Conditions Governing Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation:

Robert Baker Wynne Papers, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Biographical / Historical

Robert Baker Wynne and his twin, Miles Wills, were born 27 March 1906 to Effie and Wills Wynne in York County, VA. He was educated at William and Mary, Yale, Duke, and Northwestern and taught English at North Carolina State University for 36 years. Among his varied interests and talents Wynne wrote poetry and created hybridized species of irises and calla lilies which he sold internationally. He died 10 December 1970 in Raleigh, North Carolina and was buried Lebannon Christian Church in Newport News, VA.

Content Description

Correspondence, artwork, drawings, and notes of Robert Baker Wynne, professor of English at North Carolina State University. Through his poetry writings, Wynne developed and maintained a correspondence relationship with a number well known writers of the 1920's and 30's, including Gertrude Stein and Eudora Welty, of which there is correspondence in this collection between Wynne and them. Wynne was also an avid gardener and some of his affinity of flowers and development of hybrid species of irises and calla lilies is represented in this collection of papers.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Botany
• Poetry
• Stein, Gertrude, 1874-1946
• Welty, Eudora, 1909-2001