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Jane Merchant Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MS-2150

  • Staff Only

This collection is composed primarily of materials related to Jane Merchant's death on January 3, 1972, including an obituary, an announcement for her funeral, and the text for a eulogy by the Reverend Gordon A. Sterchi. It also contains two letters that Merchant wrote, one of which contains a number of details about her early life, and two photographs of Merchant, one of which show her with her mother and sister Elizabeth.

Dates

  • 1957-1972

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)

Abstract

This collection is composed primarily of materials related to Jane Merchant's death on January 3, 1972, including an obituary, an announcement for her funeral, and the text for a eulogy by the Reverend Gordon A. Sterchi. It also contains two letters that Merchant wrote, one of which contains a number of details about her early life, and two photographs of Merchant, one of which show her with her mother and sister Elizabeth.

Biographical/Historical Note

Jane Hess Merchant was born in 1919 in Inskip (Knoxville), Tennessee. She was confined to her bed at age twelve from the congenital bone disease Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or Brittle Bone Disease, which also caused her to go deaf at age twenty-three. Despite her crippling disease, Merchant was an incredibly active and prolific writer. From her bedroom she penned more than 3,000 poems, 2,000 letters, and dozens of prose pieces. Although writing for several years, her first published work, a poem printed in an issue of “Progressive Farmer,” did not appear until 1946. Soon after, other publications like “Good Housekeeping” and “The Saturday Evening Post” were quick to print her work. She also maintained continual correspondence with friends, fans, and publishers throughout her life. Merchant passed away in 1972.

Arrangement

Collection consists of a single folder.

Acquisition Note

The Special Collections Library purchased this collection in October of 2004.

Related Materials

Interested researchers may wish to consult:

  1. MS.0333, Jane Merchant Literary Manuscripts Collection, 1954-1968
  2. MS.1001, Alwin Thaler Papers on Jane Merchant, 1952-1972
  3. MS.2057, Sarah Ricketts Collection of Jane Merchant Material, 1937-1992
  4. MS.3794, Shirley Whitney Kerr Collection of Jane Merchant Material, 1950-2000
  5. MS.3972, "Belated Answer" by Jane Merchant, undated
  6. MS.4016, Jane Merchant Portrait, undated

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480