mnsss277 Joan and Peggy Murray Papers, 1880-1969 Finding Aid Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College
Northampton, MA
© 2005

Smith College. All rights reserved.

 Finding aid exported into EAD from InMagic DB/Textworks 7.01. Encoded by Margaret Jessup and Jennifer Smar. 2006-04-07 Finding aid written in English. Sophia Smith CollectionSmith College Joan and Peggy Murray Papers, 1880-1969 (bulk dates 1911-1969) Finding Aid MS 295 2005 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

© 2005 Smith College. All rights reserved.

 Collection Overview Murray, Joan, 1917-1942 Joan and Peggy Murray Papers1880-1969 1911-1969 MS 295 7 boxes (3 linear ft.) English Sophia Smith Collection
Smith College Northampton, MA
Collection consists of correspondence (1931-46); clippings; writings; memorabilia; photographs; and printed material documenting the lives of mother Peggy Murray, diseuse, and daughter Joan Murray, poet. Biographical Note

Florence Margaret (Peggy) Toaps Murray was born in Ottawa (date unknown). She toured Canada and England as a "diseuse" ("The Canadian [Yvette] Guilbert"), doing readings in accents, singing, etc. She took up painting at age 52, and at some point moved to Easthampton, Massachusetts. Her date of death is presently unknown. Her daughter, Joan Vincent Murray was born in London on 12 February 1917 during a World War I air raid. She spent her early childhood in England, and later attended schools in London, Paris, Ontario, and Detroit. Rheumatic fever injured her heart, and she was largely self-educated thereafter. She studied acting at several New York City schools and appeared in semi- professional plays. Her poems attracted the attention of W.H. Auden, who wrote the forward to one of her book of poems, published in 1947. She died of an infection in Saranac Lake, NY on 4 January 1942.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The collection consists of correspondence (1931-46); clippings; writings; memorabilia; photographs; and printed material documenting the lives of mother Peggy Murray, diseuse, and daughter Joan Murray, poet.

 Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.

This collection has not been fully processed and therefore may be difficult to use.

Copyright to unpublished materials may be owned by the creator, or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.

 Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Joan and Peggy Murray Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

 Search Terms Murray, Joan, 1917-1942 Murray, Peggy Actresses--Canada--Biography--Sources Actresses--England--Biography--Sources Dreier, Katherine Sophie, 1877-1952 Auden, W.H. (Wystan Hugh), 1907-1973 Poets, American--20th century--Biography--Sources Murray, Peggy Contents List Joan Murray 1 Rilke, Rainer Maria. Selected Poems, London, The Hogarth Press, 1941 Murray, Joan. Poems. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1947. Edited by Grant Code. (Yale Series of Younger Poets)-contains hand written notes 1 Book of Common Prayer 1 1 Correspondence between Grant Code and W.H. Auden, 1946 1 2 Correspondence, 1931-42 1 3 Correspondence re her final illness, 1941-42 1 4 Tributes and reviews, 1947-18, n.d. 1 5 Photographs 1 6 Writings and notes 1 7 Biographical material Writings 1 Poems 2 1 Notes 2 2 Reviews 2 3 Proofs 2 4 True copies 2 Correspondence 2 5 Grant Code and Mary Newman, 1946 2 6 Grant Code and Helen Anderson, 1946 2 7 Clippings, 1946 2 8 Forward to A Faun Surmising by Grant Code, 1946 2 9 "Sway to the Clouds Swing to The Sun," dedicated to Joan, by Peggy Murray (sheet music) 3 Typescripts of poems Peggy Murray 4 Notebook 4 Poetry to reshape for publication 4 1 Study at conservatory 4 2 The studio 4 3 Society about 1910 4 4 Sketches from my life 4 5 Dodging subs 4 6 The costume party 4 7 The escort 4 8 Introductions 4 9 Girlhood and school 4 10 The shoemaker 4 11 Taxi ride to studio 4 12 Debarkation 4 13 Stan in London 4 14 Whales 4 15 Days at sea 4 16 The Mad Man's Monologue 4 17 The ship's concert 4 18 Kipling: whale 4 19 Drummond's poems and others 4 20 The Walkers 4 21 Prose version 4 22 Icebergs 4 23 Fog 4 24 The agent 4 25 Stan and his painting 4 26 Beginning of romance with Stan 4 27 Mrs. Allingham 4 28 Stan's family 4 29-30 Eastbourne 4 31 Secret marriage 4 32 Maidenhead 4 6 unlabeled folders and miscellaneous loose material, poetry, printed material, mss. Data for biography 5 Scrapbook, 1914-1916 5 Notes (small spiral notebook) 5 Engagement book 5 Autograph book 5 Notecards of possibly books, articles read ?? 5 Love and Valor by Tom Hood 5 Heritage of Byzantium by Marcu Beza 5 Ever A Fighter:A Modern Approach To The Work Of Robert Browning by Dallas Kenmare 5 Little Journeys, Eminent Artists: Botticelli 5 1 pair of earrings, locket with hair, pin, porcelain of Queen Elizabeth, and a scarf 5 folder of miscellaneous photographs, correspondence, prints and drawings, and notes. 6 "A New Musical Comedy Introducing Singing Chorus of Dancers". Ballet by Peggy Murray 6 History of the Isle of Mull,the Hebrides and the history of the Mac or McLeans 6 1 The St Laurence 6 2 Sketches on my life for BBC 6 3 The poetry of the unicorn and specters, etc 6 4-6 Scripts 6 7 Poetry 6 8 Miscellaneous poetry, scripts, programs, printed material 6 9 L.Baindridge Crist: songs 6 10 Seventeen wives 6 11 Printed material 6 12 The French Visitor 6 13 Family opposition to marriage 6 14 Miscellaneous printed material and poetry 6 15 Proposal in ... ? 6 16 Sister's marriage 6 17 The telephone call 6 18 Duplicates 6 The Spirit of the Brush translated by Shio Sakanishi 6 Little Books on Art: Holbein edited by Cyril Davenport 6 2 loose photographs 6 Manilla envelope of poetry 7 Diaries, 1928, n.d. 7 Charles Dickens by Julian Symons 7 Margot Fonteyn by Gordon Anthony 7 A Confucian Notebook by Edward Herbert 7 The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico 7 1 Poetry 7 2 Siklianos by Grant Code 7 3 Photographs 7 4 Cadenza (poetry, scripts, notes) 7 5 Plays and poetry 7 6 Poetry, notes, misc. photographs 7 7 Photographs and notes 7 "History of the Isle of Mull" (2 notebooks) 7 Words, ideas, sketches for "A New Musical Comedy..." 7 Notes (blue notebook) may be part of above?? 7 Manilla envelope of correspondence to Peggy Murray 7 Aristotle On Poetry and Music 7 Peggy Murray's "bits and pieces" 7 Miscellaneous photographs Oversized Materials "The World's Need, A Play of Light" 7 Drawings, poetry 7 Photographs