William Allan Neilson Personal Papers, 1852-1946
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Smith College Archives Northampton, MA
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Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
William Allan Neilson Personal Papers
Creation of William Allan Neilson Personal Papers
Time of Creation of William Allan Neilson Personal Papers
Neilson, William Allan, 1869-1946.
Biographical History for: William Allan Neilson Personal Papers
Biographical Note 1869Born in Doune, Perthshire, Scotland, March 281882-1886Attended Montrose Academy1886-1891Studied at the University of Edinburgh, received M.A.1891Immigrated with family to Canada1891-1895Resident English Master, Upper Canada College, Toronto1895-1898Graduate work in English, Harvard University, M.A. (1897), Ph.D. (1898)1898-1901Associate Professor of English Literature, Bryn Mawr College1901-1904Instructor of English, Harvard University1904-1906Professor of English, Columbia University1905Became American citizen1906-1917Professor of English, Harvard University1906Married Elisabeth Muser in Offenburg, Germany, June 251914-1915Exchange Professor, University of Paris1917-1939President of Smith College1920-1946Trustee, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of EducationServed intermittently on the College Entrance Examination Board1921Initiated Special Honors program at Smith College1924President, Modern Language Association1924-1945Editorial Board of G.C. Merriam and Company1925Started Junior Year Abroad program at Smith College1926-1946Advisory Council, the Open Road, Inc.1930-1946Board of Directors, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People1940-1941Board of Directors, National Refugee Service1940-1945Chair, Executive Committee, Commission to Study the Organization of Peace1941Presided over the International Student Service Summer Student Leadership Institute at Campobello, New Brunswick1942Board of Overseers, Harvard University1943Chair, 1946Died in Northampton, Massachusetts, February 13
Scope and Contents of the Collection The William Allan Neilson Papers consist of 25 linear feet of correspondence, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, press releases, lecture notes, texts of speeches, photographs, and miscellaneous papers which document Neilson's life and career. While these papers contain material dating from Neilson's years at Smith College (1917-1939), his official correspondence as president of the college is stored separately in the College Archives' holdings of records of the Office of the President. The papers document Neilson's personal life with extensive family material. His letters to his brother and sisters are particularly valuable. Among other things these letters present Neilson's view of life at Bryn Mawr College under M. Carey Thomas, his strong opinions on world politics, his experiences tutoring Helen Keller at Radcliffe College, and his first impressions of Smith College. This series of letters is especially strong for the years between Neilson's arrival at Harvard University for graduate study in 1895 and his marriage in 1905. In addition to the Neilson family correspondence there is extensive correspondence between the Neilson and Muser families plus diaries and writings of Elisabeth Muser Neilson, her parents, and her sister. Much of the Muser family material is in German. Other personal material such as photographs, correspondence, class notes, and student essays document Neilson's youth and education. His love of his native Scotland and his study of its language and literature are clearly in evidence in his University of Edinburgh essays. Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1917-1946, document such day-to-day concerns as finances, family health, the running of the household, and travel arrangements. Neilson's career as professor and scholar of English and Scottish literature is represented by class notes and correspondence with students and colleagues which date primarily from his years at Harvard and Radcliffe. Smith College material includes a few notes for courses Neilson taught in the English department but consists primarily of documentation of the events and celebrations of his presidency such as his appointment, inauguration, tenth and twentieth anniversaries, and retirement. Other material documents Neilson's affiliation with scholarly organizations such as the Modern Language Association, the Scottish Text Society, and the Shakespeare Association of America. There are also texts and notes for speeches on Shakespeare and Burns. Neilson's scholarly publications are represented by a number of articles, an unfinished manuscript for a book on allegory, and proofs for a 1942 edition of Shakespeare's plays and poems. Correspondence and news clippings document other writing and editorial projects in different stages of the work. Two such projects of particular interest are the 'five foot shelf' series of Harvard Classics, which Neilson edited with Charles W. Eliot, and the second edition of Webster's New International Dictionary, for which Neilson was editor-in-chief. In addition to his work as professor, administrator, and scholar, Neilson was much in demand for committee work. As a respected educator and administrator, his advice and support was continually sought by educational institutions and organizations. Correspondence documents Neilson's work as a member of various committees for Harvard University, his suggestions on the planning of the campus and curriculum of Bennington College, and his advice and endorsements for the New School for Social Research and a variety of organizations promoting adult education such as the Affiliated Schools for Workers, the Eliot Foundation for Adult Education, and the Committee on University Extension in the Connecticut Valley. Neilson was also well-known for his vigorous support of liberal causes of the day. His political activities are reflected in his involvement with a large number of organizations most of which worked for civil liberties, peace, aid to refugees, or improved foreign relations. This work is documented by correspondence with such organizations as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Foreign Policy Association, the American Society for Cultural Relations with Russia, the National Refugee Service, various League of Nations organizations, and the Commission to Study the Organization of Peace. All of Neilson's interests and concerns are in evidence in his speeches and writings. Texts contained in the papers are a rich source for the study of life at Smith College, and trends in education and politics during Neilson's term as president of Smith (1917-1939). News clippings document the quite considerable attention paid to his views. Neilson was a renowned speaker who seldom prepared a text, preferring to talk from cursory notes made shortly before the speech was to be delivered. Because of this process the texts contained in the papers are almost exclusively transcriptions. Some of them were edited for publication, others remain more or less as they were delivered. The papers also contain some of Neilson's handwritten notes for speeches. Correspondence, citations, and news clippings document Neilson's many awards and honors and a group of biographical articles gives an overview of Neilson's life and work. The papers also contain notes, typescripts, and correspondence for Margaret Farrand Thorp's 1956 biography Nelson of Smith.
lcnaf
Neilson, Elisabeth Muser, 1882-1968.
Thorp, Margaret Farrand, 1891-
Smith College--Presidents.
lcsh
Harvard University--Faculty.
Radcliffe College--Faculty.
Smith College. Office of President.
series
Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL 1852-1982
This series is divided into four sections: 'General;' 'Education;' 'Family;' and 'Writings About Neilson.' 'General' consists of correspondence, news clippings, award certificates and citations, memorabilia, and miscellaneous notes pertaining to Neilson's life, career, and death. The material in this section is arranged by subject with the oversize material in a separate sequence. 'Education' consists of essays, notes, and miscellaneous papers primarily from his years at the University of Edinburgh and at Harvard University. There are two notebooks and an article which pre-date Neilson's college days. This material is arranged chronologically with the oversize material in a separate sequence. 'Family' consists primarily of correspondence with some writings and diaries. Both the Neilson and Muser families are well represented. The material is arranged by family and then alphabetically by individual with oversize material in a separate sequence. 'Writings About Neilson' contains biographical articles and volumes arranged in two sequences alphabetically by title.
General
Newspaper clippings 1873-1982
Biographical sketches 1917-1941, n.d.
Chronology 1869-1946
Genealogy 1927-1939
Awards
Miscellaneous; news clippings, awards, programs 1913-1941, n.d.
Honorary degrees, miscellaneous: citations, news clippings, correspondence, awards 1918-1940
Edinburgh, University of: award, correspondence, news clippings, press release, citation 1928
Foreign Policy Association: award, news clippings 1939
France, Legion of Honor: correspondence, news clippings, press releases, program 1935
Harvard University: correspondence, news clippings 1935
Kenyon College: citation, correspondence, news clippings 1940
McGill University: citation, correspondence, news clippings 1938
Mt. Holyoke College: citation, correspondence, news clippings, honorary degree 1938
National Institute of Immigrant Welfare: speech by James G. MacDonald 1939
Oberlin College: citation, correspondence, news clippings, honorary degree, photographs 1937
Princeton University: correspondence 1937
Probus Club: award, correspondence, news clippings 1939
Smith College anniversary, tributes and honorary degree: citation, news clippings 1927, 1937, 1942
Spain, Order of Alfonso VII: award, citation, news clippings, press releases, photograph 1930
Yale University: citation, correspondence 1927
Correspondence, miscellaneous 1907-1941, n.d.
Death
Burial certificate, correspondence 1946
Memorial service: news clippings, notes 1946 February 16
Obituaries: press releases 1946
Obituaries: news clippings 1946
Tributes 1946
Finances: bills, correspondence 1918-1939
Health: correspondence, charts 1929-1939
Houses
Cambridge, 34 Kirkland Street: correspondence 1917-1921
Maine: correspondence 1919-1928
Retirement: correspondence 1939, June-July
Household
General and miscellaneous: correspondence 1919-1939
Cecile de Saint-Paul: correspondence 1919-1921
Elfriede Schneller: correspondence 1925-1935
Irmgard Zoeppritz: correspondence 1924-1934
Insurance: certificates, correspondence, pamphlets 1890-1939
Miscellany
Article on J.M. Barrie not written by WAN n.d.
Clippings, notes, and poems from "Commonplace Book" circa. 1900
Offenburg notes 1914
Purchases: bills, correspondence, receipts 1918-1939
Travel arrangements: correspondence, passenger lists 1894, 1921-1939
Travel arrangements: passports 1915-1935
Education
Montrose Academy: "The Athletic Sports" (article for school magazine) 1886
Notes on Greek literature 1884
Notes on Greek poetry 1886
University of Edinburgh
Miscellaneous 1886-1891
[See also Box 13]
Certificates and diploma 1886-1891
Letter of recommendation 1890-1891
Essay, "The Basis of Private Property" 1889
Essay, "The Comparison of Ancient and Modern Ethics, Taking as the Test the Cardinal Virtues of the Ancient Philosophy and the Catergorical Imperative of the Modern" 1891
Essay, "Conscience" 1889-1890
Essay, "Free Will" 1889-1890
Essay, "Nationality in Literature" (competition essay) 1890
Essay, "On the Consistency and Inconsistency of the 4th Book of Locke's 'Essay' with the Other 3 Books…" 1890-1891
Essay, "The Place of Synthesis in Philosophy" 1889-1890
Essay, "A Saturday Evening in Edinburgh" 1889
Essay, "Scottish Place Names and Their Origin" 1888
Essay, "Sense Perception and the Various Explanations of It" 1889
Essay, "Shakespeare's Ariel" 1890
Essay, "The Study of Mind as Means of Culture" 1888
Class notes
[See Box 14]
Harvard University
Miscellaneous: correspondence, grades, scholarship notification 1895-98
Notes on Keats and Spenser n.d.
Essay, "Character Drawing in Waverly Novels" 1896
Essay, "Poets' Theories of Poetry" 1896-1897
Essay, "Report on an Investigation into the Attitude of the People of Scotland towards the Church…" 1894?
Notebook, "19th century prose," Mr. Gates 1895-1896
Family
Miscellaneous 1859-1891
Allan, William (uncle): correspondence, memorial tributes 1872-1873, 1928, n.d.
Allan, Mary (cousin): correspondence 1921-1939
Burgess, David and Jim (cousin and nephew): correspondence 1926-1933
Burgess, J. (uncle): correspondence to Doune Sabbath School from Calcutta 1856
Neilson, Allan von Poetz (son): correspondence, news clippings 1921-1925
Neilson, Caroline Louise (daughter): correspondence, news clippings 1925-1941
Neilson, David (father): miscellaneous papers 1851-1870, n.d.
Neilson, David (father): correspondence 1850-1881, n.d.
Neilson, David (father): essays by students n.d.
Neilson, David (father): school address and songs n.d.
Neilson, Elizabeth (sister): correspondence 1897-1917, n.d.
Neilson, Jean Armor (sister): miscellaneous 1905-1939
Neilson, Jean Armor (sister): correspondence from WAN 1897-1942
Neilson, Margaret (daughter): correspondence, news clippings, early memories 1931-1942
Neilson, Mary Allan (mother): correspondence 1856-1868, n.d.
Neilson, Mary Allan (mother): correspondence with David Neilson (father) 1859-1873, n.d.
Neilson, Mary Allan (mother): correspondence from WAN and Robert Neilson (brother) 1885, 1897, n.d.
Robert Neilson (brother): miscellaneous 1902-34, n.d.
Robert Neilson (brother): correspondence from David Neilson (father) 1876
Robert Neilson (brother): correspondence from WAN 1893-1905 June
Robert Neilson (brother): correspondence from WAN and Elisabeth Muser Neilson 1905 July-1933, n.d.
Elisabeth Muser Neilson (wife)
Correspondence, miscellaneous 1899-1967, n.d.
Correspondence from Else Gerner 1899-1907, n.d.
Correspondence with Emil Gott 1900-1908, n.d.
Correspondence from Manding Harlacher (her cousin) 1899-1928, n.d.
Correspondence from Max Harrer 1903-1906
Correspondence with Margarete Muser (her sister) 1899-1909, n.d.
Correspondence to WAN 1904-1905
Correspondence with Amalie von Poetz (her aunt) 1900-1939
Correspondence from Mina von Poetz (her cousin) 1920-1926, n. d.
Correspondence with Lina and Oskar Muser (her parents) 1899-1915
Correspondence with Lina and Oskar Muser (her parents) 1916-1938
Correspondence with Lina Kuser (her mother) 1938-1941, n.d.
School notebooks 1895-1899
Postcard album n.d.
News clipping scrapbook n.d.
Miscellaneous 1900, 1939, n.d.
News clippings 1939-1968
Miscellaneous writings n.d.
Children's play-
"Space and Time in Rainer Maria Rilke's Poetry" 1947
Essay, "Space and Time in Rainer Maria Rilke's Poetry": correspondence 1947-1950
Essay, "The Metaphysical Implications of Rilke's Book of Hours" (early version of article above) n.d.
Essay, "Raum und Zeit in Rilke's Dichtung" (German version) n.d.
Poems 1921?
Lina Huser (mother-in-law)
Miscellaneous correspondence 1908-1941
Correspondence to her family 1876-1909, n.d.
Correspondence from Emil Gott 1899-1903, n.d.
Correspondence with Margarete Muser (her daughter) 1901-1909, n.d.
Correspondence with Amalie von Poetz (her sister) 1877-1939, n.d.
Poems 1900-1901
Lina and Oskar Muser (parents-in-law)
Miscellaneous 1885-1891,1915-1937, n.d.
Correspondence to Allan, Caroline, and Margaret Neilson 1915-1941
Correspondence with WAN and Elizabeth Muser Neilson 1907-1934
Correspondence from Helene Tafel 1899-1903
Miscellaneous correspondence 1878-1905, n.d.
Oskar Muser; account of the last few days of his life by ? 1938
Lina and Margarete Muser: correspondence to WAN 1908-1936
Margarete Muser: miscellaneous correspondence 1904-1914, n.d.
Margarete Muser: correspondence with Else Gerner 1901-1910, n.d.
Writings About Neilson
"Neilson of Smith" by Hubert Herring, Harper's Magazine 1938 June
Neilson of Smith by Hubert Herring (bound version) 1939
"Neilson of Smith" by Marjorie Hope Nicolson, The American Scholar 1946 Autumn
"Neilson of Smith" by Marjorie Hope Nicolson: typescript and earlier versions 1946
Neilson of Smith by Margaret Farrand Thorp: correspondence (A-Z) 1946-1957
Neilson of Smith by Margaret Farrand Thorp: reviews 1956
Neilson of Smith by Margaret Farrand Thorp: typescript
[See Box 12]
"President Neilson of Smith" by Elizabeth Cutter Morrow, Atlantic Monthly 1946 November
"President Neilson of Smith College" by John S. Tatlook, The Nation 1928 January 4
"Successful Educators, William Allan Neilson," American Education 1925 June
"William Allan Neilson" by Cynthia Walsh (Ivy Day Oration), Hampshire Bookshop 1939
William Allan Neilson: Blueprint for Biography, various authors, Hampshire Bookshop 1947
"William Allan Neilson: Liberal Educator," Focus 1939 March
"Word Study: William Allan Neilson," by Margaret Farrand Thorp n.d.
Neilson of Smith by Margaret Farrand Thorp: typescript 1955-1956
Oversize
Medals
Harvard 1906
Wyon, London n.d.
Spain 1930
Cigar Case n.d.
Harvard Advocate 1866?
Angus Club, Edinburgh 1885-1886
Harvard Lampoon n.d.
University of Paris n.d.
Montrose Academy Dux, English Department 1885-1886
University of Edinburgh class notes 1886-1891
Muser: diary of Elisabeth Muser Neilson's grandmother 1888-1891
Margarete Muser: story, "Zu Weinachten" 1900
Margarete Muser: journal excerpts in Elisabeth Muser's handwriting(2 volumes) n.d.
Lina Muser: diary 1939-1944
Oskar Muser: war experiences 1870-1871
Oskar Muper: news clippings n.d.
David Neilson: diary 1884
Oskar Muser: "Lebeaserinerungen" n.d.
Writings About Neilson - Volumes
William Allan Neilson: Blueprint for Biography (Northampton: Hampshire Bookshop, 1947)
Herring, Hubert, Neilson of Smith (Brattleboro: Stephen Daye Press, 1939)
Thorp, Margaret Farrand, Neilson of Smith (New York: Oxford University Press, 1956)
Family - Volumes
Neilson, Elisabeth Muser, The House I Knew (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1941)
General - Volumes, Miscellaneous
Burns, Robert. The Ring and the Book, Vol. II and III (from WAN library)
Scott, Sir Walter, Bacon's Essays (from WAN library)
The Inauguration of President Neilson (Northampton: Smith College, 1917)
Series II. PHOTOGRAPHS AND PORTRAITS 1883-1948
Photographs consists primarily of black and white photographs of William Allan Neilson. There are also photographs of Neilson's family, Elisabeth Muser Neilson and her family, and of Scotland. There is a small amount of correspondence with photographers and a 19th-century Neilson family photograph album. Portraits consists of photographic reproductions of oil, charcoal, and silhouette portraits plus correspondence about the portraits arranged by the name of the artist.
Photographs
List of oversize photographs
Photographers: correspondence, miscellaneous 1932-1939
William Allan Neilson 1883-1945
Parents and siblings 1892-1899, n.d.
Children and grandchildren 1920-1944, n.d.
Elisabeth Muser Neilson 1906, 1939, n.d.
Muser family 1906-1933
Miscellaneous 1939, n.d.
Scotland, countryside n.d.
Scotland, Doune and Montrose 1891, n.d.
Portraits
Correspondence 1939
Folisbee, John 1948
Goodnow, C.S. n.d.
Hopkinson, Charles Sidney 1930
James, Alexander P. 1939
Watson, Elizabeth V. Taylor n.d.
Silhouette: Alfred Vance Churchill 1939
Sketches: miscellaneous n.d.
Photograph album: Neilson relatives, unidentified n.d.
Photograph panorama: dedication of Burns statue, Detroit 1921 July 23
Series III. ACADEMIC LIFE 1898-1941
This series consists of correspondence, lecture notes, news clippings, and press releases pertaining to Neilson's life as a college professor and administrator. The material is arranged by the name of the institution. Oversize material is in a separate sequence.
Bryn Mawr College: miscellaneous 1898-1901
Columbia University: miscellaneous 1904-1906
Sorbonne: correspondence 1914-1915
Sorbonne: lecture notes 1914 December
Harvard University and Radcliffe College
Miscellaneous 1901-1904, 1906-1917
Clubs: correspondence, membership certificates 1911-1916
Correspondence
Dodd, Isabel F. 1902, n.d.
Fabyan, George 1917
Fyock, Alice 1900
Jennings Alice 1902-1903
Kittredge, George Lyman 1906-1916
Lowell, A. Lawrence 1914-1915
Robinson, Edwin Arlington 1902-1917
Miscellaneous 1901-1917, n.d.
Lecture notes, English 8 1900-1901
Lecture notes, English 8 1904
Lecture notes, English 8a n.d.
Lecture notes, English 8b n.d.
Lecture notes, English 11 1902
Lecture notes, English 24 1916-1917?
Lecture notes, English 28 1912
Lecture notes, English 28 n.d.
Lecture notes, English 32 n.d.
Lecture notes, English 32 1901-1902
Lecture notes, English 40 n.d.
Lecture notes, English 41 n.d.
Lecture notes, English 42 n.d.
Lecture notes, English 49 1906
Smith College
Miscellaneous: press releases, writings, bookplates 1917-1939
Anniversary (10th): correspondence 1927
Anniversary (10th): news clippings 1927
Anniversary (20th): miscellaneous 1937
Anniversary (20th): news clippings 1937
Appointment: congratulatory correspondence 1917
Appointment: general correspondence 1917
Birthday celebrations 1924-1939
Chronology
Inauguration
Address by Charles W. Eliot 1918 June 13
Address by WAN 1918
Booklet 1918
Correspondence 1918-1919
Guest list 1918
Invitations and program 1918
News clippings 1918
Plans 1918
Lecture notes, English 19 1920-1926
Miscellaneous clippings 1917-1941
Retirement
Correspondence A-Z 1939
"A Dictionary of Appreciation of WAN" 1939
Tributes by Foreign Policy Association members 1939
News clippings 1939
Tributes, miscellaneous 1939
Columbia University: Class Roll Book 1905-1906
Smith College: retirement gift - silver box 1939
Miscellaneous notes on books n.d.
Miscellaneous notes on Shakespeare n.d.
Series IV. OTHER ACTIVITIES 1891-1946
This series documents Neilson's professional and volunteer activities outside of his primary employment. The series has two sections: 'Organizations' and 'Subjects'. Unless otherwise noted the folders contain only correspondence. The first section, 'Organizations,' is arranged alphabetically by the name of the organization. Material has been filed in the second section, 'Subjects,' where Neilson was involved with a number of organizations or causes with a similar focus.
Organizations
Affiliated Schools for Workers 1925-1935
American Arbitration Crusade 1925-1928
American Association for Old Age Security 1929-1931
American Civil Liberties Union 1922-1939
American Civil Liberties Union: case of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn 1933-1941
[See also Box 33]
American Civil Liberties Union: Committee on Academic Freedom 1932-1941
American Civil Liberties Union: correspondence 1939-1941
American Civil Liberties Union: "National Defense" 1939-1941
American Civil Liberties Union: "Labor" 1941
American Committee to Protect the Foreign Born 1939-1940
American Defenders of Freedom 1940
American Dialect Society 1921-1934
The American Foundation 1929-1931
American Friends Service Committee 1921-1931
American Otological Society 1931-1939
Amherst Memorial Fellowship Committee 1921-1937
Amherst Regional Planning Board 1928-1932
Bacon Archaeological Research 1927-1932
Beaver County Day School 1935-1938
Bennington College 1922-1938, n.d.
Brearly School 1924-1935
James Bryce Fellowship 1934
Carnegie Foundation 1928-1939
Committee of 100 on Ireland 1920-1921
Committee on Cultural Relations with Latin America 1928-1939
Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies 1940
Council on Foreign Relations 1921-1939
Cummington School (Playhouse-in-the-Hills) 1919-1935
Daughters of the American Revolution 1928
Deerfield Academy 1932-1935
Democratic Party 1920-1940
Denison House 1924-1933
English Speaking Union of the United States 1920-1939
Facsimile Text Society 1934-1935
Folger Shakespeare Memorial Fund 1934
Foreign Policy Association 1921-1939
Harvard Liberal Club 1918
Harvard University 1915-1944, n.d.
Harvard University, Committee on Dormitory Requirements and Relations of the Graduate Schools 1922-1931
Harvard University, Committee to Visit the English Department 1920-1934
Hebrew University 1925-1939
Highlander Folk School 1934-1939
Hofstra College 1937
Human Welfare Group 1929-1931
International Free Trade League 1918-1920
International Study Center for Democratic Reconstruction 1943?
International YMCA College 1924-1935
Kraus Defense Committee 1934-1936
League of Women Voters 1922-1939
Life Extension Institute 1920-1922
Massachusetts Civic League 1929-1938
Massachusetts Conference of Social Work 1917-1934
Massachusetts Council for the Abolition of the Death Penalty 1927-1930
Medieval Academy of America 1940, n.d.
Milwaukee-Downer College 1921-1936
Modern Language Association 1918-1939
Modern Language Association, Permanent Fund 1916-1924
National Committee for Independent Courts 1937
National Committee of the U.S. to Restore the Louvain Library 1922-1930
National Economic League 1921-1930
National Recovery Administration 1931-1935
National Research Council 1919-1928
New England Medical Center 1929-1930
New School for Social Research 1918-1942, n.d.
The Open Road 1926-1944
Plymouth Tercentenary Committee 1920
Poetry Society of America n.d.
Roosevelt Memorial Association 1934-1936
School of Parents' Education, Jerusalem 1925-1935
Shady Hill Country Day School 1934
Society for Ethical Culture 1922-1938
Thomas Davidson Society 1917-1932
Trustees of Public Reservations 1925-1933
Western Massachusetts Regional Planning Association 1931-1937
Williams College 1921-1936
Woodrow Wilson Foundation 1921-1922
Worcester Academy 1925-1926
Subjects
Adult Education
Miscellaneous 1928-1938, n.d.
American Association for Adult Education 1927-1939
Committee on University Extension in the Connecticut Valley 1917-1939
Eliot Foundation for Adult Education 1933-1938
Holyoke Workers' Classes 1928, 1938
National University Extension Association 1918-1935
Springfield Adult Education Forum 1934-1939
Albania 1924-1939
Armenia 1921-1925
Asia 1928-1938
Birth Control 1928-1942
Children: miscellaneous 1925-1940
Children: Child Study Association 1928-1938
Children: Child Welfare League 1934
Children: Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children 1921-1946
China 1938-1940
Clubs
Miscellaneous 1920-1939, n.d.
Burns Club 1919-1937
Harvard Clubs 1918-1928
Tavern Club 1921-1936
Town Hall Club 1932-1939
Consumer: miscellaneous 1918, 1939
Consumer: Consumer's-League of Massachusetts 1924-1932
Consumer: National Consumers' League 1922-1938
Coolidge 1920-1929
Czechoslovakia 1919-1939
Democracy: correspondence and news clippings 1939-1940
Educational
Miscellaneous 1918-1937
Moro Educational Foundation 1924
National Council of Teachers of English 1922-1930
New England Association of Teachers of English 1922-1930
Progressive Education Association 1925-1939
Eugenics 1920-1930
Germany: miscellaneous 1924-1939, n.d.
Germany: Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation 1932-1936
Industrial 1921-1932
International Cooperation 1926-1939
Italy 1928-1934
Labor: miscellaneous 1925-1939
Labor: Community Labor Board 1918-1919
League of Nations
Miscellaneous: correspondence, news clippings 1918-1940, n.d.
League of Free Nations 1918-1930
League of Nations Association 1920-1938
League of Nations Non-Partisan Association 1921-1935
Model League of Nations Assembly 1928-1936
Pro-League Independents 1920-1922
Mental Hygiene
Massachusetts Society for Mental Hygiene 1919-1939
National Committee for Mental Hygiene 1920-1935
Militarism in Education 1925-1937
Miscellaneous, unidentified 1920-1939, n.d.
Near East 1923-1936, n.d.
Northampton
Miscellaneous 1919-1939
Academy of Music 1917-1938
Better Housing Campaign 1934-1935
Chamber of Commerce 1920-1939
Cooley Dickinson Hospital 1917-1926
Northampton Hotel Company 1922-1936
People's Institute 1914-1939
Peace
Miscellaneous 1919-1942, n.d.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1928-1939
Commission to Study the Organization of Peace 1939-1940
Commission to Study the Organization of Peace 1941-1945
Commission to Study the Organization of Peace: news clippings and miscellaneous 1939-1945
National Committee on the Cause & Cure of War 1930-1940
National Council for the Prevention of War 1931-1934
Women's International League for Peace & Freedom 1922-1935
Periodicals
Miscellaneous 1920-1940
Atlantic Monthly 1924-1939
Collier's Weekly 1916-1919
The Delineator 1921-1933
The Forum 1924-1939
The Nation 1919-1938
The New Republic 1921-1925
New York, miscellaneous 1920-1939, n.d.
Saturday Review 1925-1936
Political Activities
Miscellaneous; correspondence, news clippings 1913-1940, n.d.
Fascism, Nazism 1933-1940
Sacco and Vanzetti case 1924-1936, n.d.
Public Affairs 1935-1939
Publishers
Miscellaneous A-Z 1919-1939
Bobbs-Merrill Company 1922-1928
P. F. Collier & Son 1916-1944
Dictionary of American Biography 1927-1928
Doubleday 1927-1938
Harbor Press 1929-1939
Harcourt, Brace & Company 1920-1939
Houghton, Mifflin Company 1904-1930
Alfred A Knopf, Inc. 1925-1938
G.C. Merriam & Company: correspondence 1937-1940
G.C. Merriam & Company, Synonymy: "Antonyms" n.d.
G.C. Merriam & Company, Synonymy: "The Historical Development…" n.d.
G.C. Merriam & Company, Synonymy: "The Treatment of Synonyms and Antonyms" n.d.
G.C. Merriam & Company, Synonymy: carbons, pp. 66-219 n.d.
G.C. Merriam & Company, Synonymy: minutes 1937-45
W.W. Norton Company 1929-1939
Scott, Foresman & Company 1909-1931
Charles Scribner's Sons 1925-1939
Stanford University Press 1935-1938
Viking Press 1935
Race Relations
Miscellaneous 1930-1931
Committee of 100 Dedicated to the Creation of an America of Justice and Equality for Our Negro Fellow Citizens 1944-1945
Harmon Awards for Distinguished Achievement among Negroes 1928-1931
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 1922-1944
Refugee
Miscellaneous: correspondence, news clippings 1920-1945, n.d.
National Institute of Immigrant Welfare 1939
National Refugee Service 1940-1941
Religious
Miscellaneous 1925-1939, n.d.
National Conference of Jews and Christians 1931-1939
Russia
Miscellaneous 1926-1937, n.d,
Independent Committee for the Recognition of Soviet Russia by the United States 1933-1935
American Russian Institute 1930-1939
American Society for Cultural Relations with Russia 1927-1929
Scots
Miscellaneous: correspondence, news clipping 1930-1939
Scots' Charitable Society 1917-1927
Scottish National Dictionary Association 1927-1934
Scottish Text Society 1903-1934
Shakespeare: miscellaneous
Shakespeare: Shakespeare Association of America 1923-1930
Social hygiene 1920-1928
Social sciences: miscellaneous 1918-1934
Social sciences: Social Science Commission n.d.
Social work 1922-1930
Spain, miscellaneous: correspondence, news clippings 1921-1940
Spain: Non-Partisan Committee for the Relief of Spain's Children 1934
Springfield: miscellaneous 1928-1936
Springfield: Springfield College 1936-1937
Unemployment 1927-1933
World Court 1921-1935
American Civil Liberties Union, Committee on Academic Freedom: ms. n.d.
American Civil Liberties Union: correspondence and publications Elizabeth Gurley Flynn case 1940
American Civil Liberties Union: miscellaneous 1940-1941
Series V. SPEECHES 1901-1944
This series is divided into five sections: 'Texts-by title;' 'Texts-by date;' 'Texts-by occasion;' 'Notes;' and 'Miscellany.' The texts have been divided into three categories depending on the information available about the speech. Each text that has a title has been filed alphabetically. Other texts have been filed chronologically (where possible) or by occasion. Unless otherwise noted the texts are in typed or printed form. 'Notes' have also been filed by available information. They are all in Neilson's hand. 'Miscellany' is primarily news clippings and correspondence about Neilson's speeches but also contains a list of the topics of Neilson's Smith College Chapel talks from 1934 to 1936.
Texts - by title
"After Victory," chapel 1918
"The American Scholar Today," American Association for the Advancement of Science 1936 January 1
"America's Dilemma," Rally Day 1941 February
"And Ye Shall Hallow the 50th Year," chapel 1925
"The Arts In the Colleges," radio broadcast 1935 May 17
"As Shakespeare Says" n.d.
"Current Criticism of Higher Education," Chicago Smith Club 1936 November 6
"Distinguishing Characteristics of American Education," Alumnae College 1936 June
"Education and Politics," Aydelotte Lecture, Swarthmore College 1940 October 13
"Ends and Means in Education," Felix Adler Lecture, Society for Ethical Culture 1940 May 12
"From the Point of View of a Professor Turned President," Modern Language Association 1924, December 29
"The Function of the University," Northwestern University: ms 1943 April 8
"The Function of the University": published version 1943
"George Washington Cable" n.d.
"Germany Today," Alumnae College 1934 June 23
"Guarding the Line," chapel 1942 February 9
"The Heart of the Midlothian," NBC University of the Air 1944 November 25
"The Inauguration of Dr. Marian E. Park as President of Bryn Mawr College" n.d.
"Inter Arma Veritas," Phi Beta Kappa 1916
"The League and Future International Relations" n.d.
"Looking Backward and Forward" 1935 May 6
"The Meaning of Americanism," DAR Springfield 1920 December 16
"The Meaning of Liberalism," Why Club 1928
"National Training of Women" 1943 November
"Nazi Germany as a Threat to Our Liberties," Duke University Commencement 1940 June 3
"Our Fundamental Political Ideas in Light of Recent Events," Alumnae Council 1937 February
"The Paradox of the Colleges" n.d.
"The Poetry of Liberalism," Alumnae College 1939 June 16
"President Eliot's Educational Ideas" 1934 March 21
"President Neilson Proposes," Brearly School 50th Anniversary 1934
"President Pendleton As An Educator" n.d.
"The Progress of Peace" 1930 January
"Public Affairs and the Private Conscience," vespers 1938 September 25
"The Relation of the Women's Colleges to American Education," Seven College Conference n.d.
"Rights and Duties," chapel 1937 October 19
"The Scholar and the Pedant," Vassar Inauguration n.d.
"Shall We Join the Ladies?" Seven College Conference 1929
"A Tradition Worth Cherishing," Alumnae Assembly 1942 June 6
"To the Alumnae of the Mary A. Burnham School" n.d.
"Les Universites et L'Etat," Sorbonne 1915
"The University in Exile," New School for Social Research 1933 October 13
"Which Girl Should Go to College?" radio broadcast 1929 October 10
"The World Crisis in Education," New York Smith Club 1934 March 10
Texts - by date
Miscellaneous 1907-1935
Miscellaneous 1936-1941
Texts - by occasion
Miscellaneous n.d.
President Seelye's Funeral Service 1924
Smith Baccalaureate n.d.
Smith Chapel n.d.
Notes
Chronological 1901-1943
Baccalaureate 1918-1937
Vespers 1917-1938
Vespers n.d.
Shakespeare n.d.
Smith Chapel topics list 1934-1936
News clippings 1916-1935
News clippings 1936-1943, n.d.
Correspondence 1916-1940, n.d.
Series VI. WRITINGS 1894-1946
This series has two sections: 'Texts and Notes' and 'Correspondence and News Clippings.' 'Texts and Notes' is made up of manuscript, typescript, and published versions of articles and books by William Allan Neilson. They are filed by the title of the work. Reviews written by Neilson are filed at the end of the section. 'Correspondence and News Clippings' contains correspondence with editors, collaborators, publishers, and fans plus press releases, new clippings, and reviews. They are filed by the title of the work. Also included is correspondence from publishers of periodicals soliciting manuscripts. These are filed together under 'periodicals.'
Texts and notes
Bibliography
"The Accomplishment of President Comstock," Radcliffe Quarterly 1943 August
"The Administrative View of Organized Alumni," Manual of Alumni Work 1924
"Admissions, the Depression, & Scholarships," Smith Alumnae Quarterly 1931 November
The Alumnae Fund and Salaries, Smith Alumnae Quarterly 1927 May
Allegory (unpublished): miscellaneous notes n.d.
Allegory (unpublished): typescript n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "Allegory": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "The Faerie Queen": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "The Shepheard's Calendar": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "Bunyan": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished) "Addison: Tatler no. 97": ms., incomplete n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "Pastoral Allegory": ms., incomplete n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), Chapter I "The Nature of Allegory": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), Chapter II "Origins": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "Pier's Plowman": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "John Gower": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished) "Chaucer": notes and draft n.d.
Allegory (unpublished) "The Legend of Good Women": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "Lydgate": outline n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "Reason and Sensibility": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "The Temple of Glass": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "The Assembly of the Gods": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "The Assembly of Ladies": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "The Scottish School": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "Robert Henryson": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "Beauty and the Prisoner": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "William Dunbar": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "Gavin Douglas" and "Stephen Hawes": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "The Court of Love": ms. and notes n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "The Moralities": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "The Allegorical Testament": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "Keats": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished), "Tennyson": ms. n.d.
Allegory (unpublished): miscellaneous n.d.
"The American Scholar Today" (Hampshire Bookshop) 1937
"America's Dilemma," Defense Pamphlet No. 1 1941
"The Apparel and the Man," Atlantic Monthly 1903 May
"Are American Colleges Wasteful?" Scribner's Magazine 1932 June
"Burns In English," Anniversary Papers by Colleagues and Pupils of George Lyman Kittredge 1913
Burns, Robert: miscellaneous articles and fragments n.d.
"Challenge to Our Colleges," New York Times Magazine 1942 June 7
"Character Drawing in the Waverly Novels," Harvard Monthly 1896 November
The City of Man, "A Declaration of World Democracy" 1940
The City of Man: first memorandum 1939 May
The City of Man: note 1939
The City of Man: proposa1 1939
"College Finances of the Increase of Fees," Smith Alumnae Quarterly 1926 February
Collier's Encyclopedia: preface by WAN: ms. and typescript n.d.
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare: miscellaneous 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare: biographical sketch 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "All's Well That Ends Well": introduction 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "The Comedy of Errors": introduction and proofs 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Coriolanus": proofs 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Cymbeline": introduction 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Henry IV, part 1": introduction and notes 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Henry IV, part 2": introduction and notes 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Henry V": notes and proofs 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Henry VI, parts 1, 2 and 3": notes 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Henry VIII": notes 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "King Lear": notes and proofs 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "The Life and Death of King John": introduction and notes 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Love's Labour's Lost": introduction 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Measure for Measure": introduction 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "The Merry Wives of Windsor": introduction 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "A Midsummer-Night's Dream": introduction and proofs 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Richard II": introduction 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Richard III": notes 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Romeo and Juliet": notes and proofs 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "The Tempest": introduction 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Timon of Athens": notes 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare, "Troilus and Cressida": introduction 1942
The Complete Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare: notes 1942
"The Curse of Memory," The English Journal 1917 February
"Education Can Be No Better Than the Teachers," Survey Graphic 1939 October
The Education of the Modern Girl: Introductory Note by WAN 1929
"Charles William Eliot," Encyclopedia of the Social Services, Vol. 5 1931
Charles William Eliot: miscellaneous articles and fragments n.d.
"The Elizabethan Drama," Harvard Lectures 1913
"English," in Paths to Success, compiled by H.G. Black 1924
"Faculty and Alumni": ms. n.d.
"Fundamental Problems," Princeton Alumni Weekly 1939 January 13
"Horace Howard Furness" n.d.
"The Future of the Humanities," Harper's Magazine: ms. 1943 March
"Guarding the Line," Defense Pamphlet No. 4 (Hampshire Bookshop) 1942
Harvard Classics: index and miscellaneous n.d.
Harvard Classics: "Shelf of Fiction," biographical notes n.d.
"Henry Drummond - A Memory": ms. n.d.
History of English Literature: "A Manual for Teachers" with A. H. Thorndike 1920
The Junior Classics: introduction n.d.
"Junior Year In France": ms. n.d.
"The Juniors Abroad," Smith Alumnae Quarterly 1937 May
"The Liberal Arts as Vocational Training" 1924
"The Life of the Teacher of Composition," New England Association of Teachers of English 1912
Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Biography: articles on Burns and Shakespeare n.d.
"Minorities in Our Midst," Survey Graphic 1939 February
Miscellaneous manuscripts 1925, n.d.
"Narrative Writing in Medieval Times," The Reader 1906 February
Normal Youth and Its Everyday Problems by Douglas A. Thom: introduction by WAN 1932
"A Note on Graduate Projects," Smith Alumnae Quarterly 1929 February
"A Note on Scholarships." Smith Alumnae Quarterly 1927 February
"Nova Solyma," Modern Philology 1904 April
"On Milton's Conception of Poetry" Studies in the History of Culture 1942 February
Original of 'The Complaynt of Scotlande'," Journal of Germanic Philology 1897
"Overcrowding in Women's Colleges," The Nation: ms. 1925 May 13
"The Question of the Women's Colleges" with the presidents of the seven women's colleges n.d.
"Phi Beta Kappa's Women President," The Key Reporter 1940 Autumn
"Political Silhouettes" n.d.
"The Preaching Scot," Harvard Monthly 1902? May
"The Process of Reading" Journal of Adult Education 1938 June
"The Process of Peace": ms. 1930 January 24
"The Purgatory of Cruel Beauties": reprint n.d.
Report of the President, Smith College 1925-1926
"The Responsibility of the Parent," Reader's Digest 1935
Roads to Knowledge: introduction 1937
Roads to Knowledge: miscellaneous 1937
"Robert Louis Stevenson" The Week 1894 December 21
"The Scots of America" n.d.
"Laurenus Clark Seelye," Dictionary of American Biography n.d.
Laurenus Clark Seelye by Harriet Seelye Rhees: Preface by WAN 1929
"Shakespeare and Plagiarism" Sunday Magazine 1906 April 22
"Shakespeare in Recent Years" Sewanee Review 1908 January
"Shall We Join the Ladies?" School and Society 1929 April 13
"Should Women Be Educated Like Men?" Forum 1929 February
Smith College: the First 50 Years by Harry Norman Gardiner: ms. chapters I, III, and IV n.d.
Smith College: the First 75 Years by Harry Norman Gardiner and WAN: text, chapters II-VIII n.d.
Smith College: the First 75 Years by Harry Norman Gardiner and WAN: notes n.d.
Smith College: the First 75 Years by Harry Norman Gardiner and WAN: unfinished typescript 1946
"Status of Faculties in University Government" n.d.
"The Study of English," Why Study?: ms. n.d.
Syllabus in the Humanities, introduction by WAN (Eliot Foundation of Adult Education) 1932
"Teaching Shakespeare in the Schools" n.d.
"The Theory of Censorship," Atlantic Monthly 1930 January
"Ashley Horace Thorndike," Dictionary of American Biography 1936
"Town and Gown Today," Journal of Adult Education 1931 April
"The Training School of Psychiatric Social Work at Smith College," Mental Hygiene 1918 October
"Undergraduate Study in Europe," New York Herald Tribune 1931 August 16
"The Universities and Adult Education" 1930 March
"Upper Canada College," The Canadian Magazine n.d.
"What is the Job of Our Colleges? For Personality Development," New York Times Magazine 1937 March 7
"What Price Tenure?" Associated Harvard Clubs 1940
"What the College Has a Right to Expect of the Schools of English," The School Review 1908 February
"Why More Buildings?" Smith Alumnae Quarterly 1931 November
"William James As Lecturer and Writer," Harvard Illustrated Magazine 1907 February
"The Women's Colleges Reply," Atlantic Monthly 1929 February
Years of Building by Caroline A. Yale: introduction by WAN 1931
Reviews by WAN A-Z 1895-1944, n.d.
Correspondence and News Clippings
Allegory: correspondence 1921-1938
Broadcast Speech--NBC's Handbook for Announcers & Speakers: news clippings 1937
Burns, How to Know Him: correspondence 1917
The Cambridge Shakespeare: correspondence 1902-1936
Chief British Poets of the 14th and 15th Centuries (1916): correspondence 1916
Chief Elizabethan Dramatists Excluding Shakespeare (1911):correspondence 1911
The Collier Classics: correspondence, general 1916-1919
The Collier Classics: American Patriots & Statesmen: correspondence 1916-1917
The Collier Classics: National Defense Library: correspondence 1916-1917
Collier's Encyclopaedia: correspondence 1920-1932
Collier's Encyclopaedia: National Year Book: correspondence 1934-1944
The Complete Plays & Poems of William Shakespeare (1942) with Charles J. Hill: correspondence 1937-1942
Charles William Eliot, the Man and His Beliefs: correspondence 1916-1931
Charles William Eliot, the Man and His Beliefs: news clippings 1926
"Charles William Eliot," Encyclopaedia of: the Social Sciences: correspondence 1931
English & Scottish Popular Ballads (1909): correspondence 1905-1907
Essentials of Poetry (1912): correspondence 1912-1939
Essentials of Poetry: reviews 1912
The Facts about Shakespeare: correspondence 1922-1932
The Harvard Classics: correspondence with P.F. Collier's 1909-1944
The Harvard Classics: correspondence with Charles W. Eliot 1909-1924
The Harvard Classics: correspondence, miscellaneous 1922-1932
History of English Literature: correspondence 1918-1931
Intellectual Honesty and Other Addresses (1940): news clippings 1940
The Junior Classics (1912): correspondence 1913-1938
"Manual of Alumni Work": news clippings and press releases 1924
Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Biography: minutes 1938
Miscellaneous 1903-1937, n.d.
The Origins & Sources of the Court of Love (1899): correspondence 1900-1930
Miscellaneous 1903-1942
The Atlantic Monthly: correspondence 1924-1938
Fashions of the Hour: correspondence 1929-1930
Journal of Higher Education: correspondence 1930-1937
The Nation: correspondence 1922-1930
The New York Times: correspondence 1931-1939
Saturday Review of Literature: correspondence 1924-1942
Survey Graphic: correspondence 1937-1939
Roads to Knowledge (1937): news clippings 1937
Roads to Knowledge (1937): correspondence 1928-1937
Royalty statements: Houghton, Mifflin Co. 1917-1932
Royalty statements: MacMillan Co. 1921-1930
The Scottish Psalter (1927), Introduction by WAN: correspondence 1926-1934
Selections from Chaucer (1921): correspondence 1921-1938
Shakespeare's Works, Lake English Classics: correspondence 1900-1923
Shakespeare's Works, Lake English Classics: statement of sales 1915-1933
"Should Women Be Educated Like Men?": correspondence 1929
Tudor Shakespeare (1911-1913): correspondence 1919-1933
Types of English Literature (1907-?): correspondence and miscellaneous 1904-1909, n.d.
Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition (1934): advertisement, pamphlets 1934
Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition (1934): correspondence 1924-45
Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition (1934):): news clippings - dinner to announce publication 1934 June
Volumes by WAN
Burns, How to Know Him
The Chief Elizabethan Dramatists Excluding Shakespeare
The City of Man: A Declaration of World Democracy
Essentials of Poetry
The Function of Higher Education with Carl Frederick White
A History of English Literature with Ashley Horace Thorndike
Intellectual Honesty and Other Addresses
Roads to Knowledge
Selections from Chaucer with Howard Rollin Patch
Years of Building by Caroline A. Yale, Introduction by WAN
Index to the Harvard Classics