Summary
Overview
Matthews, T. S. (Thomas
Stanley)
1910-1991 (mostly 1940-1991)
22.9 linear feet, 56 boxes
Princeton University. Library. Dept. of Rare Books
and Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
One Washington Road
Princeton, New Jersey 08544 USA
Abstract
Consists of writings, notebooks, correspondence, files from Time magazine, subject files, legal and financial correspondence,
photographs, and printed material of T. S. Matthews, an author and editor of Time magazine.
Description
Description
The collection contains writings, notebooks, correspondence, files from Time magazine, subject files, legal and financial
correspondence, photographs, printed material of T. S. Matthews, dating from 1910 to
1991; there also are some writings of others about him. Included is a series of
datebooks for every year from 1950 to his 1991 death, recording his appointments and
notes, as well as journals and dream diaries. The files from Time date from the 1940s to the 1950s, and consist of internal
correspondence and memoranda, as well as his notes on the possible Time-in-Britain
project. Included in the subject files are Matthews' research notes on T. S. Eliot,
his literary hero and the subject of his book Great Tom: Notes
Towards the Definition of T. S. Eliot. Notable correspondents include John
Aldridge, Whittaker Chambers, T. S. Eliot, Valerie Eliot, Robert Graves, Eleanor
Green, Laura (Riding) Jackson, Schuyler Jackson, Len Lye, Laurie Lee, William Piel,
Jr., V. S. Pritchett, Lyman Spitzer, and Adlai Stevenson.
Collection Creator
Biography
T. S. (Thomas Stanley) Matthews (1901-1991), Princeton Class of 1922, was an author and
editor of Time magazine. The son of a New Jersey bishop and
Proctor & Gamble heiress, Matthews earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton in 1922
and New College at Oxford in 1924. He joined the staff of the New
Republic in 1925 and Time's staff in 1929 as book
editor. He moved up to assistant managing editor, managing editor, and finally editor in
1949. Especially in his capacity as managing editor, Matthews raised the journalistic
and writing standards of the magazine, and was known for his harsh criticism.
Following disagreements with senior management over the 1952 presidential election,
Matthews left Time and moved to England to study the
possibility of starting a British version of the magazine. Following this project's
cancellation, he remained in Britain to write. Among his numerous books and poetry are
an autobiography and a book on T. S. Eliot, his literary hero. He was married three
times -- to Juliana Stevens Cuyler, Martha Gellhorn, and Pamela Peniakoff.
Collection History
Acquisition
Papers: gift of Rev. Timothy Anderson (Matthews's literary executor), in 2008.
Additional papers: gift of John P. C. Matthews, Class of 1951, in 2008.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Ayse Gursoy in 2009. Finding aid written by Ayse Gursoy and updated by Lisa
Yankowitz in 2010.
Bibliography
Current Biography (H. W. Wilson Company, 1950) and American National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004)
were consulted during preparation of the biographical note.
Access and Use
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research use.
Use Restrictions
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication of
copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library
does not own the original. Permission to publish material from the collection must be
requested from the Associate University Librarian for Rare Books and Special
Collections. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the
collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of
copyright.
Preferred Citation
T. S. Matthews Papers; 1910-1991 (mostly 1940-1991), Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
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