Virgil Finlay Papers
SPEC.RARE.0325
Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
0.325 Cubic feet
1948-1965
Virgil Finlay (1914-1971) was an artist known for his illustration work in American science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The Virgil Finlay Papers contains correspondence between Virgil Finlay and Willis A. Boughton (primarily from Boughton) during and after Finlay’s commission for Boughton's
The Far Place as well as Finlay’s preliminary sketches and drawings for and presentation copy of
The Far Place. A photograph of Boughton and a typescript copy of Boughton’s unpublished novel,
Revelation, are also included in this collection. The materials date from 1948 to 1965.
(1) 2.5" letter document box; (1) legal file folder; (1) oversize folder
English
Finlay, Virgil, 1914-1971
Arrangement of Materials
The Virgil Finlay Papers are arranged chronologically.
Acquisitions Information
Accession No. RARE.2024.0002: Purchased, 2023 August
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], Virgil Finlay Papers, SPEC.RARE.0325, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
Access to Materials
Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.
Use of Materials
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.
Processing Information
Processed by: Sabrina Gorse, 2024 February; Finding aid written by: Sabrina Gorse, 2024 February
Biographical Note
Virgil Finlay (1914-1971) was an artist known for his illustration work in American science fiction, fantasy, and horror. He began his career in 1935 illustrating for the pulp magazine
Weird Tales, later providing art for other publications including other pulp magazines,
The American Weekly, and astrology magazines, and participated in gallery exhibitions featuring his art. In 1948, Willis A. Boughton commissioned Finlay to provide illustrations for Boughton’s science-fiction narrative poem,
The Far Place. Boughton commissioned Finlay for further work with his unpublished novel,
Revelation, but eventually released Finlay from this commission. They kept in contact with each other until the mid-1960s. Finlay died of lung cancer in 1971.
Scope and Contents
The Virgil Finlay Papers contains correspondence between Virgil Finlay and Willis A. Boughton (primarily from Boughton) during and after Finlay’s commission for Boughton's
The Far Place as well as Finlay’s preliminary sketches and drawings for and presentation copy of
The Far Place. A photograph of Boughton and a typescript copy of Boughton’s unpublished novel,
Revelation, are also included in this collection. The materials date from 1948 to 1965.
Boughton, Willis A., 1885-
Finlay, Virgil, 1914-1971
American poetry--20th century
Books
Correspondence
Illustrators--United States--20th century
Manuscripts (documents)
Photographs
Preliminary drawings (drawings)
Preliminary sketches (sketches)
Science fiction, American--20th century
Typescripts
Writers, American--20th century
Finlay (Virgil) correspondence with Willis A. Boughton regarding
The Far Place,
Revelation, and their careers
1
1
1948-1965
Finlay (Virgil) preliminary sketches for
The Far Place
RARE Shared 3
1948-1949
Scope and Contents
Finlay (Virgil) preliminary sketches for
The Far Place consists of sketches Virgil Finlay drew for publication in
The Far Place. Most of the sketches are for single images - one of which is titled "The Bridge" - while one sketch depicts multiple images including a plate for an image titled "The Welcomers".
Finlay (Virgil) preliminary drawings on tracing paper for
The Far Place
1
2
1948-1949
Boughton (Willis A.) photograph
1
3
1948-1965
The Far Place presentation copy by Willis A. Boughton
1
4
1949
Revelation typescript copy of manuscript by Willis A. Boughton
RARE Shared 4
1964 February 29