p400 O. E. ROLVAG: An Inventory of His Letters Finding aid prepared by Kathryn A. Johnson. Minnesota Historical Society

St. Paul MN.

Manuscripts Collection

Finding aid encoded by Lyda Morehouse,October 29, 1999. Finding aid written inEnglish August 2008Converted from EAD Version 1.0 to Version 2002 by Monica Manny Ralston, Daniel Sher, and Joyce Chapman. OVERVIEW Minnesota Historical Society Rolvaag, O. E. (Ole Edvart), 1876-1931. O. E. Rolvaag letters. 1928-1931. Three letters (1928-1931) from Rolvaag to Eugene Saxton of Harper's concerning the publication of his novel Peder Victorious, sales of Giants in the Earth, and a dramatization of Giants; a letter to Bertha L. Heilbron, editor of Minnesota History, declining a book review offer; and one to Marie Didelot (Minneapolis) rejecting an unspecified invitation. 1 folder, containing 6 items See Detailed Description section for shelf location. BIOGRAPHY OF O. E. ROLVAAG

Norwegian American author O. E. Rolvaag was born in Helgeland, Norway, on April 22, 1876, the son of Peder Jakobsen and Ellerine Johanna (Olson). He immigrated to the U. S. in 1896, settling in South Dakota, and attended Augustana College, South Dakota (1898-1901), and St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minn.) from which he received his B.A. (1905) and M.A. (1910) degrees. Rolvaag was professor and head of the Norwegian language and literature department at St. Olaf (1906-1931) and wrote a number of novels depicting the Norwegian experience in America. He married Jennie Marie Berdahl (July 9, 1908) and died on November 5, 1931.

RELATED MATERIALS

The Minnesota Historical Society holds a large group of microfilmed Rolvaag papers, which are cataloged separately.

CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics: Authors, American--Minnesota. Books--Minnesota. Fiction--20th Century. Norwegian-American fiction. Norwegian Americans--Minnesota. Novelists, American--Minnesota. Publishers and publishing--New York. Places: Northfield (Minn.). Persons: Heilbron, Bertha L. (Bertha Lion), 1895-1972. Rolvaag, Jennie Marie Berdahl. Saxton, Eugene. Organizations: Harper's. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. O. E. Rolvaag Letters. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 9363, 10,343

Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, June 1998

Catalog ID number: 09-00038910

DETAILED DESCRIPTION P400 Letters 1928-1931.

Three detailed letters (Nov. 2, 4, 1928; March 13, 1930) to Eugene Saxton of Harper's publishers, with information on the Norwegian publication of Peder Victorius and its potential sales; sales of his novel Giants in the Earth; the dramatization of Giants in the Earth by Professor Job of Carleton College; and his illness and his hopes to obtain the Nobel Prize in Literature. Another letter to Saxton (Nov. 11, 1931) from Rolvaag's widow, Jennie, tells of her husband's death.

Other letters are to Marie Didelot, Minneapolis (undated), rejecting an invitation to an unnamed event and to Bertha L. Heilbron, editor of Minnesota History magazine (June 25, 1931), rejecting an offer to review a book by Theodore C. Blegen.

Also included are photocopies of biographical information on Rolvaag from Who Was Who in America (Vol. 1: 1897-1942), and a review in Minnesota History (Fall 1984) of Einar Haugen's biography of Rolvaag.