Philip Van Doren Stern (1900-1984) worked for years on a short story called “The Greatest Gift,” about the suicidal George Pratt, who is redeemed after learning important lessons about the value of life. But Stern couldn’t find a publisher for his tale, so he self-published it in 1943 and sent it to 200 friends as a Christmas card in pamphlet form.

About a year later Stern received an unexpected call from a representative of RKO Pictures, who offered him $10,000 for the movie rights to “The Greatest Gift.” The rest is cinema history—It’s a Wonderful Life, directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart, was released in 1946. Although not an immediate box office hit, it has now taken its place in the pantheon of classic holiday movies.

But what became of that oft-rejected manuscript that was the basis for the famous movie’s story line? As it happens, it resides in a collection of Stern’s papers held in Special Collections and University Archives at the University of Oregon’s Knight Library.

Discovered last year by UO Manuscripts Librarian Linda Long, several drafts of the manuscript survive, with numerous hand-written changes Stern made to the typescripts. The drafts of the story are among thousands of pages of other writings by Stern, who was also a noted Civil War historian and editor of compilations of works by major American writers, including Edgar Allen Poe. Special Collections began acquiring Stern’s papers in the mid-1960s; they now comprise 14 boxes of material that occupy 20 linear feet of shelf space.

“The many drafts of ‘The Greatest Gift’ illustrate how hard writers have to work to craft their material,” says Long. “Even then, it was Stern’s story line, rather than the writing itself, that won him eventual success. The manuscript demonstrates how well-known movies often have obscure literary sources that aren’t themselves commercial successes, which makes cimema history all the more interesting.”

The manuscript might have gone undiscovered for a good while longer had it not been for a grant the UO Libraries received from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). The two-year, $116,127 grant has enabled Special Collections and University Archives to catalog and describe many of its holdings for entry into online finding aids that help the public learn about and locate thousands of important research collections.

For example, information on Stern’s papers is found in the Northwest Digital Archives (NWDA) finding aid; the detailed description of Stern’s papers is here.

“These finding aids help us get the word out about the amazing variety of primary sources we have in our collections,” Long says. “We encourage students, scholars, and community members locally, regionally, and throughout the world to visit Special Collections, either online or in person, and use the many research materials we have available.”

For more information, contact Long at 541-346-1906, llong@uoregon.edu.

Image Credit: Courtesy Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries