III, Essays and Short Stories, contains short stories and essays that appeared in publications such as The Popular Magazine, Harper's Magazine, The Reporter, The Writer and House Beautiful, as well as manuscripts and drafts of short stories and essays. Also included is a collection of essays and short stories titled "Sketches: Here and There."
Series IV, Oversize, includes three scrapbooks which contain newspaper and magazine clippings, reviews, photographs, telegrams, and programs from many of his plays.
Series I: Personal |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Correspondence, "Blue Jeans", 1937 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Correspondence, Publication Editors, 1948-1966 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Current Biography, 1943 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Grade School Paper, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | Master's Thesis, "The Plays of Martin Flavin," by Robert Williams, 1950 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Memoirs, "Play by Play," 1960 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Memoirs, "Play by Play," 1960 |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | Memoirs, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | Travel Diary, Germany and Russia, 1933 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Travel Diary, Africa, 1948 |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Travel Diary, Japan, 1950 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Travel Diary, Korea, 1950 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Travel Diary, China, 1950 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | Travel Diary, Thailand, 1950 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Travel Diary, Indonesia, 1950-1951 |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | Travel Diary, Malaya, 1951 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | Travel Diary, India, 1951 |
| Box 2 Folder 9 | Travel Diary, Europe, 1951 |
| Box 2 Folder 10 | Travel Diary, Haiti, 1952 |
| Box 2 Folder 11 | Travel Diary, Egypt and Greece, 1954-1955 |
| Box 2 Folder 12 | Travel Diary, Mexico, 1956 |
| Box 2 Folder 13 | Travel Diary, Turkey, 1959 |
| Box 2 Folder 14 | Travel Diary, Russia, 1961 |
| Box 2 Folder 15 | University of Chicago, 1904-1906 |
Series II: Plays and Novels |
| Box 2 Folder 16 | "Blue Jeans," undated |
| Box 2 Folder 17 | "The Cock Crowed" Act I, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 18 | "The Cock Crowed" Act II, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 19 | "The Cock Crowed" Act III, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | Conversations With a Child, 1959 |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | Conversations With a Child, 1959 |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | "The Diamond Bracelet," undated |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | Make Her a Louse, 1934 |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | Make Her a Louse, 1934 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | "Pro Bono Publico," 1958 |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | "The Road to Damascus," undated |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | "The Road to the City," undated |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | "Shucks," undated |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | There Will Always be Rabbits, 1957 |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | There Will Always be Rabbits, 1957 |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | "Too Young to Marry," undated |
Series III: Essays and Short Stories |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | "Aunt Liza," 1909 |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | "The Baby Mint," 1909 |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | "Conversation with Shilendra," 1951 |
| Box 4 Folder 7 | "Discipline Fromo Playwriting," 1946 |
| Box 4 Folder 8 | "The Durban Deep," 1949 |
| Box 4 Folder 9 | "Egypt's Liberation Province, the Beginning of a Beginning," 1955 Folder 10: "The End of a Party," 1915 |
| Box 4 Folder 11 | "Half Jew: Reminiscence in Munich," 1962 |
| Box 4 Folder 12 | "'Incident' in Israel," 1963 |
| Box 4 Folder 13 | "Kallico Dick and His Cactus Bat," 1907 |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | "The Little White Box," 1906 |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | "London in December," 1956 |
| Box 5 Folder 3 | "The Magic Cane," undated |
| Box 5 Folder 4 | "The Man From the Soviet Zone," 1951 |
| Box 5 Folder 5 | "The Other Man," 1906 |
| Box 5 Folder 6 | "Red Blunders in Berlin," 1951 |
| Box 5 Folder 7 | "Report After a Whirlwind Week at Pebble Beach," 1962 |
| Box 5 Folder 8 | "Sketches: Here and There," undated |
| Box 5 Folder 9 | "Sketches: Here and There," undated |
| Box 5 Folder 10 | "Tales From the Canteen – 'Tom'," 1902 |
| Box 5 Folder 11 | "Trictrac," 1958 |
| Box 5 Folder 12 | "Two Nights in 1855," 1955 |
| Box 5 Folder 13 | Untitled, Undated |
Series IV: Oversize |
| Box 6 | Scrapbook, 1923-1930 |
| Box 7 | Scrapbook, 1929-1930 |
| Box 8 | Scrapbook, 1933-1937 |