William Sidney Porter Papers
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Financial and legal documents - Porter Drug Store
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Twenty-six items are from the Porter Drug Store from 1853-1889. The majority are receipts for items purchased and several are signed by W.C. Porter. See the finding aid for the various names of this drugstore at different times. Also included is an agreement (1882) between Porter and Dalton and C. P. Mendenhall for fixtures, etc. (with explanatory notes included) as well as the receipt from W.C. Porter to R.F. Dalton (1882) for 1/2 interest in the drugstore. Very interesting are two pages of accounts from Porter and Gorrell to W.C. Porter (debits), 1863, with amounts in "Confederate" and "Gold." Several of the receipts are Civil War era and many have the drugstore letter/billhead.
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Letters from Al Jennings
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The 1913 item is a two page TLS (typed letter signed) to Mr. Archibald Henderson of North Carolina regarding a lecture and/or contribution for an O. Henry memorial (1913). It has been silk laminated. The 1922 letter is to Eli Oettinger regarding William Sydney Porter, a watch, and being in Illinois.
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Letters from William Sydney Porter to Bill Davis
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The letters in this folder are written to Bob Davis, fiction editor of Munsey's Magazine. Most involve requests for various cash advances and also excuses as to why promised manuscripts have not been delivered. Many letters display the wit and humor of William Sydney Porter. He also mentions typing some stories, although he rarely used the machine for that work. This may have been an excuse for undelivered materials. Many items in this group are ALS (autograph letter signed) by WSP, and several are TLS (typed letter signed) (typed letter signed) by Porter.
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Letters from William Sydney Porter to Sara Coleman Porter
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This folder consists of three photostatic and two typescript copies of letters William Sydney Porter wrote to Sara Coleman before they were married. The July 15 letter is in response to Sara's contact with Porter and the other item is urging Sara to visit New York on a planned trip to New England. One typescript of each letter and two photostats of the July 15 item are included. Also included is an ALS (autograph letter signed) by Porter to Sara (1908) speaking of possibly returning to Asheville, North Carolina. The "Magnolia Letter" refers to Sara's visit to New York and has a magnolia sketched on it.
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Letters from William Sydney Porter to daughter Margaret, 1905-1907
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These letters were written by William Sydney Porter to daughter Margaret while she attended Belmont College, a finishing school in Nashville, Tennessee. They speak of Margaret being homesick, of her clothes, family matters, her discontent at school, of sending money, holidays, etc. Some covers include Porter's wax seal. Specific inclusion dates are September 25, 1905, to April 18, 1907.
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Letters from William Sydney Porter to daughter Margaret, 1907-1910
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These letters speak of family matters, holidays, etc. Most are written to Margaret from New York, but several are from Asheville, North Carolina. Margaret's addresses range from her grandmother's house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Dwight School in Englewood, New Jersey, to the Coleman home in Asheville, North Carolina. Items are in good to excellent condition and several include William Sydney Porter's wax seal. The clipping is one Porter sent to his daughter, a publicity clipping for the book "The Four Million."
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Letters to Ethel Arnett from Porter family members
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This folder contains seventeen letters, seventeen covers, and two typed pages of notes dealing with O. Henry, possibly by Mrs. Arnett or possibly sent to her in a letter. These letters are to Mrs. Arnett from members of the Coleman and Porter families. They speak generally of William Sydney Porter anecdotes and mention the publication of "O. Henry from Polecat Creek" by Arnett. The information in these letters was probably used in an article written by Arnett on firsthand remembrances of William Sydney Porter (see literary production series).
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Letters to Lyndon Swaim
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Lyndon Swaim followed William Swaim as editor of the "Greensboro Patriot" (1839-1854). He had been apprenticed under William. In 1842, he married the widowed Mrs. William Swaim and became stepfather to Mary Jane Virginia Swaim Porter, William Sydney Porter's mother. The 1839 item is from Jesse Lindsay to Lyndon Swaim inviting him to return to Greensboro to edit the "Carolina (Greensboro) Patriot." The other item is from a John Swaim in New Jersey and deals with early Swaim genealogy.
