Meriwether Liston Lewis scrapbooks, ca. 1901-ca. 1954
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Arranged chronologically

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scrapbook #1 is in poor condition with very brittle pages; the volume is too fragile to photocopy.

Scope and content: A collection of six scrapbooks and one diary presumably compiled by Meriwether Liston Lewis, a Nashville Carnegie Library reference librarian and a published author, spanning the dates ca. 1901-ca. 1954. The materials document Nashville theatre, primarily about theatrical productions at the Vendome Theatre and the Grand Opera House, ca. 1901, United States history, international and national politics, the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, French history, German history, and the Bolshevik movement. Present in the scrapbook collection are published biographical sketches of famous men and women, as well as literary writings published in the series "Literature, Libraries and Reviews." The diary contains Lewis' historical research notes about the Mexican leader Santa Anna and the French General Montcalm, as well as notations about the Nashville Carnegie Library during the administration of F.K.W. Drury.

Scrapbook #1: Scrapbook of Nashville theatre clippings, ca. 1901-ca. 1930 (bulk 1901). A scrapbook of Nashville theatre-related newspaper clippings related to theatrical productions at the Vendome Theatre and the Grand Opera House, ca. 1901. Includes five folders of loose materials separated from the back of the scrapbook and housed in archival folders: a hand-lettered sign written in purple ink that reads "coming soon;" 1 issue (Aug. 10, 1901) of "Town Talk" published in Newark, N.J.; 1 seating chart of Vendome Theatre; 2 newspaper sections "At the Theaters" published in the Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky newspaper (Nov. 17 and Nov. 24, 1901), and a New York Times obituary of Helen Gladstone in a photostat reproduction (Aug. 20, 1925).

Scrapbook #2, "War Scrapbook," ca. 1919. This scrapbook is comprised of military-related newsclippings pasted into an American Book Company geography textbook. The topical coverage includes the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, international politics, nationalism and heads of state, military leaders, and diplomacy. Includes several article about Napoleon Bonaparte, famous women, and the Bolsheviks. Includes one complete issue of "Tennessee Mason: Truth Our Bulwark: Charity the Corner Stone" (August, 1919).

Scrapbook #3, "Kind Words Articles Printed," ca. 1920-ca. 1954, containing copies of Meriwether Liston Lewis' articles published in "Kind Words" and other publications. The essays include: "Edgar Allan Poe: Author, Editor, Lecturer"; "John Charles Fremont: the Pathfinder"; "Prosper Merimee"; "Ole Bull, the Blonde Paganini"; "George Morland"; "The Prince Imperial"; "Prince Napoleon"; "Paganini"; "Santa Anna: Mexican General and Statesman"; "Napoleon the Second"; "The Metallic Currency of the Confederacy"; "Military Uniforms"; "George III of England"; "Napoleon the Third"; "Jefferson Davis: President of the Southern Confederacy"; "Military Uniforms"; "George III of England"; "Napoleon the Third"; "Jefferson Davis: President of the Southern Confederacy"; "Sir Henry Morton Stanley"; "Madame Pasta"; "Sir John Everett Millais, British Artist"; "John Sevier: The First Governor of Tennessee"; "Henry Beyle"; "Alma Tadema"; "Lord Tennyson"; "Denis Diderot: Encyclopedist and Man of Letters"; "Gen. Israel Putnam's Famous Ride"; "Gen. Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Educator"; "Thomas Jefferson"; "Sam Houston"; "Military Music"; "Training Wild Animals"; "The French Academy"; "A Pioneer Pathfinder of the Sea: Matthew Fontaine Maury"; "Benjamin Disraeli"; "Stamps that Commemorate Women: Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard." The scrapbook also includes articles not written by Lewis, such as Donald Davidson's book review of Sherwin Cody's book "Poe: Man, Poet and Creative Thinker"; three 1950s newspaper articles titled "Insurance Aid Sees Better Opportunity for Colored"; "Negro Held for Calls on Phone for 'Date"; "Limited Library Use Granted to Negroes" and a Western Union telegram (1951).

Scrapbook #4, ca. 1923-1950, related to miscellaneous topics such as popular culture, boxing, and the Nashville Carnegie Library. Includes several published essays and articles by Meriwether Liston Lewis, in the publication series "Carnegie Library Notes" and "Daughters of Great Men" featuring short biographical sketches of Sara Coleridge, Maria Felicita Garcia Malibran, Lady Anne Thackeray Ritchie, and Winnie Davis. Additional essays published in "Kind Words" also contained in the scrapbook. Includes two correpondence items (1 postcard; 1 Easter card) placed in a mylar sheet in the front of the scrapbook.

Scrapbook #5: Scrapbook, 1927-ca. 1944, comprised of correspondence and published articles pertaining primarily to Lewis' research on French history. Includes bibliographic and biographical sources pertaining to Napoleon Bonaparte and Jerome Bonaparte. Additional subjects include actress Lily Langtry and Union General William Tecumseh Sherman.

Scrapbook #6, ca. 1929-ca. 1951, related to American history and popular culture with several published articles by Meriwether Liston Lewis titled "Literature, Libraries and Reviews" stemming from the author's main vocation as Nashville Carnegie Library reference librarian and literary editor. Includes a silhouette of Thomas Jefferson.

Diary, ca. 1934. This diary is stamped "M. Liston Lewis, at Carnegie Library," that includes various handwritten entries interspersed throughout the year. The topical coverage relates to historical research notes pertaining to the French General Montcalm, Santa Anna in San Luis, as well as annotatations about the Carnegie Library during the administration of Director F.K.W. Drury.

Cite as: Meriwether Liston Lewis Scrapbooks, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

This collection may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)

Source of acquisition unknown;,Acc. RT-100

Meriwether Liston Lewis (1877-1969) was a writer, historian and a librarian at the Carnegie Library, Nashville, Tennessee. He was a native of Lenoir City, Tennessee, the son of Dr. Meriwether and Jennie Gentry Lewis. He received his education in Nashville public schools. He worked in the Nashville Public Library for nearly forty-five years and, at the time of his retirement in 1947, was the chief reference librarian. Lewis was the author of many short biographies of famous men and women which were used in children's literature. He also wrote a weekly column on pugilism for the Nashville Banner newspaper from 1924-30 under the pen name Adrian Listina. Mr. Lewis's lifetime study and research on the famous French General Montcalm resulted in publication of a scholarly biography: "Montcalm: The Marvelous Marquis" (New York: Vantage Press, 1962). While relatively little is known about his youth, at age forty-one, he registered with the World War I local draft board of Davidson County, on Sept. 12, 1918, while employed at the Carnegie Library. Lewis, who lived to the age of ninety-two, was a very scholarly gentleman with many historical and cultural interests. He was an active member of St. Ann's Episcopal Church. Upon his death in 1969, he was interred in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.

In English

Process,2008;,Leanne Garland

No further accruals are expected