Series 6: John Greene collection, 1928-1954

This series consists of the papers of John Gardner Greene, gathered and created while working on a biography about Lynnwood Farnam from 1942 to 1952, when his unfinished draft was rejected by Alfred Knopf Inc. The papers document previous attempts by family members, former pupils, and friends to have a biography written, as well as their commitment and support when the project was taken on by John "Lad" Greene, the son of textile industry magnate Edwin Farnham Greene and Lynnwood Farnam's friend Charlotte Nichols Greene.

When Greene ultimately donated his papers to the Curtis Institute of Music around 1956, along with Farnam's personal papers that had been left in his care, the majority of his files were organized by chapters. They included notes, transcripts, and letters, many of which were cut up and divided over several chapters, including personal memoirs by Farnam's sister and father. The scattered correspondence has been reorganized into Greene's own correspondence (subseries 6.1, arranged alphabetically), and correspondence passed on to Greene (subseries 6.2, arranged by providence). Additional subseries include correspondence about the preliminary negotiations, finishing, and publishing of the book, as well as transcripts, drafts, and notes relating to two unwritten chapters. The remaining notes, mainly written on pieces of disintegrating paper, were deaccessioned.