• Letter ID: 0429
• Addressee: Greenslet, Ferris
• Date: 1918-08
• Repository: Harvard University, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Mass.

To Ferris Greenslet,  n.d. [prob. late Aug. 1918] , from Scarsdale, N.Y. ; Harvard 

Is spending a week with the Hambourgs and will then go west by way of New York. Several musicians there who play chamber music every night. It's heavenly, but the quiet of corn fields will be a welcome rest.   W. S. C.   [Stout #429]

• Letter ID: 0437
• Addressee: Greenslet, Ferris
• Date: 1918-10-20
• Repository: Harvard University, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Mass.

To Ferris Greenslet,  Oct. 20, [1918], from Toronto ; Harvard 

Staying with the Hambourgs for ten days, then on to New York. Book still not available here.    W. S. C.   [Stout #437]

• Letter ID: 0687
• Addressee: Knopf, Blanche
• Date: 1923-06-12
• Repository: University of Texas, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, Austin, Tex.

To Blanche Knopf,  June 12,[1923], from Hotel du Quai Voltaire, Paris ; HRC 

Enjoyed the fruit basket during her crossing. Hotel is just across from the Louvre. Enjoying theatre and music inexpensively, though merchandise in shops is high. Will go to the South with the Hambourgs in two weeks.   Willa Cather   [Stout #687]

• Letter ID: 0697
• Addressee: Whicher, Harriet
• Date: 1923-08-23
• Repository: Pierpont Morgan Library, New York

To Mrs. George Whicher,  Aug. 23, [prob. 1923], from Grand Hotel, Aix-les-Bains ; PM 

Glad she is getting to have the year in Europe she was wanting when they talked in Jaffrey, but regrets they won't be able to see each other. Will be in Aix until early September and plans to sail for Quebec on September 20. Expects to be in Jaffrey again in October. P.S.: Hambourgs are in Austria.  Willa Cather   [Stout #697]

• Letter ID: 0834
• Addressee: Knopf, Blanche
• Date: 1926-05-28
• Repository: University of Texas, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, Austin, Tex.

To Blanche Knopf,  May 28, [1926], from Gallup, N.M. ; HRC 

Proofs still haven't arrived. When weather improves will start long horseback trip through Canyon de Chelly. So glad cars can't get there. If they prepare a publicity booklet using the London Mercury article, be sure to let her see proof. So easy to get incorrect biographical information into circulation. Please greet Hambourgs while in Paris. Is feeling fine except eyes hurt from the glare of sunshine. P.S.: After June 1 address will be Hotel La Fonda, Santa Fe.  Willa Cather   [Stout #834]

• Letter ID: 1256
• Addressee: Greenslet, Ferris
• Date: 1935-04-11
• Repository: Harvard University, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Mass.

To Ferris Greenslet,  Apr. 11, [1935] ; Harvard 

Appreciates his understanding letter. Isabelle McClung Hambourg has arrived from Europe, very ill. Will stay nearby under doctor's care while Jan Hambourg goes on tour for six weeks.   Willa Cather   [Stout #1256]

• Letter ID: 2131
• Addressee: Cather, Roscoe
• Date: 1921
• Repository: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Archives and Special Collections, Roscoe and Meta Cather Collection (MS316)

To Roscoe Cather,  [Spring 1921] , from 38 St. Vincent Street, Toronto, Canada ; UNL-Roscoe 

Appreciates his letting her know about his new endeavors, but wishes he wasn't leaving his beautiful home in Lander. Thought Casper was a terrible place, but certainly he knows best. Hasn't been able to write sooner due to preoccupation with work and a sore ankle and other problems. Has not been in good health during the winter, but is now relaxing with the kind Isabelle and Jan. Has enclosed an article. Is not responsible for the mistaken dates (which she wishes were correct), as she hasn't spoken to the journalists. Sends love.   Willa. 

• Letter ID: 1266
• Addressee: Greenslet, Ferris
• Date: 1935-06-29
• Repository: Harvard University, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Mass.

To Ferris Greenslet,  June 29, 1935 ; Harvard 

Going to Chicago with Isabelle while Jan Hambourg gives master classes there. Expects to sail on the Berengaria on July 26 if Isabelle is no worse. To Venice, then to Paris to join the Hambourgs, who will have returned by then.   Willa Cather   [Stout #1266]

• Letter ID: 0685
• Addressee: Greenslet, Ferris
• Date: 1923-05-18
• Repository: Harvard University, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Mass.

To Ferris Greenslet, May 18, [1923?], from Ville d'Avray, Seine et Oise, France c/o Jan Hambourg; Harvard 

Sailed April 1 and hopes to be with the Hambourgs until next winter. Is he going to have her select Miss Guiney's poems for the volume or not? Very pleased about the Pulitzer Prize.   Willa Cather   [Stout #685]

• Letter ID: 1888
• Addressee: McClung, Edith
• Date: 1938-09-26
• Repository: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Archives and Special Collections, Susan J. and James Rosowski Cather Collection (MS228)

To Edith McClung,  September 26, 1938 ; UNL-Rosowski Cather 

Understands anxiety about Isabelle and Jan in Italy, but it seems Mussolini is only forcing out Jewish people who are working jobs that Italians might fill (he does not share Hitler's fierce abhorrence of Jews). Since Jan is not taking any employment away from an Italian, he probably won't be bothered. Elizabeth Vermorcken, who is in Sorrento at the Hotel Cocumella, will likely cable if it gets dangerous. Recent note from Isabelle suggests she is comfortable in Italy, and she says that many Americans have been staying at the Cocumella, including Miss Overton of the New York Public Library. Will go see Miss Overton soon, and will write if she knows anything new about the Hambourgs.   Willa Cather 

• Letter ID: 2116
• Addressee: Cather, Roscoe
• Date: 1935-04-23
• Repository: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Archives and Special Collections, Roscoe and Meta Cather Collection (MS316)

To Roscoe Cather,  April 23, [1935?], on W.S.C. letterhead ; UNL-Roscoe 

Treasured his thoughtful letter about the English reviews. Would like to speak with him about the pleasure she gets from using the tone of legends in her work. It is good for writers, like farmers, to rotate the crops. Has been quite busy. Had an attack of appendicitis in Montreal, where she was trying to write, and a second attack in New York. Will need surgery soon. Isabelle McClung Hambourg arrived on March 26 after a winter of illness in Paris. She came with her husband who, with his brothers, is touring Canada as the Hambourg Trio. Had her doctor examine Isabelle and he declared her very ill: both kidneys are swollen and full of cysts. It is not cancer, but an illness that greatly restricts the function of the kidneys and forces a very restrictive diet on the afflicted. Three doctors concur that her kidneys were likely never formed properly and are worsening with age. Is not telling other family members about this, as people tend to enjoy the suffering of gracious and sturdy people like Isabelle. Jan spent time with Isabelle while Cather worked in Montreal, and now she is responsible for Isabelle until June 1. Had Isabelle taken to the Lennox Hill Hospital, which is nearby. Isabelle is amiable in her convalescence, but Cather is depressed and exhausted by her condition. With good medical attention, she may survive for years to come. Has abandoned both her planned trip to Italy and her writing for the time being. Hasn't written since she left Montreal. When Jan is back, she will have her appendix removed. And, on top of it all, her French cook is returning to France with her family. Is pleased she gets to be in her native land, but it upsets Cather's life, as no one else could be so respectful and sensitive. Is trying to take things one day at a time, but loses that perspective when she is tired. Appreciates his attention and love. Will write about Virginia soon.    Willie. 

• Letter ID: 0386
• Addressee: Greenslet, Ferris
• Date: 1917-04-28
• Repository: Harvard University, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Mass.

To Ferris Greenslet,  Saturday [prob. Apr. 28, 1917] , from New York ; Harvard 

Glad he is back from London. Has been socializing with Fremstad and with the Hambourgs lately, so not much writing.   W. S. C.   [Stout #386]

• Letter ID: 0428
• Addressee: Greenslet, Ferris
• Date: 1918-08-03
• Repository: Harvard University, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Mass.

To Ferris Greenslet,  Saturday [Aug. 3, 1918] , from Jaffrey, N.H. ; Harvard 

Proofs have now arrived. Hambourgs have taken a cottage at Scarsdale, N.Y., and Josephine is there with them.   W. S. C.   [Stout #428]

• Letter ID: 0435
• Addressee: Scaife, R. L.
• Date: 1918-10-03
• Repository: Harvard University, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Mass.

To R. L. Scaife,  Oct. 3, [1918], from Red Cloud, Nebr. ; Harvard 

Local book shop received only twelve copies out of an order of twenty-five and has sold out. Friends in Toronto [ Hambourgs ] report they can't get it there.   Willa S. Cather   [Stout #435]

• Letter ID: 0509
• Addressee: Greenslet, Ferris
• Date: 1920-06-20
• Repository: Harvard University, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Mass.

To Ferris Greenslet,  June 20, [1920], from Paris ; Harvard 

Enjoying the food, though prices are high. Not shopping except for necessities. Will spend a few weeks with the Hambourgs and go with them to the south of France and to Sorrento. Edith Lewis going to Italy next week. Has not gone on with "Claude" since arriving, but has planned some cuts, so the money she has spent on drinks has not gone for nothing. French wine is really the essence of the culture.   Willa Cather   [Stout #509]

• Letter ID: 0513
• Addressee: Greenslet, Ferris
• Date: 1920-09-01
• Repository: Harvard University, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Mass.

To Ferris Greenslet,  Sept. 1, 1920, from La Côte d'Azur, France, postcard ; Harvard 

Has enjoyed traveling through Provence with the Hambourgs. Did not go to Italy because Edith warned her of food shortages. Will return to Paris for a while before sailing from Marseilles.   Willa Cather   [Stout #513]

• Letter ID: 1269
• Addressee: Sherwood, Carrie Miner
• Date: 1935-07-26
• Repository: Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial and Educational Foundation

To Carrie Miner Sherwood,  July 26, [1935], from New York ; WCPM 

Sending a check for the Red Cross and $10 to buy a few things for Mrs. Welch. Isn't very well, but will leave for Italy next week. Hambourgs left today. Feeling very down in spirits.   Willie   [Stout #1269]

• Letter ID: 1889
• Addressee: McClung, Edith
• Date: 1938-10-24
• Repository: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Archives and Special Collections, Susan J. and James Rosowski Cather Collection (MS228)

To Edith McClung,  October 24, 1938 ; UNL-Rosowski Cather 

Apologizes for not cabling her when news of Isabelle's death arrived from Jan, but assumed he had cabled Edith as well. Received the news the same day that brother Roscoe was in critical condition after surgery. Was in a daze for most of a week. Went to the Lowell Hotel to avoid redecorators and wait for news. Jan ought to have written, but can't fault him for being preoccupied after Isabelle's death. Jan's correspondence about Isabelle's final days says she died with dignity and the attention of a local priest and nuns. Isabelle's final letter—written September 24—was brief but cheery and composed while she sat in the garden. All who saw her at the Hotel Cocumella says she remained distinguished and comfortable. Was planning to go to Sorrento last summer, but did not feel up to it after brother Douglass died. Edith must have known Isabelle did not have long to live. That was Cather's reason for going to France to see her so soon after she left New York—was told she might not survive a year and wanted to be near her. Isabelle withstood exhaustion and restrictive diet for years, and did not even know her kidneys were failing until she saw the doctors in New York. Probably was better that way; it would have been a burden to know that she was born with a fatal kidney defect. Though Jan is sometimes frustrating, he was an irreproachable spouse, and Isabelle treasured the way he cared for her. Isabelle also greatly appreciated Edith's visits to her in the New York hospital. Cannot imagine life without Isabelle in it. Please keep this letter confidential, as Isabelle would not want those who did not really love her—like some of her relatives—to know all this about her life. 

• Letter ID: 1956
• Addressee: Cather, Mary Virginia (Jennie) Boak
• Date: 1920-08-12
• Repository: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Archives and Special Collections, Philip L. and Helen Cather Southwick Collection (MS77)

To Mary Virginia Cather,  August 12, [1920] ; UNL-Southwick 

Is in the south of France on the Mediterranean coast after several disorganized weeks. Edith Lewis left for Italy six weeks ago. Journeyed south with Isabelle and Jan Hambourg three weeks ago and got ill shortly thereafter. Hambourgs have been very understanding about the change of plans and brought her to the peaceful spot by the water, which Isabelle loves. Meant to go to Italy to join Edith, but she wrote about the terrible lack of food there, so Edith is now coming back to France and the entire group will go to Paris. Will leave for home as soon as a boat is available. Is wishing she could be home to eat chicken and pie. Isabelle sends regards. PS: Isabelle has been under the weather, too. Jan is such an understanding, pleasant man!  Willie 

• Letter ID: 1921
• Addressee: Cather, Elsie
• Date: 1935-04-12
• Repository: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Archives and Special Collections, Susan J. and James Rosowski Cather Collection (MS228)

To Elsie Cather,  April 12, [1935] ; UNL-Rosowski Cather 

Is very busy, but must write about Elsie's health problems. Is she taking the "mixed glands" pills? She should be, as all women, including Edith and herself, are taking them nowadays. Just in case, has included personal prescription for Elsie to use. Has had appendix trouble recently, but will wait until after Isabelle leaves to have an appendectomy. Isabelle is quite sick and is in New York to see American physicians while Jan is touring Canada. Take the pills!   Willie