Ben Lucien Burman and Alice Caddy Burman Papers

Manuscripts Collection 529

Burman, Ben Lucien 1896-1984
Burman, Alice Caddy 1896-1977

Papers, ca. 1927-1984
40 linear feet
 (27 manuscripts boxes, 14 records boxes, 3 artifact boxes, and 1 scrapbook)

Processed by Helen Burkes, 1994.

Correspondence, articles, book drafts, scrapbooks, photographs, sketches, and other papers documenting this Southern husband and wife, novelist/artist team.

Noted for his depictions of life on the Mississippi River, Ben Lucien Burman (1896-1984) achieved early fame with Steamboat Round the Bend (1933), which became Will Roger's most successful movie. Blow for a Landing received the Southern Author's Prize for the most distinguished book of 1938. He then embarked upon his "Catfish Bend" series of satiric southern fables. They were an international success, and were translated into many languages including Burmese, Thai, Urdu, and Vietnamese. The Irish poet and critic Oliver St. John Gogarty called Burman "America's greatest living interpreter."

During World War II, Burman turned to non-fiction and became a noted journalist. From his base in North Africa, he achieved fame for his expose of the Petain regime in Vichy France. In recognition of that achievement, the French government awarded him the Legion of Honor. He drew upon his experiences as a wartime journalist for his book Generals Wear Cork Hats. Later in life, the Dutch Treat Club of New York honored Burman with their gold medal for distinguished service to American literature.

Alice Caddy Burman (1896-1977) illustrated her husband's novels. According to the Miami Herald, "Their combined talents made them an almost immediate hit in the magazine field. Her delicate line drawings catch the spirit of her husband's text." Alice Caddy Burman was particularly adept at depicting rural scenes from the 1930s. Her drawings are important documentary evidence for a way of life that no longer exists.

In addition to the Burman Papers, the Special Collections Division preserves a collec- tion of the Burmans' publications from their personal library. This includes foreign language editions of the Burmans' books.

Preserving the papers of Southern authors and artists is a special commitment of the Tulane Manuscripts Department. In addition to the Burmans' paper, the Manuscripts Department also preserves the paper of Southern authors George W. Cable, Hermann Deutsch, Grace King, Ruth McEnery Stuart, John Kennedy Toole, and others. Artists whose papers are preserved by the Tulane Manuscripts Department include Carmen Freret Favrot, Miriam Levy, and Will Henry Stevens; the records of the Southern States Art League; the papers of art historian Margarete Bieber, and others.

Ben Lucien Burman and Alice Caddy Burman Papers, Manuscripts Collection 529, Manuscripts Department, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118-5682

Series I. Ben Lucien Burman Papers. Boxes 1-3

• Box 1. Biographical material, contracts and photographs
• Box 2. Correspondence, 1923-1973
• Box 3. Correspondence 1974-1984 and speech material

• Box 4. biography and writings
• Box 5. sketches

• Box 6-7. articles
• Box 8-9. book reviews
• Box 10-34. drafts of books
• Box 35-36. Readers' Digest articles
• Box 37. awards and certificates
• Box 38. magazine articles: Saturday Review, Colliers, Liberty, Holiday, others
• Box 39-40. drafts, plays
• Box 41-43. notes
• Box 44. artifacts

Series I. Ben Lucien Burman Papers. Boxes 1-3

Box 1. Biographical material, contracts and photographs
Folder

• 1-3. Biographical material on B.L.B.
  
• 4. Hotel Chelsea, the Burman's home for many years
  
• 5. "On Being a Cud Chewing Animal," Burman's observation on being a novelist
  
• 6. Burman's 85th birthday celebration, 1981
  
• 7. obituary, 1984
  
• 8. Catfish Bend plague, 1983
  
• 9. Steamboats and B.L.B.
  
• 10-11. Burman interview
  
• 12. Introductions to people while traveling
  
• 13-14. Awarded French Legion of Honor medal, 1946
  
• 15. Programs honoring Burman
  
• 16. "The Benevolent and Protective Order of Catfish," 1966
  
• 17. Dutch Treat Club of N.Y., 1968
  
• 18. Passports, bank books, and cards
  
• 19. Trip to Egypt, 1941
  
• 20-29. Burman contracts for books and articles, 1938-84
  
• 30. Photographs, early Burman
  
• 31. Photographs, later
  
• 32. Photographs, Alice Caddy Burman
  
• 33. Photographs, Burman relatives
  
• 34. Photographs, Burman in group pictures
  
• 35. Photographs, group pictures
  
• 36. Photographs, Burman at dedication of plaque, 1983.
  
• 37. Photographs, river and boats
  
• 38. Photographs, places
  
• 39. Photographs, Africa [1964?]
  
• 40. Photographs, India, Egypt, Algeria
  
• 41. Photographs, Australia and misc.
  
• 42. Photographs, negatives
  
• 43. Burman book covers
  
• 44. Books written by B.L.B.
  

Box 2. Correspondence, 1923-1973

Box 3. Correspondence, 1974-1984, and speech material

Box 4. Alice Caddy biography and writings
Folder

• 1. biographical material
• 2. obituary
• 3. correspondence, 1927-1928
• 4. correspondence, n.d.
• 5. "To a Baby" (poem)
• 6. "Chalk Talk"
• 7. "The Adventures of Mr. Punch"
• 8. "Cooks and Camels"
• 9. "Mississippi Story"
• 10. "Congo Voyage" (1931)
• 11. "Those Plummer Children" (1934-35)
• 12. "Should Have Stayed Home"
• 13. "No Place for a Lady" (1944)
• 14. interview (1944)
• 15. "Jungle Theatre in Africa" (1946)
• 16. incomplete
• 17. notes on Africa, 1948
• 18. notes on Africa, n.d.
• 19. notes on "how to approach a book"
• 20. review of sketches, "The Street of the Laughing Camel"
• 21. African story
• 22. outline of African story
• 23. notes on Brazaville
• 24. story, "A Woman sees the Tchad"
• 25. "Miss Girl"
• 26. "Klondike Dog"
• 27. foreign publicity
• 28. notes on Australia
• 29. notes on Baghdad, Philippines, Malaysia, and New Guinea
• 30. notes on Mexico sketch books: 13 items

• 1. "Judy & Chris"
• 2. "Those Plummer Children"
• 3-4. "Mississippi"
• 5. "The Loops of Kager," 1938
• 6. "Persimmon Creek," 1938
• 7. "Steamboat Round the Bend," 1939
• 8. early Kentucky trip
• 9. Martinique, Nassau
• 10. "Congo Story," 1942
• 11. "Everywhere I Roam," 1949
• 12-13. "Children of Noah," 1951
• 14. "Mundy Tolliver."
• 15. pastels on paper
• 16. "The Generals wear Cork Hats"
• 17. "High Water at Catfish Bend"
• 18. "Big Country"
• 19. "Rooster Crows for Day"
• 20. "Laughing Camel"
• 21. New Yorker & Taplinger [publishing house]
• 22. "The River Today"
• 23-33. "Look Down that Winding River"
• 34. "Blow for a Landing"
• 35. steamboats
• 36. animals (original sketches)
• 37. (copies)
• 38. Baghdad
• 39. African sketches
• 40-43. miscellaneous sketches
• 44. elephants
• 45. copies of sketches
• 46. miscellaneous

• 1. "Kentucky Mountain" and "Christmas in Cumberland Mountains"
• 2. "On Being a Gypsy" and "A Column for Sterling North"
• 3. "The Best Advice I Ever Had"
• 4. "Wanted New Gods"
• 5. "The Little Men" and "Items"
• 6. "Speaking of Books"
• 7. "The Weirdness of Death Valley"
• 8. "Falsehearted" (poem)
• 9. "Unnatural and Natural History"
• 10. "This I Believe," 1954 and "Words to Live By," 1960
• 11. "The Computer Critics Christmas"
• 12. ideas for lyrics
• 13. a few notes on the Bayou country
• 14. "Miracle in Okefenokee" (play), 1969
• 15. "Miracle in Okefenokee" (play), 1969
• 16. notes on Everglades
• 17. "Life in these United States" and "Life in America"
• 18. "Show Business"
• 19. "Alligator Joe" notes
• 20. "Success Story"
• 21. "The Famous Trial of Alligator Joe" (play for puppets)
• 22. "Alligator Joe"
• 23. "Miracle in Okefenokee" (play), 1969
• 24. "Willow Joe and the Scarlet Wonder"
• 25. "A Trick on Old Joe" and "Profaning of Granny Run"
• 26. (for young readers)
• 27. puppet play about Catfish Bend
• 28. "Steamboat Round the Bend"
• 29. "Murder on the Mississippi Queen"
• 30. "River Boy" and "The Last Steamboat"
• 31. "Minstrel in the Mist"
• 32. "Music all the Day"
• 33. "Music on the Mississippi"
• 34. notes on Lafitte's buried treasure
• 35. "The Golden Age of the Mississippi Steamboats"
• 36. "The Great Race between the Natchez and the Robert E. Lee" and "Goodbye to the Great Boats"
• 37. "Voyage Down the Suwannee River"
• 38. "Steamboat Down the San Francisco"
• 39. "The Worlds of the St. Lawrence"
• 40. Mississippi river pilots
• 41. "Puffin Post"
• 42. introduction to "It's a Big Country"
• 43. "Rio Grande"
• 44. "March King" or "Genius of the Marshes"
• 45. "Last Trolley"
• 46. side lights for whole river
• 47. "Oasis Village"
• 48. "Hollywood Success Story"
• 49. "The Great War of the Caves" or "The Sun Shines Bright"
• 50. "King of the Pygmies" (incomplete)
• 51. "Land of the Lukandu"
• 52. "Martha Berry" (original screen story)
• 53. "Nick" (motion picture story)
• 54. "The Undertakers"
• 55. "The Disciple of the Borgias" (Liberty Magazine)
• 56. "The Unknown Philippines"

• 1. Outline of novel, 1946
• 2. "Grand Trunk"
• 3. "A Friend from Ireland" (Oliver St. John Gogarty)
• 4. "The Magic of Aran," 1979
• 5. "Canals" (England)
• 6. "An Open Letter to Comrade Ivan"
• 7. [fear of totalitarianism]
• 8-10. Burman play: "Hurricane Watch"
• 11. "Witchcraft -- Mexican Style"
• 12-13. "Troubadours of Today: Mexico's Wonderful Mariachis"
• 14. "Sailing with the Shrimpers"
• 15. "The West Indies: Islands of Mystery"
• 16. "The Great Treasure Rush of the Bahamas"
• 17. "The Enchanted Islands"
• 18. "Brazil's Heroic Fisherman" and "Mississippi Steamboat Brazilian Style"
• 19. "The Fabulous Yukon" and "Land of No Tomorrow"
• 20. "Rio Grande: River of Surprises"
• 21. "Three French Generals" and "A Story about the Free French"
• 22. "The Vichy Men of Africa"
• 23. [War is a Melodrama]
• 24. "Gen. Le Clerc"
• 25. "Fighting Frenchmen"
• 26. "The Great French Conspiracy"
• 27. "Sahara"
• 28. "Cattle Drive Down Under"
• 29. "Australian Outback"
• 30. "The Weird Cargo Cult of the South Pacific"
• 31. Apia (So. Pacific) notes
• 32. "Mysterious Malaysia"
• 33. "New Guinea" notes
• 34. South Pacific-New Caledonia and Borneo
• 35. "Cannibals and Head Hunters I Have Met"
• 36. "My Friend the Snake Charmer"
• 37. [the smartest animal . . .]
• 38. notes for speech on elephants
• 39. "I'm Crazy about Elephants"
• 40. [Rama, the elephant]
• 41. "The Temple of the Happy Elephant"

• "Steamboat Round the Bend," 1933-36
• "Blow for a Landing," 1939
• "Mississippi," 1940 (?)
• "Big River to Cross," 1940
• "Miracle of the Congo," 1942
• "Rooster Crows for Day," 1945
• "Everywhere I Roam,: 1949-50
• "Children of Noah,:" 1951
• "High Water at Catfish Bend," 1952
• "The Four Lives of Mundy Tolliver," 1953
• "Blow for a Landing" (movie), 1954
• "7 Stars for Catfish Bend," 1956
• "It's a Big Country," 1956
• "The Street of the Laughing Camel," 1959

• The Owl Hoots Twice, 1961
• The Street of the Laughing Camel, 1961
• It's a Big Continent, 1962
• The Generals Wear Cork Hats, 1963
• The Sign of the Praying Tiger, 1966
• Blow a Wild Beagle for C.B., 1967
• Catfish Bend (musical), 1967
• Look Down that Winding River, 1973
• High Treason at C.B., 1977
• The Strange Invasion, 1980
• miscellaneous, 1983-84

Boxes 12-14. Drafts, The Generals Wear Cork Hats

Box 15. Drafts, High Treason at Catfish Bend

Box 16-18. Drafts, The Sign of the Praying Tiger

Box 19. Drafts, Strange Invasion at Catfish Bend

Box 20. Drafts, It's a Big Country and Blow a Wild Bugle for Catfish Bend

Box 21. Drafts, Street of the Laughing Cow

Box 22-24. Drafts, "It's a Small World:"

Box 22.

• "Grand Trunk Road of India"
• "Snake Charmers"
• "The Mountains That Hold Up the Sky"
• "The Mysterious Jungles of Borneo"

• "The Fabulous Yukon"
• "Gypsy"
• "Canal Boat"
• "Freight Boat on the Rhine"

• "South Pacific"
• "The Last of the Maories"
• "Cowboy Down Under"
• "Sheep Country"
• "The Opal Miners of Lightning Ridge"

BOX 26. Drafts, Catfish (play)

BOX 27. Drafts, High Water

BOX 28. Drafts, Kuristan (novel)

BOX 29-31. Drafts, Laughing Camel (play)

BOX 32. Drafts, Okefenokee (play)

BOX 33-34. Drafts, The Temple of the Happy Elephant

BOX 35-36. Readers' Digest articles

BOX 37. Burman writings, awards and certificates, and phonograph records

BOX 38. Magazine articles. Burman articles in Collier's magazine (1953-55); articles in the Saturday Review of Literature (1946-65); Burmese publication and program of 80th birthday celebration of Ben Lucien Burman; articles in Liberty, Holiday, others.

Box 39. Draft of Catfish Bend stories:

• "Blow a Wild Bugle"
• Blow for a Landing (screenplay)

• "Tollivers' Travels"
• "Mundy on the Mississippi Queen"
• "The Street of the Laughing Camel" (musical)
• Working titles for Camel
• Catfish introduction
• Blow for a Landing (screenplay)
• Steamboat Round the Bend (introduction)
• Name the animals contest
• Catfish (musical lyrics)
• Seven Stars (titles)
• "Owl Hoots Twice"
• "Blow a Bugle"
• other "Catfish Bend" manuscripts

Box 44.

• Metal plate etching of two girls by a pond, probably by Caddy.
• Audio-cassette recordings:

1. Ed White with B.L.B., "80 Miles of Help"
2. B.L.B. Book Beat, C.B.S. radio
3. "The Rest of the Story" Paul Harvey
4. "Wind in the Willows"
5. "Ben Lucien Burman and Dorry Potts," 1972, St. Louis

• Phonograph records:

1. "A Summers' End"
2. "The Last of the Maories" [narrated by B.L. Burman]

• Artifacts:

1. Ben Lucien Burman's eyeglasses
2. Plaque: "City of Biloxi"
3. Ceramic vase with B.L.B. poem