I have been writing a few pulp histories for the Pulp Magazines Project (Argosy and Wonder Stories, in particular), and have been finishing thesis revisions. Recently, I have acquired an immense archive of original, primary source documents relating to the last years of Frank Andrew Munsey's life. I have been combing through these the last month or so, and wanted to post a few on here - I am hoping to expand my biography of Munsey that recently appeared in Blood 'n' Thunder into a larger, more comprehensive work. A few small things at the moment; a letterhead from the Munsey company, a telegraph transcription announcing his death, the cover of a remembrance written by a friend, and other items, with more detailed records appearing in future posts, after I have had adequate time to sort through everything.
Among various letters, transcripts of Munsey's X-ray examinations, and newspaper articles chronicling his health, the items I am most excited about are the three (so far) remembrances concerning Mr. Munsey that are in the archive, all of which I know have never been cited before in any biographical work. These will prove invaluable, not only as primary sources as required by any good biography, but also in the furthering of a point I tried to make in my Blood 'n' Thunder piece; that Munsey was not the horrible, hated monster that he has been portrayed as, almost since the day of his death. The Ebenezer Scrooge-like persona that has filtered down through the decades is one that is unwarranted; primary sources such as those contained in this archive, and others, contradict such an interpretation of the man's life.
Again, what follows is a short sampling of the archive, and I intend to post more substantive items as I go through all of the file's contents. As always, thank you for stopping by!
