Abstract
This paper argues for making societal provenance the grounding framework for archival descriptive standards to ensure that important voices already present in archives are no longer buried. This study reclaims from archival obscurity the career of literary agent Marguerite E. Harper to illustrate the need for this expansion. Harper proves strikingly absent from some of the archives for the authors she represented. Likely an unwitting omission from archivists that uncritically accepted the narratives of these male authors, Harper’s erasure provides a potent example of the ways that archival descriptive standards may unintentionally further silence historically marginalized voices within archives. The impact Marguerite Harper had on these authors’ careers provides a tangible example for why we must continue the conversation around societal provenance and the ways it may be incorporated into archival descriptive standards.
Recommended Citation
Cranwell Deinert, V. Emily
(2026)
"A Case for Societal Provenance: Marguerite Harper as told by the men she represented,"
Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies: Vol. 13, Article 15.
Available at:
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol13/iss1/15
Included in
Archival Science Commons, Other English Language and Literature Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons