Foote Collection Acquisition
The Foote collection was stored in a temporary off-campus location while a secure spot on campus was readied.
The Foote materials were organized, inventoried and transfered to archival quality storage containers.
Jordan Redmon and Lauren Peterson, both members of the class of 2013, worked with Carol MacCarley, organizing and processing the Foote Collection. Jordan and Ms MacCarley created the finding aid to the collection.
The College announced that it had acquired the Foote Papers on March 4, 2011. A reception was held in the Rhodes Archives reading room after the announcement where guest viewed artifacts and samples of Foote's research and writings.
From remarks made by Huger Foote, Shelby Foote's son, at the announcement of the collection acquisition:
"Occasinally in life, opportunities present themselves which can only be described as a "perfect fit." My father's collection is large and full of treasures. When studying it, one discovers the vast and varied creative world of my father's intellectual life. It was important to me that the entire collection be kept intact and preserved in its full integrity, to inspire (and, I think, amaze) this, and future generations of scholars. Rhodes shared this vision. When I contemplated that the collection would be housed here in Memphis, only a few blocks from our home on Parkway where my father lived and worked for forty years, and I considered the beautiful Barret Library, which anyone with eyes can see is an exquisite structure, with impeccable faciltities and a place of life and vibrancy, I began to marval at the harmony that was unfolding."
Remarks from the first Foote Fellow Jordan Redmon's essay about his transcription of the diaries.
"The diaries of Shelby Foote, in their most general utility, provide strong insight into the life of a writer: finances, routines, and literary criticisms. Above all else, though, Foote’s diaries reveal a distinct cultural consciousness, derived from his experience as a writer and family heritage in the Mississippi Delta."