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Nicholas A. Salerno Literary Papers 1830-2012

MSS-338

Biographical Note

Nicholas A. Salerno, university professor and administrator, author, and film critic, was born June 21, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois. Early in his life his family moved to Arizona where he attended Phoenix Union High School graduating in 1953. During his high school years he was strongly influenced by his English teachers. In 1957 he graduated from Arizona State College, later named Arizona State University (ASU), with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Journalism and History. He also received a Master of Arts degree from Arizona State University in 1959. In 1962 he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Victorian Literature with a minor in Latin language and literature from Stanford University. Salerno's field of specialization was Victorian literature and his dissertation topic was "Romantic Love in Victorian Poetry".

Salerno started his academic teaching career at ASU in 1958 as an instructor and became a full professor in 1970. In 1983 he was appointed chairman of the Department of English. At ASU Salerno taught classes in 19th century literature; composition; Latin; undergraduate and graduate literature survey courses; and film history. Salerno received the ASU Distinguished Teacher Award in 1971 and the Distinguished Service Award in 1993. He retired from ASU in 1991.

Salerno is a recognized scholar on the 19th century artist and poet Aubrey Beardsley and has also published book reviews and articles on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, the Victorian era, and Shakespeare. He published several literary anthologies which have been used in many college classes. Salerno is also a noted film scholar and critic with articles appearing in publications such as Phoenix Magazine and Scottsdale Progress. For ten years he hosted the KAET, Phoenix PBS television channel program "Cinema Classics: The Goldwyn Touch".

Scope and Content Note

This collection houses Nicholas A. Salerno's literary writings and research materials gathered to support his writing and teaching career. It includes correspondence; book and article drafts; handwritten notes; newspaper, journal and magazine articles; slides; microfilm; bibliographies; reproductions of artworks; and realia. Materials relate primarily to literature in the Victorian era. The collection is divided into nine series. The arrangement revolves principally around subject matter.

Series I: Teaching Literature and Literary Biography, Sub-Series A: Biographical (Box 1, 1906-2012) contains materials showing Salerno's literary career. Included are award dinner programs; diplomas; awards and speaking announcements in programs and newspaper articles; notes; committee reports; vita; and correspondence. Of note are materials from Salerno's service on the Board of Governors for the Foundation for Italian Culture and a book titled Tragedy of Hamlet given to Salerno by his sophomore high school English teacher, Alinda K. Montgomery. This volume contains Montgomery's handwritten and typewritten notes interleaved in the text from her class with George Lyman Kittredge, a scholar of English literature. This series is arranged chronologically. Bulk dates are 1966 to 1988.

Sub-Series B: Teaching (Box 2, 1911-2000) contains resources for Salerno's Short Story and Victorian Poetry classes. Included are essays; newspaper, journal and magazine articles; chapters from books; class packets; and exams. Of interest are short story notes and articles arranged by author. Bulk dates are 1964 to 1988.

Series II: Aubrey Beardsley Research and Scholarly Writing, Sub-Series A: Literary Resources (Boxes 3-22, 1876-1992) contains an extensive collection of research resources documenting 19th century artist and author Aubrey Beardsley. Included are newspaper, journal and magazine articles; correspondence; interlibrary loan and copy requests; pages from book catalogs; and handwritten notes. Most of the articles are photocopied. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by author or subject. Of note are several original articles from Life magazine and the Illustrated London News containing illustrated articles related to Beardsley.

Sub-Series B: Scholarly Writing (Box 23, 1952-1998) documents Salerno's writing of an annotated bibliography about Beardsley that was published in the book Reconsidering Aubrey Beardsley. Included is correspondence with scholars, the book's editor and colleagues; a grant application; photocopies of bibliographies with handwritten notes; a press release for the book; and notes on style and form problems with the bibliography. Of note are an ASH Grant application and a mini-grant application with accompanying documentation and correspondence from 1988 to 1997 between Salerno and Jane Haville Desmarais, author of The Beardsley Industry: A Study of the Contemporary Critical Reception in England and France of the Work of Aubrey Beardsley. Also included is a partial copy of her manuscript "Anthology of Critical Responses to Aubrey Beardsley", which she sent to Salerno for his review. Bulk dates are 1985 to 1989.

Series III: William Morris Literary Resources (Boxes 24-25, 1858-1994) contains materials showing poet, artist, author, pamphleteer, reformer, publisher and designer William Morris. Included are newspaper, journal and magazine articles; interlibrary loan and copy requests; greeting cards; correspondence; postcards; exhibition poster; pamphlets; photographs; and handwritten notes. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by author or subject.

Series IV: Thomas Bird Mosher Literary Resources (Box 26, 1887-1991) provides a modest collection of research resources on the publisher Thomas Bird Mosher. Included are newspaper, journal and magazine articles; interlibrary loan requests; and handwritten notes. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by author or subject. Of note is an ASH grant to fund research. See also an extensive collection of original books published by Mosher (Call #SPEC TBM in the ASU library catalog).

Series V: Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Research and Scholarly Writing, Sub-Series A: Literary Resources (Boxes 27-40, 1847-2007) contains an extensive collection of research resources about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of artists and poets founded in 1848. Included are newspaper, journal and magazine articles; interlibrary loan and copy requests; and handwritten notes. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by author or subject. Of note are extensive files on Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Michael Rossetti.

Sub-Series B: Dante Gabriel Rossetti: A Critical Heritage (Boxes 41-42, 1969-1987) documents Salerno's unpublished book about artist and author Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Salerno's coauthor was R. Hosman. Included are one article written by Hosman; one complete draft of the book; planning notes; outline; multiple drafts of the introduction with notes; a grant application; a few handwritten notes; note cards; and correspondence. This subseries is arranged chronologically. Of note is an ASH grant application and accompanying documentation.

Sub-Series C: Letters from William Michael Rossetti to William Bell Scott: An Annotated Edition (Boxes 43-45, 1850-1987) documents Salerno's unpublished book of annotated letters between William Michael Rossetti, a Pre-Raphaelite poet, and William Bell Scott, a Scottish poet and artist. Included are several copies of the manuscript with editing notes; correspondence; assignments from Salerno's English 500 Research Methods classes in 1971 and 1987 consisting of transcriptions of each letter with annotations; and a few handwritten notes. This subseries is arranged chronologically. Of note are folders containing individual letters between Rossetti and Scott with annotations. Bulk dates are 1971 to 1987.

Series VI: Victoriana Research and Scholarly Writing, Sub-Series A: Literary Resources (Boxes 46-59, 1830-1995) contains a collection of research resources about Victorian life and literature. Included are newspaper, journal and magazine articles; interlibrary loan and copy requests; handwritten notes; greeting cards; photographs; and student papers. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by author or subject.

Sub-Series B: Scholarly Writing (Box 60, 1961-1966) documents Salerno's writings on Victorian literature. Included are Salerno's Ph.D. dissertation titled "Romantic Love in Victorian Poetry"; notes, correspondence, comments from reviewers, and copyright permissions for the dissertation; and a photocopy of Salerno's review of "Algernon C. Swinburne" by John A. Cassidy published in Victorian Poetry. This subseries is arranged chronologically.

Series VII: Additional Literary Research and Scholarly Writing, Sub-Series A: Literary Resources (Boxes 61-71, 1954-2001) contains a collection of research resources about other subjects related to literature. Included are newspaper, journal and magazine articles; interlibrary loan and copy requests; handwritten notes; correspondence; student papers; and greeting cards. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject. Salerno did not designate these files as being part of Series II-V.

Sub-Series B: Scholarly Writing (Box 72, 1960-1994) documents Salerno's other writings related to literature. Included are articles; book reviews; royalty statements; book contracts; and correspondence. This subseries is arranged chronologically.

Series VIII: Audio Visual Resources, Sub-Series A: Microfilm (Boxes 73-74, 1855-1997) contains microfilm that relates to literary research. Bulk dates are 1855 to 1867, 1895 to 1897, and 1900 to 1901.

Sub-Series B: Slides (Boxes 75-92) contains slides that relate to literary figures, time periods, and artworks. Included are slides; correspondence; and articles. Of note are folders of photocopied articles and correspondence that relate to slide identification.

Series IX: Artworks and Realia Resources, Sub-Series A: Biographical (SPEC 1, R6A shelf) contains framed portraits of Salerno painted by Alvin L. Gittins, a professor of art at the University of Utah.

Sub-Series B: William Morris (Box 93, Map case drawers H5-H6) contains objects related to Morris from Salerno's collection. Included are fabric and wallpaper samples and a salesman's sample chair with fabric designed by Morris.

Sub-Series C: Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (Boxes 94-96) contains a variety of objects and artworks that augment research materials on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Included are reproductions of paintings; framed photographs; a puzzle; and sketches.

Sub-Series D: Other Literary (Boxes 97-100) contains a variety of objects related to literary figures and works. Included are stuffed animals and memorabilia portraying characters from Beatrix Potter's books; a Mosher bookplate; a Mosher bookplate crewel; a Wedgwood cup; a gift box; framed photographs; and postcards. Of note are two Art Nouveau embroidered tapestry panels by Ellen Welby, a member of the Royal School of Art Needlework and framed prints of Aubrey Beardsley artworks.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Access to portions of the collection has been restricted in order to preserve the original materials.

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.

Related Material

See also Nicholas A. Salerno's 2007 oral history interview DVD, located in the ASU University Archives, call number 180.2 S32 2002 DVD

See also Anna Quan Leon's interview of Nicholas A. Salerno, which is available through http://encore.scottsdaleaz.gov.

See also the Nicholas A. Salerno Papers in the University Archives for more information on Salerno's academic career as a professor and Chair of the English Department at ASU.

The following materials are located in Special Collections:

Access Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Nicholas A. Salerno Literary Papers, MSS-338, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

Nicholas A. Salerno donated these materials from 1990-2011 in multiple accessions.

Processing Note

This collection is minimally processed and does not include a box and folder list.

Container List