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Guide to the Thomas Henry Foster Papers

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Collection Overview
Date Span:1950-1960
Creator:Foster, Thomas Henry (1875-1951)
Extent:2.00 linear feet.
Collection Number:MSC0257
Repository:University of Iowa Special Collections
Summary:President of John Morrell Company of Ottumwa, Iowa, Foster was a book and bookplate collector, anti-Stratfordian, and writer. Includes mounted and unmounted bookplates, scrapbooks on Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, manuscripts of his book Shakespeare - Man of Mystery, and correspondence.

Thomas Henry Foster was born in Chicago on January 31, 1875. While he was still a child, his family moved to Ottumwa, Iowa, where his father helped establish the Morrell Meat Packing Plant. After going to Parson's College for one year, T. H. as he was known, joined the family business. In 1897, he went to Boston to be assistant manager of the Morrell branch office there. While there, he married Mary Frances Bulger in 1898. After serving the company in New York, in 1901 he returned to Ottumwa to establish the canning department at Morrell, then a new venture. In 1909 he became manager of the Sioux Falls, S.D. plant. He returned to Ottumwa in 1912, and served in a variety of positions, including president of the company from 1921 -- 1944, when he retired. Foster died suddenly at his home on November 14, 1951.

Foster was an avid collector of books and bookplates. The bookplates make up the first series of the collection. He collected many copies of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and also kept scrapbooks on Harriet Beecher Stowe. These scrapbooks make up the second series in this collection. Foster was also a writer and his manuscripts make up series three of this collection. Foster collected many volumes on Shakespeare and believed that Edward de Vere wrote the plays attributed to Shakespeare. His manuscript for Skakespeare, Man of Mystery is a part of this collection. Clippings and other items make up the last series, Miscellaneous.

Access: This collection is open for research.

Use: Copyright restrictions may apply; please consult Special Collections staff for further information.

Acquisition: These papers were given to the University of Iowa Libraries by the estate of Thomas Henry Foster in 1953.

Preferred Citation: Thomas Henry Foster Papers, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa.

Repository:University of Iowa Special Collections
Address:Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:319-335-5921
Curator:Greg Prickman
Email:lib-spec@uiowa.edu
Website:http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/

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This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.


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English & American Literature
Writers Archive at Iowa
Prose Writers
Prose Writers