O. Henry Collections
Pages
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- Financial and legal documents - Porter Drug Store
- 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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- Letter from William Sydney Porter to Burges Johnson
- One letter from William Sydney Porter to Burges Johnson.
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- Letters from Al Jennings
- 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 Margaret Worth Porter (Cesare Sartin)
- These letters are from Margaret to her father. The early item is written to him while he was in prison and the others are written while Margaret was a student at Belmont College and Dwight School, and later from Asheville, North Carolina.
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- Letters from Sara Coleman Porter
- Included is a 1907 letter to Lily Benbow, with cover, in which Sara speaks of her marriage and early family life. Two 1910 letters to Lily speak of the death and last moments of William Sydney Porter and are on mourning stationery. These letters also discuss Sara's relationship with William Sydney Porter immediately prior to his death. Also included is a cover, without an address, to Lily Benbow in the handwriting of Sara Coleman Porter. The telegram was sent by Sara Coleman Porter to her mother, Mrs. William Coleman, announcing the death of William Sydney Porter. An undated letter to Eli Oettinger speaks of Porter's refusal to return to Texas, while the 1939 item to Eli Oettinger was in response to his request for a photograph of her. A 1947 letter to Earl Weatherly declines to his invitation to visit Greensboro and speaks of "one of her treasures," a letter from William Sydney Porter that she apparently enclosed for him.
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- Letters from Shirley Worth Porter
- These letters are addressed to Mrs. Harry Thornton in Greensboro. They speak of Shirley's nickname "Shell" and how it was acquired, mutual acquaintances in Greensboro, a description of the original Porter drug store, a sketch made by Shirley Porter of the Porter home on West Market St., and Dr. J. K. Hall. They also discuss Shell's birthplace, early childhood, and other items relating to the Porter family in general.
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- Letters from William Sydney Porter to Bill Davis
- 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
- 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, 1898-1901
- This group of letters was written by William Sydney Porter to his daughter Margaret between April 25, 1898, and July 24, 1901, while he was an inmate in the Ohio State Penitentiary. Margaret was never told of her father's whereabouts. The letters are mainly the chit-chat of a father to his pre-teen daughter. No covers are included with the items; two letters are undated and one is dated only "November 12." Of these three items, two are probably late 1898.
