Collection ID: 4078136 BA#0448

Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Tėffi, N. A. (Nadezhda Aleksandrovna), 1872-1952
Abstract:
Correspondence, manuscripts, documents, photographs, drawings, sheet-music and printed material of Teffi (Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Lokhvitskaia, married name Buchinskaia; 1872-1952. Тэффи, Надежда Александровна Лохвицкая, в замужестве Бучинская), a Russian émigré writer.
Extent:
5 Linear Feet and 11 manuscript boxes; 2 copies of oversized books shelved with collection; 2 glass negatives
Language:
Russian , French , English .
Preferred citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Teffi Papers; Box and Folder (if known); Bakhmeteff Archive, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.

Background

Scope and Content:

The collection contains Teffi's correspondence, manuscripts, documents, photographs, drawings, sheet music, and printed material. The correspondence, primarily from the period 1928-1952, includes a large body of letters from Teffi to her daughter Valerii︠a︡ Grabovskai︠a︡ and numerous letters to Teffi from many prominent persons, including Mark Aldanov, Ivan Bunin, Boris Panteleĭmonov, Grigoriĭ Aleksinskiĭ, Aleksandr Amfiteatrov, and Konstantin Simonov. The manuscripts consist primarily of handwritten and typescript copies of Teffi's essays and humorous sketches. Also included are several of her lyrics, as well as original poems by the writers Lolliĭ Lv́ov, Aleksandr Ot︠s︡up, Sergeĭ Potresov and others.

The collection also includes around 100 photographs, mainly of Teffi, but also of others, including Boris Panteleĭmonov and Ekaterina Kuskova. The printed material consists almost exclusively of books and clippings. Included are books by Teffi published between 1910 and 1952, and a large collection of clippings of her writings from the Russian émigré press as well as translations of her works published in non-Russian newspapers, journals and magazines.

Biographical / Historical:

Teffi, pseudonym of Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Lokhvitskaia, married name Buchinskaia (Тэффи, Надежда Александровна Лохвицкая, в замужестве Бучинская; 1872-1952), was a prominent Russian writer and poet best known for her humorous sketches. Born in St. Petersburg, she lived in Paris for the majority of her career, from 1919 until her death.

Her father was a prominent professor of law and a well-known lawyer, publisher and editor of the newspaper Sudebnyi vestnik; her older sister, Mirra Lokhvitskaia-Zhiber, was an accomplished poet.

Nadezhda Lokhvitskaia married the lawyer Vladislav Buchinsky, her father's student, in 1892. The couple had two daughters and a son before they separated in 1900. One daughter, Helena Buczynska, pursued an acting career in Poland; and the other, Valeriia Grabovskaia, was a translator who resided in England. Their son, Janek, died during World War I.

Teffi began her literary career in pre-revolutionary Russia as a regular contributor of stories, essays, poems and plays to the daily Russkoe slovo and to the literary journal Satirikon. The first collection of her works, entitled Sem' ognei, was published in St. Petersburg in 1910. In 1919, Teffi emigrated to Paris, where she pursued a prolific writing career publishing a continuous stream of essays, poems, songs, plays and the humorous sketches for which she became best known. Her pieces appeared regularly in the Russian émigré press, and frequently also in translation in non-Russian newspapers, magazines and journals. Her literary output has been estimated to include approximately 700 stories and 26 plays, collected in about 30 volumes, published over the course of 52 years.

Teffi died in Paris on October 6, 1952.

Acquisition information:
Papers: Source of acquisition--Valeriia Vladislavovna Grabovskaia. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1953.
Processing information:

Papers Accessioned 1953.

Papers Processed 12/--/81.

This collection was intellectually arranged into six series at the same time the PDF finding aid was converted to EAD. None of the material was physically rearranged. The biographical note was also updated to include a more accurate birth date (1872 rather than 1875), as well as information about Teffi's marriage and son. Finally, related materials notes were added.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in four series. Selected material cataloged; remainder arranged.

Accruals:

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Rules or conventions:
aapm

Indexed Terms

Subjects:
Emigration and immigration -- Soviet Union -- 20th century
Emigration and immigration -- France -- 20th century
Russian literature -- Foreign countries
Books
Exiles' writings, Russian
Russian wit and humor
Clippings (Information Artifacts)
Essays
Photographic prints
Poems
Sheet music
Sketches (literary)
Memoirs
Names:
Aldanov, Mark Aleksandrovich, 1886-1957
Bunin, Ivan Alekseevich, 1870-1953
Panteleĭmonov, Boris, 1888-1950
Aleksinskiĭ, Grigoriĭ, 1879-1967
Amfiteatrov, Aleksandr, 1852-1938
Simonov, Konstantin, 1915-1979
Lʹvov, Lolliĭ Ivanovich, 1888-approximately 1960
Ot︠s︡up, Aleksandr Avdeevich, 1882-1949
Potresov, S. V. (Sergi︠e︡ĭ Viktorovich), 1870-1953
Grabovskai︠a︡, Valerii︠a︡
Adamovich, Georgiĭ
Aleksandrova, Vera, 1895-1966
Berezov, Rodion Mikhaĭlovich, 1896-1988
Berlin, P. A. (Pavel Abramovich), 1877-1962
Bit︠s︡illi, P. M. (Petr Mikhaĭlovich), 1879-1953
Muromt͡seva-Bunina, V. N. (Vera Nikolaevna)
Fondaminskiĭ, Ilʹi︠a︡, 1879-1948
Gippius, Z. N. (Zinaida Nikolaevna), 1869-1945
Grechaninov, Aleksandr Tikhonovich, 1864-1956
Ivask, I͡Uriĭ
Kuskova, Ekaterina
Maklakov, V. A. (Vasiliĭ Alekseevich), 1870-1957
Pilʹskiĭ, Petr
Pregelʹ, Sofii︠a︡, 1894-1972
Remizov, Alekseĭ, 1877-1957
Repin, Ili︠́a︡ Efimovich, 1844-1930
Rodicheva, Aleksandra Fedorovna
Rzhevskiĭ, Leonid, 1905-1986
Sazonova, I︠U︡lii︠a︡ Leonidovna Slonimskai︠a︡
Sedykh, Andreĭ, 1902-1994
Shmelev, I. S. (Ivan Sergeevich), 1873-1950
Terapiano, I︠U︡riĭ, 1892-1980
Troyat, Henri, 1911-2007
Trubet︠s︡koĭ, I︠U︡riĭ, 1902-1974
Amari
T︠S︡vetaeva, Marina, 1892-1941
Tyrkova-Williams, Ariadna, 1869-1962
Veĭnbaum, M. E. (Mark Efimovich), 1890-1973
Valentinov, N. (Nikolaĭ), 1879-1964
Vysheslavt︠s︡ev, B. P. (Boris Petrovich), 1877-1954
Wreden, Nicholas
Zaĭt︠s︡ev, Boris, 1881-1972

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

PREFERRED CITATION:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Teffi Papers; Box and Folder (if known); Bakhmeteff Archive, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.

LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
6th Floor East Butler Library
535 West 114th St.
New York, NY 10027, United States
CONTACT:
(212) 854-5590
rbml@library.columbia.edu