Thomas Bell Papers
Content Description
7 boxes of materials from the novelist, Thomas Bell. One of Bell's most well known books is Out of This Furnace (1941).
Most of the materials in the collection are pieces of Bell’s writing. This includes manuscripts and typescripts of articles and books, including pieces in published form. Of particular note are early drafts and research materials, which include hand-written notes made by Bell, of Out of This Furnace. Bell’s diaries, as well as personal and professional correspondence, are also included.
Photos, both negatives and prints, are also a significant part of the collection. These are largely photos presumed to have been taken by Bell, but also of him and his family.
The works of authors other than Bell comprise a small portion of the materials.
Dates
- 1923-1980, bulk ca. 1930-1961
Biographical
Born Adalbert Thomas Belejcak on 7 March 1903, Thomas Bell was a writer and novelist best known for his semi-autobiographical work, Out of This Furnace.
Born and raised in the Pittsburgh-area borough of Braddock, Bell came of age in and around the steel industry that dominated the region. His intimacy with working-class mill life–he worked in Braddock’s Edgar Thomson Steel Mill for a time–colored his writing.
In addition to Out of this Furnace, Bell published five other novels: The Breed of Basil, The Second Prince, All Brides are Beautiful,Till I Come Back to You, and There Comes a Time. He also authored dozens of pieces of short fiction, many of which appeared in popular magazines and other mass-market publications of the era.
Bell died from cancer on 17 January 1961. His account of dealing with this terminal illness is chronicled in In the Midst of Life, which was published posthumously in 1961.
Extent
6 Linear feet (7 boxes)
Language
English
Abstract
The Thomas Bell Papers contain personal materials created or owned by Pittsburgh-area author Thomas Bell (1903-1961).
Bell, best known for his multi-generational, working-class steel town novel Out of This Furnace, was a novelist, writer, book collector, and amateur photographer. His period of greatest writing activity was roughly from 1930 until 1950.
This collection is comprised of pieces of Bell’s writing–both published and unpublished–diaries, personal and professional correspondence, and photographs of and by Bell.
Arrangement
The collection is largely arranged alphabetically, with Bell’s written work sorted by title. Where possible, correspondence is grouped by sender or recipient and then sorted alphabetically by their surname (ex. “Bell, Anthony ‘Tony’”). In some cases, correspondence is grouped thematically and then sorted alphabetically. File titles that include the phrase “[xerox]” indicate that the items within are photocopies (whose originals may or may not be in the collection).
The organization of the photo materials largely preserved an envelope system that had been done at an unknown point in time. It is not clear whether this structure reflects how Bell stored or described the photos.
Custodial History
Mrs. Marie Bell, Thomas Bell's widow, gifted the collection to the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries in September 1982, facilitated in part by Dr. David P. Demarest, a faculty member in the English Department. The collection was transferred from Special Collections to the University Archives in 2023. During the time the collection was housed in Special Collections, some minor organization and description work occurred; it is unclear which portions of the collection’s order are a result of this work or Thomas Bell’s own.
- Approximately 1.5 boxes of material were removed from the collection and accessioned into the David P. Demarest Papers collection. This material is related to Demarest's republishing of <title>Out of This Furnace</title> in 1976, his work on projects including the Carnegie Library of Braddock and the Maxo Vanka murals, as well as his teaching and other personal interests.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Carnegie Mellon University Archives Repository