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Collection Overview

Creator:
Carrington, Hereward, 1880-1959
Title:
Hereward Carrington Papers
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/k0698750r
Dates:
1899-1973 (mostly 1908-1932)
Size:
4 boxes and 1.4 linear feet
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-4
Language:
English

Abstract

Consists of papers of Hereward Carrington, a British spiritualist and investigator of psychic phenomena, including correspondence with other notable figures in his field, photographs of mediums and psychic phenomena, several manuscripts, and two diaries.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of Carrington's papers on spiritualism, including correspondence with literary and scientific figures of the day, such as William Barrett, Ernesto Bozzano, Gustave Geley, Stanley Hall, Joseph Jastrow, Sinclair Lewis, Eusapia Palladino, and Mrs. A. W. Verrall. Also included are photographic documentation of psychic phenomena, stills from the film series "The Mysteries of Myra," several short Carrington manuscripts, and two of his diaries (1923, 1930). In addition, there is a group of approximately 30 letters (1931-1940) to Carrington from a broad group of American and European psychical researchers, as well as typed transcripts of responses from many of them supporting his proposed Psychical Laboratory and agreeing to be on its International Council.

Collection Creator Biography:

Carrington, Hereward, 1880-1959

Hereward Carrington was a well-known British investigator of psychic phenomena. Born in 1880, he joined the Society for Psychical Research in 1900, later working as assistant to James Hyslop with the American Society for Psychical Research until 1908. In 1921, Carrington was the American delegate to the first International Psychical Congress in Denmark. In the same year, he founded the American Psychical Institute and Laboratory, which operated for two years and was reconstituted in 1933 in New York City. His best known investigations were in the case of Mina Stinson Crandon ("Margery") in 1924 by the Committee of The Scientific American (Carrington, Harry Houdini, Malcolm Bird, William McDougall, Walter Franklin Prince, and Daniel Frost Comstock) and that of Eusapia Palladino in 1908.

Carrington's published works include The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism (1907), Eusapia Palladino and her Phenomena (1909), and The Problems of Psychical Research (1914). Carrington died in 1959.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Purchased from Bonhams and Butterfields in 2006 (AM2007-39). Additional correspondence was the gift of Susan Burmeister-Brown in 2013.

Appraisal

No appraisal information is available.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Traci Ballou and Danielle Ford in February 2007. Finding aid written by Danielle Ford on March 15, 2007.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Hereward Carrington Papers; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/k0698750r
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-4