The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Israel Solon Collection 1918-1940s
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The Israel Solon Collection was processed and preserved as part of the "Uncovering New Chicago Archives Project," funded with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
| Title: | Solon, Israel. Collection |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1918-1940s |
| Size: | 8 linear feet (6 boxes, 1 folder) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Israel Solon, American writer of fiction and critical prose, was associated with the literary and artistic avant-garde of the 1910s-1920s. The collection contains art and literary publications, manuscripts, proofs, artworks, photographs, correspondence and ephemera. Included are proofs of the April 1920 issue of the Little Review; copies of Three Worlds Monthly in which the first three parts of James Joyce's Ulysses were published; photographs of Jane Heap; a program for an artists' ball inscribed to Heap; journals and manifestos produced by the Dadaist and Futurist movements; correspondence and ephemera related to the mystic philosopher G.I. Gurdjieff; and a preservation photocopy of a circa 1934 typescript of Gertrude Stein's Portraits and Prayers, with an Elucidation. |
The typescript of Gertrude Stein's Portraits and Prayers, with an Elucidation is accessible as a photocopy.
The remainder of the collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Solon, Israel. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Israel Solon was an American writer of fiction and critical prose and a follower of the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff.
In the 1910s and 1920s, Solon was part of a literary and artistic community that included Margaret Anderson, Jane Heap, William Carlos Williams, Djuna Barnes, and other New York avant-garde figures. Solon contributed fiction and prose to modernist avant-garde magazines such as Broom (1922) and Double Dealer (1921), but most prominently to Margaret Anderson’s Little Review (1917-1919).
After the Little Review ceased publication, Solon continued to be associated with Jane Heap, a co-editor of Little Review. At this time and through the 1940s, Solon (like Heap) was an active follower of the Armenian mystic and dance teacher G.I. Gurdjieff. Solon participated in efforts to raise funds to bring Gurdjieff to the United States.
Solon was employed as executive secretary in the Women’s Garment Manufacturers Supply Association during the 1930s and 1940s.
He lived in Chicago, but relocated in the 1910s to New City and New York City, New York.
Boxes 1-2 contain a variety of art and literary publications, manuscripts, proofs, artworks, photographs, newspaper clippings, and programs from art exhibitions and theater performances. Of note are proofs of the April 1920 issue of the Little Review; copies of Three Worlds Monthly in which the first three parts of James Joyce's Ulysses were published; photographs of Jane Heap; journals and manifestos produced by the Italian Futurist movement; and Dadaist journals including New York Dada and several European titles.
Box 3 contains material related to the mystic philosopher G.I. Gurdjieff. This material consists mainly of Solon's correspondence with associates of Gurdjieff who attempted to facilitate the mystic's immigration to the United States during World War II. Other material includes broadsides and tickets for lectures given by P.D. Ouspensky and other followers of Gurdjieff, as well as affidavits, pamphlets and typescripts.
Box 4 contains a preservation photocopy of a circa 1934 typescript of Portraits and Prayers, with an Elucidation, by Gertrude Stein.
Also included is a large broadside program for a 1924 artists' ball (the "Bal Olympique") held by L'Union des Artistes Russes à Paris, and inscribed to Jane Heap by "Narcisse."
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Clippings, 1924-1943 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Mary Butts, Ashe of Rings, typescript, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | The Little Review, proofs, 1920 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | The Little Review, envelope, 1920 |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | The Little Review, proof, 1920 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | The Marionnette, journal, 1918 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Photographs, 1929
|
| Box 1 Folder 8 | The Future/The Zukunft: The Yiddish Monthly, 1920 |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | Two Worlds Monthly, journal, 1926 |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | Two Worlds Monthly, journal, 1926 |
| Box 1 Folder 11 | Two Worlds Monthly, journal, 1926 |
| Box 1 Folder 12 | Unidentified lithograph, 1922 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | New York Dada, journal, 1921 |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | L'Impero, review of Marinetti's Bianca e Rosso, clipping, circa 1920s |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Announcements of the Goodman Theater, bulletin, 1929 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Futurist publications, 1922-1924
|
| Box 2 Folder 5 | The Chicago Literary Times, journals, 1923 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | James Joyce, clippings, 1922-1947 |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | European art and literary journals, 1920-1926
|
| Box 2 Folder 8 | "Balieff's Chauve-Souris of Moscow," theater program, circa 1922 |
| Box 2 Folder 9 | Contact, magazine, circa 1920 |
| Box 2 Folder 10 | La Danse, magazine, 1926 |
| Box 2 Folder 11 | Jacobson, Mina Loy, lithograph, circa 1920s |
| Box 2 Folder 12 | New Democracy, magazines, 1934-1935 |
| Box 2 Folder 13 | Notes, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 14 | Notes, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 15 | Maxwell Anderson, "By Way of Preface The Theater as Religion," clipping, circa 1940s |
| Box 2 Folder 16 | Ezra Pound, pastel portrait, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 17 | International Theatre Exposition, New York, program, 1926 |
| Box 2 Folder 18 | Machine Age Exposition, New York, program, 1927 |
| Box 3 Folder 1-2 | G.I. Gurdjieff associates, correspondence, 1942-1951 |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | G.I. Gurdjieff associates, correspondence and affidavits, 1942-1948 |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | Gurdjieff Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man, pamphlet and membership certificate, circa 1924-1925 |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | G.I. Gurdjieff, Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson or An Objectively Impartial Criticism of the Life of Man, pamphlet and outline, circa 1949 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | Typescripts, circa 1934 |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | Lecture tickets and broadsides, circa 1924-1952 |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | Clippings, 1935-1952 |
| Box 4 Folder 1-2 | Gertrude Stein, Portraits and Prayers, with an Elucidation, photocopy of typescript, circa 1934 |
| Box 4A | Gertrude Stein, Portraits and Prayers, with an Elucidation, typescript, circa 1934 (part 1) |
| Box 4B | Gertrude Stein, Portraits and Prayers, with an Elucidation, typescript, circa 1934 (part 2) |
| Box ITEM 1 | L'Union des Artistes Russes à Paris, Bal Olympique, broadside program inscribed to Jane Heap, 1924 |