Biography:

Bertha (Cid) Ricketts Sumner (1890–1970) was a Mississippi-born author who achieved fame for novels featuring the character Tammy Tyree.

Scope and Content:

This collection contains three boxes of correspondence dating from 1937 to 1970. Included are contracts between Mrs. Sumner and various publishers, correspondence from agents, mainly Brandt and Brandt of New York, and royalty statements. There are letters from authors or composers, one in particular from Lehman Engel dated May 24, 1965. There are also six photographs and miscellaneous and undated material.

There are several manuscripts, galleys, and page proofs of her books. The following is a list of manuscripts of books and short stories. Quality, page proof; Traveler in the Wilderness, manuscript; Christmas Gift, carbon of manuscript; Tammy in Rome, galleys, page proof, manuscript; Sudden Glory, manuscript; "Magic Balloons," manuscript; "Divisible Man," manuscript; "Dark of the Moon," manuscript; "Travel in Time," manuscript; "Guest," manuscript; "Strumpet Sea," manuscript; "Cooks and No Cooks," manuscript; two untitled manuscripts. There are also original poems, music, miscellaneous plot notes, and several unidentified pages from manuscripts.