]> ms.55 Turnbull (Eleanor) 1875-1964 Papers 1874-1960 Ms. 55 Margaret L. Lambooy Special Collections, The Milton S. Eisenhower Library, The Johns Hopkins University
3400 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218 USA Phone: (410) 516-8323
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Marius Stan Finding aid written in English Turnbull (Eleanor) 1875-1964 Papers 1874-1960 Ms. 55 Special CollectionsThe Milton S. Eisenhower Library The Johns Hopkins University Contact Information Special Collections The Milton S. Eisenhower Library The Johns Hopkins University 3400 North Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218 (410) 516-8323 Margaret L. Lambooy November 1989 Marius Stan

©2004 The Johns Hopkins University

 Descriptive Summary Ms. 55 Turnbull (Eleanor) 1875-1964Papers 1874-1960 Turnbull, Eleanor L. (Eleanor Laurelle) Johns Hopkins University. Special Collections 4 document boxes and 1 album (2 linear ft.) English The Eleanor Turnbull Papers (1874-1960) consist of four document boxes and one album, a collection of approximately two linear feet. The bulk of the material is dated from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. The collection contains Turnbull's correspondence, some of her translations of Spanish poetry, her notes, and a number of personal items. It falls into three series: correspondence, translations, and personal. The papers present a good picture of the work of a translator from the late 1930s to the mid-1950s. They include many of Turnbull's notes and typescripts of translations, as well as correspondence with poets, critics, and scholars. Approximately one third of the collection deals with her final work, Ten Centuries of Spanish Poetry (1955). There are notes, reviews, and a complete typescript of the work, as well as letters relating to the book from people such as John Ciardi, poet and critic, and Leo Spitzer of Johns Hopkins. The collection contains typescripts of two other works by Turnbull, The Christ of Velazquez, by Miguel de Unamuno (1951) and Poems by Miguel de Unamuno (1950). There are a number of reviews of The Christ of Velazquez, due to its controversial handling of the subject. There is a printed copy and a few typescripts of the poem, To the Bay Bridge, by Jose Carrera Andrade (1941). Turnbull's earliest works, Lost Angel and Other Poems (1938) and Truth of Two and Other Poems (1940), were translations of the poetry of Pedro Salinas. These books received the notice of many well-known literary figures. Turnbull received letters relating to these works from Walter de la Mare, Robert P. Tristram Coffin, Lascelles Abercrombie, and Archibald MacLeish. The collection also contains a small amount of material relating to each of Turnbull's other published works: Zero, by Pedro Salinas (1947); Contemporary Spanish Poetry (1947); and Sea of San Juan, by Pedro Salinas (1950). This material consists mainly of promotional literature and reviews. The collection contains a substantial amount of Turnbull's translations that were not published. Over half of this unpublished material are notes and typescripts of the poetry of Gabriela Mistral. Other unpublished translations include works by Jorge Guillen, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, and Pedro Salinas. The Turnbull family's interest in Sidney Lanier is documented in this collection. The items relating to Lanier are largely material relating to events honoring him. There is a program of the 1888 memorial to Sidney Lanier inscribed by Mary Day Lanier, typewritten notes for a presentation by Elizabeth Lanier on Sidney given at Miss Turnbull's home in 1931, and programs to the 1940 and 1942 commemorations held at The Johns Hopkins University. Included with Mrs. Lanier's 1931 notes are the answers Sidney Lanier gave in 1874 to certain questions that were to reveal "The Mental Photograph of Sidney Lanier." In preparation for the 1931 Lanier program Miss Turnbull consulted the Library of Congress Music Division for a list of Lanier poems which had been set to music. A copy of W.R. Whittlesey's reply is in the correspondence. The personal series includes examples of Eleanor Turnbull's early writings in the form of notes from a parlor game. The series contains the June, 1887 issue of The Acorn, the magazine published by her brother, Edwin. There is biographical information on Miss Turnbull, including the text of a lecture, by Damaso Alonso, entitled, "Eleanor Turnbull and Spanish Poetry." Also included in this series are a photograph of Miss Turnbull (1940), a bibliography of her work, and an album of picture postcards from Spain. Administrative Information Provenance

Gift of Miss Eleanor Turnbull, ca. 1960.

Use Restrictions

Access to this collection is unrestricted.

Permission to publish material from this collection must be requested in writing from the Manuscripts Librarian, Milton S. Eisenhower Library, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Md. 21218.

 Preferred Citation

Turnbull (Eleanor) Papers Ms. 55Special Collections Milton S. Eisenhower LibraryThe Johns Hopkins University

 Biographical Note

Eleanor L. Turnbull was born in 1875 into a wealthy and prominent Baltimore family. Her father, Lawrence Turnbull, was a prosperous merchant and lawyer, and a man of literary and cultural interests. Her mother, Francese Litchfield Turnbull (1844-1927), wrote novels and poetry and was active in the Baltimore Woman's Literary Club, serving as president for seven years. Together, the Turnbulls established a poetry lectureship at The Johns Hopkins University and befriended and promoted the poet, Sidney Lanier (1842-1881).

Eleanor Turnbull grew up with her brothers and sister (Edwin, Percy, Bayard, and Grace) in the La Paix neighborhood of Towson, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore, as well as at the Turnbull home on Park Avenue. The Turnbull children were encouraged to express themselves, and they responded by such activities as building a miniature stone church at La Paix and publishing a juvenile magazine, The Acorn (1886-87). Along with them, Eleanor was educated by private tutors. She studied piano and French, among other subjects, and translated some French poetry into English.

In 1922, Eleanor Turnbull took a short course in Spanish in preparation for a trip to Spain. Fifteen years later, in 1937, Miss Turnbull again brought out her Spanish dictionary to translate some poems of the eminent Spanish poet, Pedro Salinas, in anticipation of his poetry lectures at Johns Hopkins that year. Salinas was impressed with her efforts. She then enrolled in the Summer Language School at Middlebury College, Vermont, and began translating more Spanish poetry. She returned each summer to the college to sharpen her language skills.

In all, Eleanor Turnbull published nine books of Spanish poetry. Her work has been praised by scholars and critics for its clarity and elegance. In addition to her translation work, Eleanor Turnbull gave readings of and lectures on Spanish poetry at the Pratt library. She also continued the family tradition of boosting the reputation of Sidney Lanier. Eleanor Turnbull died in 1964, survived by her sister, Grace.

 Description of Series/Container List Series 1: Correspondence Series 1: Correspondence, 1930-1960 27 folders

Eleanor Turnbull's correspondence is comprised mainly of letters from poets, literary figures, and academicians relating to her translations of Spanish poetry. There are also letters from members of the Lanier family, and the Salinas family.

Arranged alphabetically by correspondent

Box Folder Contents 1 1 Abercrombie, Lascelles 1 1 Alberti, Rafael 1 1 Alonso, Damaso 1 2 Altolaguirre, Manuel 1 2 Andrade, Jorge Carrera 1 3 Bartra, Agusti 1 3 Benet, William R. 1 3 Blanco, M. Garcia 1 3 Bowman, Isaiah 1 3 Bradley, Sculley 1 4 Casalduero, Joaquin 1 4 Castro, Americo 1 4 Centeno, Juan A. 1 4 Cernuda, Luis 1 4 Ciardi, John 1 4 Cleugh, James 1 4 Coffin, Robert P. Tristram 1 4 Coleman, Elliott 1 5 Davidson, Donald 1 5 De la Mare, Walter 1 5 Del Rio, Angel 1 5 Diego, Gerardo 1 5 Diez-Canedo, Enrique 1 5 Florit, Eugenio 1 6 Garcia-Prada, Carlos 1 6 Gomez, Ermilo Abreu 1 7 Guillen, Jorge 1 8 Hart, Richard 1 8 Hispanic Society of America 1 8 Hispanic Foundation, Reference Dept., Library of Congress 1 9 Jimenez, Juan Ramon 1 9 Junyer, Joan 1 10 Kravetz, Sam 1 11 Lamar, E. Dorothy Blount 1 11 Lancaster, H. Carrington 1 12 Lanier, Charles D. 1 12 Lanier, Mrs. Sidney Jr. 1 13 Lorca, Francisco G. 1 13 Lorenz, Lincoln 1 14 MacKay, John A. 1 15 MacLeish, Archibald 1 16 Malakis, Emile 1 16 Marichal, Solita 1 16 McDonald, Gerald D. 1 17 Mistral, Gabriela 1 18 Navarro, Tomas 1 18 Ouis, Federico de 1 18 Otrate, Maria de 1 18 Owen, H.G. 1 18 Pidal, M.P. 1 18 Peraloza, P.M. 1 18 Prados, Emilio 1 18 Ransom, John Crowe 1 18 Robertson, David 1 18 Rubio, David 1 19 Salinas, Margarita 1 20 Salinas, Pedro 1 21 Salinas, Pedro - Newspaper Clippings 1 22 Salinas, Pedro - Photos, notices 1 23 Salinas, Pedro - "Error de Calculo" 1 24 Spitzer, Leo 1 24 Stunis, G.R. 1 24 Teran, Fernando 1 24 Thompson, Keith F. 1 25 Turner, Nancy Byrd 1 26 Unamuno, Maria de 1 26 Villa, Jose Moreno 1 26 Wendell, Jessie 1 26 Whicher, George 1 26 Whittlesey, W.R. 1 26 Wilford, Richard R. 1 26 Williamson, Edward 1 27 Unidentified Series 2 Translations Series 2 Translations, 1936-1957 33 folders

Each of the published works of Eleanor Turnbull is represented by some material, from reviews to full manuscripts. The bulk of this material relates to her final work, Ten Centuries of Spanish Poetry. Material that does not belong to a publication includes translations of twelve Spanish poets (see scope note and container list for names). This material is arranged alphabetically by the name of the poet translated. Also in this series is material written by Eleanor Turnbull for readings given at the Pratt Library in Baltimore on the poets, Federico Garcia Lorca and Miguel de Unamuno.

Published translations arranged chronologically by date of publication (18 folders). Unpublished translations arranged alphabetically by poet (15 folders).

Box Folder Contents 2 1 Alberti, Rafael 2 1 Alonso, Damaso 2 1 Altolaguirre, Manuel 2 1 Bartra, Agusti 2 2 Florit, Eugenio 2 3 Guillen, Jorge 2 4 Jovellanos, Gaspar Melchior de 2 5 Lorca, Federico Garcia - Notes for Reading at Pratt Library 2 6 Mistral, Gabriela (translations not by E.L.T.) Photograph of Gabriela Mistral 2 7 Mistral, Gabriela 2 8 Mistral, Gabriela 2 9 Mistral, Gabriela 2 10 Mistral, Gabriela 2 11 Matos, Luis Pales 2 12 Salinas, Pedro 2 13 Silva, Jose Asuncion 2 14 Juana Ines de la Cruz, Sor 2 14 Unamuno, Miguel de - Notes for Reading at Pratt Library 3 1 Lost Angel and Other Poems - Salinas, Pedro (1938) 3 2 Truth of Two and Other Poems - Salinas, Pedro (1940) 3 3 To the Bay Bridge - Andrade, Jorge Carrera (1941) 3 4 Zero - Salinas, Pedro (1947) 3 5 Contemporary Spanish Poetry (1947) 3 6 Sea of San Juan - Salinas, Pedro (1950) 3 7 Christ of Velazquez - Unamuno, Miguel de (1951) 3 8 Christ of Velazquez - Unamuno, Miguel de 3 9 Poems by Miguel de Unamuno (1952) 3 10 Poems by Miguel de Unamuno 3 11 Ten Centuries of Spanish Poetry - Notes (1955) 3 12 Ten Centuries of Spanish Poetry - Notes 3 13 Ten Centuries of Spanish Poetry - Notes 3 14 Ten Centuries of Spanish Poetry 4 15 Ten Centuries of Spanish Poetry (Manuscript) 1 4 16 Ten Centuries of Spanish Poetry (Manuscript) 2 4 17 Poems not used in Ten Centuries of Spanish Poetry 4 18 Ten Centuries of Spanish Poetry (Photostats of letters about) Series 3 Personal Series 3 Personal, 1874-1955 8 folders

Approximately half of the material in this series relates to Sidney Lanier. The series contains notes from a parlor game (undated), an issue of The Acorn, and a bibliography of Eleanor Turnbull's publications. A studio portrait of Miss Turnbull (1940), an album of picture postcards of Spanish art, and three short biographical sketches complete the series.

Arranged chronologically.

Box Folder Contents 4 1 Parlor Game Notes, The Acorn, June, 1887 4 2 Lanier Events 1888, 1931 4 3 Lanier Events 1940, 1941 4 4 Lanier Centenary 1942 4 5 Lanier printed material 4 6 Photo (Eleanor L. Turnbull), Biographical articles about Eleanor Turnbull, Christmas card 4 7 Biographical sketch 4 8 Bibliography 5 Album - Contains picture postcards of Spanish cities and places of interest, and of Spanish art and dress. n.d.