Finley Peter Dunne Papers, 1925-1992

  • IdentificationMidwest MS Dunne
  • TitleInventory of the Finley Peter Dunne Papers, 1925-1992 Midwest.MS.Dunne
  • PublisherThe Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts
  • RepositoryThe Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts
  • Physical Description0.4 linear feet (1 box)
  • Date1925-1992
  • Location1 14 5
  • AbstractChicago-based writer Finley Peter Dunne’s correspondence, essays, and memoirs. Collection also includes a photograph of Dunne, an etched stamp, and an adaptation of Dunne’s “Mr. Dooley” series for the stage, by his son, Hollywood screenwriter, film director and producer Philip Dunne.
  • OriginationDunne, Finley Peter, 1867-1936

Gift of Phillipa Dunne, Jessica Dunne, and Miranda Dunne Perry, 2011.

The Finley Peter Dunne Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).

The Finley Peter Dunne Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.

Finley Peter Dunne Papers, The Newberry Library, Chicago.

Emma Martin, 2011.

Journalist, humorist and author of the popular “Mr. Dooley” columns.

Finley Peter Dunne was born in Chicago in 1867, and rose to prominence as a journalist for the Chicago Journal, the Chicago News, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Post. Dunne’s satirical “Mr. Dooley” series garnered him fame nationwide, particularly from Theodore Roosevelt. “Mr. Dooley” centered on the life of a fictional, South-side Chicago bar owner, and lampooned current events and notable figures. In 1899, Dunne published his sketches as a collection entitled Mr. Dooley in Peace and War, which became popular even among the public figures that were his subjects.

Dunne married literary enthusiast and golfer Margaret Ives Abbott, with whom he had four children: Finley Peter, Jr., Philip, Penny and Leonard Dunne. He died in 1936 in New York.

Collection includes correspondence and one photograph of Finley Peter and Margaret Abbott Dunne, drafts of Dunne's essays and memoirs, a dramatic adaptation of "Mr. Dooley" created by Philip Dunne, and unpublished fragments. The materials range from correspondence from 1925 to Philip Dunne's adaptation, completed in 1963.

Materials arranged alphabetically.

  • Names
    • Dunne, Finley Peter, 1867-1936
    • Dunne, Margaret Ives Abbot
    • Dunne, Philip, 1908-1992
    • Harding, Warren G., (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923
    • Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
    • Twain, Mark, 1835-1910
  • Subject
    • American literature -- Illinois -- Chicago
    • Chicago
    • Humorists, American
    • Journalism
    • Journalists -- Illinois -- Chicago
    • Literature
    • Manuscripts, American -- Illinois -- Chicago