The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Ramona Bressie Papers 1900-1965
© 2012 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Bressie, Ramona. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1900-1965 |
| Size: | 4 linear feet (8 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | The Ramona Bressie Papers consist of the personal papers, diaries, research, reports, and unpublished fiction of literary scholar Ramona Bressie. It includes her work on the Chaucer Life Project; Roman and Medieval England; and British Libraries before 1450. |
This collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Bressie, Ramona. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Ramona Bressie was born on December 3, 1894. She attended the University of Chicago, receiving a B.A. in 1920 and a M.A. in 1925. In 1928 she received a Ph.D. in English, writing her dissertation on Thomas Usk while under the supervision of Edith Rickert. After completing her degree, she worked with Edith Rickert and John Matthews Manly on the Chaucer Life Records project, an extensive archival search for new documents pertaining to Chaucer's life.
Even though Bressie's dissertation was well received and she made lasting contributions to medieval scholarship, she never held an academic position and spent most of her life as an independent scholar. While her primary focus was Chaucer, her research interests also included Roman and medieval England, and libraries in the British Isles prior to 1450.
She died in 1965.
The Ramona Bressie Papers Collection consists of the personal papers, diaries, research, reports, and unpublished fiction of Ramona Bressie. It includes her work on the Chaucer Life Project; Roman and Medieval England; and British Libraries before 1450.
This collection is separated into four series: Series I Personal; Series II Correspondence; Series III Research; and Series IV Fictional Writings.
Series I, Personal, consists of Bressie's personal notebooks and diaries.
Series II, Correspondence, consists of her personal and professional correspondence.
Series III, Research, consists of research notes, transcriptions, and drafts of academic papers. It is divided into four subseries: Subseries I Chaucer Life Project; Subseries II Research on History of Roman and Medieval England; Subseries III Research on British Libraries before 1450; and Subseries IV Miscellaneous Research.
Series IV consists of typescripts of Bressie's fictional writings.
Series I: Personal |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Personal Notebooks, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Personal Notebooks, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Personal Notebooks, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Diary, 1961 |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | Diary, 1962 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Diary, 1963 [1/2] |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Diary, 1963 [2/2] |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Diary, 1964 [1/2] |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Diary, 1964 [2/2] |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Photographs, undated |
Series II: Correspondence |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Personal Correspondence, 1924-1964 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | Professional Correspondence, 1936-1957 |
Series III: Research |
Subseries I: Chaucer Life Project |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | List of Assignments for Staff Abroad, 1927 |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | "Was Chaucer at the Siege of Paris?" Notes and Drafts, 1940 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | Report of Progress to the Modern Language Association, 1941 |
| Box 2 Folder 9 | Chaucer Research in Progress Reports, 1939-1960 |
| Box 2 Folder 10 | "Memorandum on the copy of the Life-Record," manuscript, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 11 | Research notes and paper regarding "Redstone Manuscript" controversy, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 12 | Summary Description of the Chaucer Life-Records Collection, undated [1/3] |
| Box 2 Folder 13 | Summary Description of the Chaucer Life-Records Collection, undated [2/3] |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | Summary Description of the Chaucer Life-Records Collection, undated [3/3] |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | Summary Description of the Chaucer Life-Records Collection Draft, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | Summary Description of the Chaucer Life-Records Collection Draft, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | Summary Description of the Chaucer Life-Records Collection Notebook Draft, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | Notes, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | Redstone Manuscript Controversy, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | List of Microfilm Contents of Life-Record Collections, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | Chaucer Biography Drafts and Notes, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | Maps, Tracings of Maps, Handwritten Maps, undated [1/2] |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | Maps, Tracings of Maps, Handwritten Maps, undated [2/2] |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | Guidebooks to Chaucerian Towns in England, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | Chaucer's 1359-1360 Itinerary Notes and Drafts, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | "Who was Chaucer?" Notes, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | Manuscript Fragments, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | Miscellaneous Papers Concerning Chaucer, undated |
Subseries II: Research on History of Roman and Medieval England |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | Chapter on Julius Caesar, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 7 | Chapter on Roman Britain, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 8 | Untitled Drafts, undated [1/4] |
| Box 4 Folder 9 | Untitled Drafts, undated [2/4] |
| Box 4 Folder 10 | Untitled Drafts, undated [3/4] |
| Box 4 Folder 11 | Untitled Drafts, undated [4/4] |
| Box 4 Folder 12 | Untitled Draft, undated [1/2] |
| Box 4 Folder 13 | Untitled Draft, undated [2/2] |
Subseries III: Research on British Libraries before 1450 |
| Box 4 Folder 14 | "Libraries of the British Isles in the Anglo-Saxon Period," 1939 |
| Box 4 Folder 15 | Report on Handbook Project, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 16 | Notebooks, undated [1/4] |
| Box 4 Folder 17 | Notebooks, undated [2/4] |
| Box 4 Folder 18 | Notebooks, undated [3/4] |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | Notebooks, undated [4/4] |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | The Leicester Abbey Catalogue, undated [1/3] |
| Box 5 Folder 3 | The Leicester Abbey Catalogue, undated [2/3] |
| Box 5 Folder 4 | The Leicester Abbey Catalogue, undated [3/3] |
| Box 5 Folder 5 | The Leicester Abbey Catalogue Notes, undated [1/2] |
| Box 5 Folder 6 | The Leicester Abbey Catalogue Notes, undated [1/2] |
| Box 5 Folder 7 | Domus Fratrum Predicatorum Manuscript Catalogue, undated |
| Box 5 Folder 8 | Matheus Manuscript Catalogue, undated |
| Box 5 Folder 9 | Fotheringay College and Leicester Abbey Manuscript Catalogue, undated |
| Box 5 Folder 10 | St. Andres, Northampton Manuscript Catalogue, undated |
| Box 5 Folder 11 | Libri Beati Augustini Doctoris Manuscript Catalogue, undated |
| Box 5 Folder 12 | List of English Authors, scribes, parchmenters and stationers, undated |
| Box 5 Folder 13 | R.A. Index, undated |
| Box 5 Folder 14 | Introduction Draft, undated [1/3] |
| Box 5 Folder 15 | Introduction Draft, undated [2/3] |
| Box 5 Folder 16 | Introduction Draft, undated [3/3] |
| Box 6 Folder 1 | "Libraries in the British Isles Before the Conquest" draft, undated |
| Box 6 Folder 2 | "Libraries in the British Isles Before 1450" typescript draft, undated [1/6] |
| Box 6 Folder 3 | "Libraries in the British Isles Before 1450" typescript draft, undated [2/6] |
| Box 6 Folder 4 | "Libraries in the British Isles Before 1450" typescript draft, undated [3/6] |
| Box 6 Folder 5 | "Libraries in the British Isles Before 1450" typescript draft, undated [4/6] |
| Box 6 Folder 6 | "Libraries in the British Isles Before 1450" typescript draft, undated [5/6] |
| Box 7 Folder 1 | "Libraries in the British Isles Before 1450" typescript draft, undated [6/6] |
| Box 7 Folder 2 | "Libraries in the British Isles Before 1450" unsorted typescript draft, undated [1/5] |
| Box 7 Folder 3 | "Libraries in the British Isles Before 1450" unsorted typescript draft, undated [2/5] |
| Box 7 Folder 4 | "Libraries in the British Isles Before 1450" unsorted typescript draft, undated [3/5] |
| Box 7 Folder 5 | "Libraries in the British Isles Before 1450" unsorted typescript draft, undated [4/5] |
| Box 8 Folder 1 | "Libraries in the British Isles Before 1450" unsorted typescript draft, undated [5/5] |
Subseries IV: Miscellaneous Research |
| Box 8 Folder 2 | "The Date of Thomas Usk's Testament of Love," 1928 |
| Box 8 Folder 3 | Manual for use in English IIIa, undated |
| Box 8 Folder 4 | "Beowulf," undated |
| Box 8 Folder 5 | "John Malverne," undated |
| Box 8 Folder 6 | "Letter Patent of Great Seal, 36 Charles I," undated |
| Box 8 Folder 7 | Miscellaneous Professional Documents, undated |
Series IV: Fictional Writings |
| Box 8 Folder 8 | "The Last Thesis; or a Ghost Allayed in Harper Stacks," 1929 |
| Box 8 Folder 9 | "Professor Folio's Library," undated |
| Box 8 Folder 10 | "To the Queen's and Mr. Gibson's Taste," undated |
| Box 8 Folder 11 | "Warty Higgins, the Toad," undated |
| Box 8 Folder 12 | "Unidentified Fragment," undated |