Guide to the Papers of Arthur Wesley Wheen, 1915-2005 (bulk 1920-1940)

Summary

Collection number:

MS 3656

Creator:

Arthur Wesley Wheen

Extent:

(24 ms boxes + 2 large folio boxes + 1 map folio + 1 folder)

Language:

English and English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Arthur Wesley Wheen, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part requires permission for research. Not for loan

Background

Content Summary:

MS 3656 comprises manuscripts, typescripts and galley proofs of Wheen's translations, letters and a small number of books and pamphlets (see MS 3656, Boxes 1-10).

Additional material received in 1980 includes notes relating to Wheen, given to the National Library by his brother, John Wheen (see MS 3656).

Additional material received in 1998 comprises a photo of Arthur Wheen in London, 8 March 1941 (see MS 3656, Box 8).

Additional material received in 2005 includes copies of Wheen's military records and medical reports, 1915-1920; correspondence of Ian Campbell with Brian O. Murdoch (the second translator of Erica Maria Remarque's works) and others, 1997-2001; and a copy of a 2005 paper by Ian Campbell on Australian connections with Remarque (see MS 3656, Box 10).

Additional material received in September 2012 features letters written by Wheen to his family whilst a soldier in World War I, together with photographs taken in Egypt in 1916. There are also letters written by Wheen to others, including Ray Kershaw, T.S. Elliot, Herbert Read and Frank Morely; correspondence and other material related to All Quiet on the Western Front, letters to Wheen from various correspondents; student papers from New College, Oxford; essays and manuscripts; four diaries; and family photographs. There are also letters from Aldwyth Wheen to her daughter, Gretchen Wheen (1950s-1970s); a sketchbook, drawings and etchings by Wheen; a letter and original woodcuts by Alec Buckels; and a letter and original sketches by M. Johannsen (see MS Acc12.113, Boxes/Folios 1-17).

Additional material received in October 2012 features a small amount of family correspondence, including letters to Wheen's mother, Kathleen, and to his brother, Harold (aka 'Wheen'), together with an incomplete manuscript of a short essay by Wheen entitled 'Sensation, perception, imagination, conception', dated 1915. There are also some notes on the Wheen family history (see MS Acc12.138, Folder 1).

Biographical Note:

Arthur Wesley Wheen was born in Sydney in 1897. He enrolled at Sydney University, but in 1915 enlisted in the Australian Expeditionary Force and left to fight in Europe, where he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery. On demobilisation he was chosen as a Rhodes Scholar and went up to New College Oxford in 1920. He joined the staff of the library of the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1924.

His only original literary work Two Masters, a brief novella based on his life at the Front was published in 1929. Over the next ten years he translated a number of works from German, several of them novels dealing with the First World War. He is especially remembered for his translation of Eric Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front which was an outstanding success. For a while Wheen had close connections with a circle which included Herbert Read and T.S. Eliot. In 1939 he was appointed Keeper of the Library and stayed in this position, achieving some distinction, until he retired in 1962. He died in March 1971.

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn721190).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Arthur Wesley Wheen, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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