VANCE PALMER PAPERS: NOVELS

Component identifier:

Series 3

Content Summary:

This series contains manuscripts of the following novels:

(a) Legend for Sanderson (Items 1-6)

(b) Golconda (Items 7-9)

(c) Seedtime (Items 10-12)

(d) The big fellow (Items 13-17)

Vance usually wrote the drafts of his novels in exercise books, writing on one side of each page and leaving the other side free for correction and revision.

Besides the chapters of the novel there are also drafts of articles and broadcasts written in these books. The draft of Golconda is incomplete within this series. However, further chapters are found in Series 5 Item 1 and background notes to the novel in Series 4 Item 2.

As well as the handwritten draft of Seedtime there is a second one which is partly typescript.

Immediate source of acquisition:

The first and largest consignment of the Vance and Nettie Palmer collection wasreceived by the National Library in 1965 from their daughters Aileen and HelenPalmer, after some years of negotiations. Further batches arrived in 1966 and 1967.It was found necessary to house the collection in different parts of the Library, foran important part of it consisted of non-manuscript material. The large library ofbooks and pamphlets are housed as a distinct collection in the Australian book stackswith each publication bearing a special Palmer book plate. The portraits of thePalmer and Higgins families are held in the Pictorial Section.

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