Title: Chester Linn Shaver Papers, 1924-1979

ID: RG 30/073

Extent: 11.42 Linear Feet

Chester Linn Shaver, the son of a lawyer, was born in Somerset, Pennsylvania, on November 23, 1907. Educated at Oberlin College (A.B., 1928 Phi Beta Kappa) and Harvard University (A.M., 1929, Ph.D., 1937), Shaver joined the English Department at Oberlin in 1930, serving as chairman of the department from 1952 to 1955 and from 1964 to 1970. He married Alice Louise Crafts (A.B. Oberlin, 1936; B.S. Simmons, 1937) on June 14, 1937, and they had two children: Philip Alcott (b. 1938) and Anne Elizabeth (b. 1941), both of whom are Oberlin graduates.

Shaver, who became interested in William Wordsworth when he was an undergraduate at Oberlin in the 1920s, devoted his scholarly life to studying the English poet. Over four decades Shaver was the eighteenth century English literature specialist in the Department of English. Like so many of his colleagues, he was of the "old school" where the professor largely lectured from prepared notes. In love with his subject, Shaver's manner, included an enthusiastic, distilled response to the Romantics. His interests in English and photography were joined in a frequently used classroom slide presentation on Wordsworth and Coleridge. He also diligently served on many faculty committees and was the advisor on acquisitions for the Library.

Over the years, Shaver published a number of articles on Wordsworth as well as Byron, Keats and Chaucer. He also served on the editorial board of the quarterly "The Wordsworth Circle." He undertook a major editing project when he prepared a revised edition of Ernest de Selincourt's The Letters of William and Dorothy Wordsworth: The Early Years, 1787-1805, published by Oxford University's Clarendon Press in 1967. This volume's importance is in the addition of letters, which were not included in the first edition or any successive editions. Shaver wrote the piece on Wordsworth in the "Encyclopedia International." His research took him to England, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Western Germany.

Following the completion of The Early Years, his greatest achievement, he began compiling Wordsworth's Library: A Catalogue. With the help of his wife, Alice, he created an entire listing of the books that were owned by William Wordsworth and housed at his home, Rydal Mount. The book's scholarly significance is in the correlation between what Wordsworth read and the influence it had on his writing. This connection could not be fully understood previously because published listings of his library were incomplete.

Chester Shaver died of cancer on 2 February 1980 at Elyria Memorial Hospital after several years of illness. Alice Shaver died on December 2, 2003 in Oberlin.

Author: Lisa S. Hicks

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Scope and Contents:

The bulk of the collection, which consists of photocopies, photographs, genealogies and notes, is organized around six record series: I. Student Years [1924-1937]; II. Academic Teaching Files; III. Talks and Writings (General); IV. Correspondence, Notes and Research Materials Files (General); V. Wordsworth Catalogue Project Files; and, VI. Additional Materials Received.

The correspondence, though meager in some cases, contains letters from such well-known Oberlin College faculty as Philip D. Sherman (1881-1957) and Charles Wager (1869-1939). In addition, letters from Richard Carl (1906-1991, Class of 1928) and Jack Warner (1907-1991, Class of 1929) Schaefer are also included. An original William Wordsworth signature exists in the collection, which was sent to Shaver by a descendant of Wordsworth.

Though Shaver diligently served on college faculty committees, faculty councils and so forth, no materials relating to his service are to be found in his personal papers. Evidence of the role he played in departmental affairs will be found in the faculty council minutes for the English Department.

Shaver's personal life is not well documented. Two travel diaries (n.d., 1937) and a 1928 college daybook (all are modest in research value) say little about his life outside of academia. Some of Shaver's notes, research papers and examination bluebooks while he was a student at Oberlin College constitute the only other material relating to his pre-teaching years. The research papers, covering topics such as Shakespeare, Chaucer and Wordsworth, documents the early years in his academic career; in some respects, they may even foreshadow Shaver's later academic scholarship.

In series 2 of this collection, are Shaver's lecture notes and class books (restricted access). The lecture notes, on 5 x 8 sheets, are quite extensive and outline every class he taught at Oberlin College. Correspondence from colleagues (1937-1974) from this period is also included.

Two indexes (series 4) and slides (series 2 and series 7) represent different media in the collection. The indexes were used in his work various research projects, some of which may not have been complete. The slides in the teaching files, which document Wordsworth and Coleridge, were part of a presentation he used in his classes. The slides in series 7, presumably by Shaver, were taken of his colleagues, buildings and other subjects in Oberlin.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Series I. Student Years, 1924-1937 (0.6 lin. ft.)

Essays from Shaver's Oberlin College years are part of this series. Research papers, class notes, diaries (quite modest in research value) and examination bluebooks show his work as an English major at Oberlin College in the 1920s.

Series II. Academic Teaching Files, 1937-1974 (2.1 lin. ft.)

Contains the correspondence, lecture notes and grades of Chester Shaver while he taught at Oberlin College. In some cases the lecture notes are accompanied by class exercises and exams that were used in his various English literature classes. In addition, the Coleridge and Wordsworth slides were assembled for use in his class. The series is divided in to four subseries: 1. Correspondence (arranged chronologically), 2. Class Books 3. Lecture Notes and 4. Teaching Slides.

Series III. Talks and Writings (General), 1927-1979 (2.0 lin. ft.)

Included are copies of articles, talks and reviews written by Shaver as well as a transcription of oral histories interviews he did. Various drafts of The Early Years are also documented here. This series is divided into five subseries: 1. Talks, 2. Book Reviews, 3. Articles, 4. Books and 5. Oral History Interviews.

Series IV. Correspondence, Notes and Research Materials Files (General), 1927-1979 (3.0 lin. ft.)

This series contains correspondence, indexes, maps photocopies, photostats and research materials used by Shaver to write his various articles and books. Several speeches on the Romantics, are also to be found here. The dates on the folders represent when Shaver did the research and not the time period it was taken from. Indexes, which were used for researching various Romantics, are also contained in this group.

Series V. Wordsworth Catalogue Project Files, 1958-1979 (3.5 lin. ft.)

The last series consists of the research materials Shaver created and used for his final project, Wordsworth's Library: A Catalogue (1979, Garland Press). Included are drafts of his work, along with notations as well as galley proofs from the publisher. The research material consists of correspondence, photostats, photocopies and notes. In addition, there is a card catalog documenting his research. The series is divided into two subseries: 1. Drafts and 2. Correspondence, Notes and Research Materials relating to.

Series VI. Additional Materials Received, 1915-16, 1956, n.d.

This series consists of materials received as a late accretion following the death of Alice Shaver in 2003. Included are postcards and photographs depicting May Day, Oberlin Prospect School, and the Oberlin High School Pageant, 1915-16, n.d. Also included are two (2) 33.2 pm phonograph records titled "Portrait of Virginia Woolf," 29 August 1956.

Series VII. Slides (personal), 1959, 1962, 1967, 1970-76 (0.2 l.f.)

Contains slides, presumably taken by Shaver, of his colleagues, Oberlin College buildings and monuments, and other Oberlin subjects such as a bicentennial parade, a tornado, Oberlin views, and college reunions.

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