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

[Identification of item], in Henry Steele Commager Papers [Box #, folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library

Mary Powlesland Commager deposited her husband's scholarly and literary papers from his home and his Amherst College offices with the Archives and Special Collections in 1987, 1992, 1993, and 1996. These deposits became a gift in 1999. Mary Powlesland Commager retains copyright and literary rights at this time (2007).

In 2006, former students, friends and family of Henry Steele Commager created the Henry Steele Commager Papers Project to support the arrangement and description of his papers to archival standards.

The Papers came to the Archives and Special Collections with little inherent organization. A portion of the papers were loose in boxes; some were in folders or manila envelopes with and without identification; enclosures and attachments were separated from the transmittal letters; multi-page letters and documents were often separated. There was evidence of previous attempts to arrange the materials by those who had access to the papers before they were given to Archives and Special Collections.

After review the Papers were organized into logical groupings of correspondence, writings, talks, teaching and other materials. Documents were sorted to these groupings and then arranged to an appropriate sequence, e.g. alphabetically by name of correspondent, or chronologically.