Harry Ransom Center

• 1. Founding And Early Expansion

  ›

  Harry Ransom founded the Humanities Research Center in 1957 with a clear ambition to expand rare books and manuscript holdings at the University of Texas. He began acquiring significant collections immediately, including the Edward Alexander Parsons Collection and the T. Edward Hanley Collection. The Norman Bel Geddes Theater and Industrial Design Papers also entered the archive during these early years. Ransom served as the official director from 1958 until 1961 but continued to lead the center's expansion efforts until his resignation in 1971. During this period, he acted as chancellor of the University of Texas System while overseeing massive growth in the institution's physical and intellectual scope. The center moved into its current building in 1972, marking a new chapter for the growing archive.

• 2. Leadership And Institutional Growth

  ›

  F. Warren Roberts took over as official director from 1961 to 1976 and significantly expanded the photographic holdings through the Helmut Gernsheim collection. He acquired archives belonging to D. H. Lawrence, John Steinbeck, and Evelyn Waugh during his tenure. In 1968, the Carlton Lake Collection arrived, bringing materials from Paris art critic Carlton Lake who worked for the Christian Science Monitor. After Roberts left, John Payne and then Carlton Lake served as interim directors between 1976 and 1980. Decherd Turner became director in 1980 and added major collections including the Giorgio Uzielli Collection of Aldine editions. Turner also secured the Anne Sexton archive and the David O. Selznick archive before retiring in 1988. Thomas F. Staley followed him and acquired the Woodward and Bernstein Watergate Papers along with more than 100 literary archives. Stephen Enniss was appointed director in September 2013 after serving as head librarian at the Folger Shakespeare Library.

• 3. Flagship Artifacts And Collections

  ›

  Two prominent items anchor the center's public presence: a Gutenberg Bible and Nicéphore Niépce's View from the Window at Le Gras. The Gutenberg Bible is one of only 21 complete copies known to exist worldwide. Niépce's photograph holds the distinction of being the first successful permanent photograph taken from nature. Both objects remain on permanent display in the main lobby where visitors can view them daily. The center houses 36 million literary manuscripts alongside one million rare books and five million photographs. More than 100,000 works of art fill additional gallery spaces throughout the facility. In the 2015, 16 academic year alone, nearly 6,000 research visits resulted in over 145 published books by scholars using these resources.

• 4. Literary Manuscripts And Archives

  ›

  Gabriel García Márquez maintained personal libraries that now reside within the archive alongside materials from Ezra Pound and Evelyn Waugh. Alice Corbin Henderson's papers join those of T. E. Lawrence and Doris Lessing in extensive manuscript collections. Jack Kerouac kept a writing journal while preparing On the Road which was published in 1957. A suppressed 1865 first edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland exists as one of only 23 known copies today. Three copies of the 1623 First Folio of William Shakespeare's plays occupy special shelves within the reading room. Edgar Allan Poe's actual writing desk sits among other literary artifacts including Tarot cards hand-colored by Aleister Crowley. The Thomas James Wise collection contains bibliographies created by Wise along with correspondence about his forgeries and life. Records from the publishing company Alfred A. Knopf document decades of literary production and distribution.

• 5. Theatre And Performing Arts Holdings

  ›

  Stella Adler's papers arrive at the center alongside materials from Samuel Beckett and Tennessee Williams. Original costumes from the Ballets Russes include pieces from Narcisse and The Rite of Spring designed by Pablo Picasso. David Garrick's diary from his 1751 trip to Paris once belonged to Harry Houdini before entering the archive. John Wilkes Booth left behind a personal production promptbook for Richard III that now rests on display. Design archives feature works by Norman Bel Geddes, Gordon Conway, Eldon Elder, and Boris Aronson. Historic collections of 19th- and 20th-century portrait photography capture actors and dancers through lenses operated by Joseph Abeles and Leo Friedman. An extensive library of early modern plays includes one of only three known copies of the 1594 quarto of True Tragedie of Richard the Third published anonymously. George Aiken's original manuscript for his 1852 stage adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin remains preserved within the archive.

• 6. Film And Television Preservation

  ›

  Selected costumes, script drafts, storyboards, and audition media from Gone with the Wind form part of the David O. Selznick Collection. Unused props designed by Salvador Dalí were intended for use in the dream sequence of the 1945 film Spellbound. Sunglasses worn by Gloria Swanson appear in the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard and now reside at the center. Scripts, drafts, notes, props, costumes, digital video and research material from Mad Men document American television history. Papers belonging to Robert De Niro, Edward Carrick, and King Vidor join those of Ernest Lehman and Lorne Michaels. The archive preserves materials related to the Watergate scandal including Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's notes, interviews, and manuscripts. These collections allow researchers to examine the creative processes behind some of cinema's most enduring works while studying production decisions made decades ago.