| Name | Ernest A. Forssgren Papers |
| Dates | 1922-1965 |
| Extent | .33 cubic foot |
| Historical Note | Ernest Albin Forssgren was born in northern Sweden on June 9, 1894, the sixth of twelve children born to Jonas Petter Forssgren and Karin Kristina Lundin. He eventually immigrated to France and there briefly served as a valet to the French novelist Marcel Proust (1871-1922). In 1915 Forssgren left war-torn Europe and traveled to the United States, arriving in New York in April. He obtained positions similar to those he had held in Europe and remained in New York City until 1923 when he moved west to Los Angeles, California. In 1928 Forssgren petitioned for naturalization as an American citizen and this was granted soon afterward. Eventually, Forssgren became a real estate broker in Los Angeles. In the mid- to late-1960s, Forssgren composed a memoir of his early life and his time working in the Proust household. Ernest Albin Forssgren, Proust's Swedish valet, died in Santa Cruz, California, on November 28, 1970. He never married. In 2006 Dr. William C. Carter, a long-time member of the UAB faculty and a recognized expert on Marcel Proust, published Forssgren's life story as The Memoirs of Ernest A. Forssgren, Proust's Swedish Valet. |
| Scope and Contents | Nine items including a typescript memoir, a telegram, photographs, several documents, and two published monographs |
| Arrangement | None |
| Accession Number | M2014-17 |
| Provenance | Donated to UAB in 2001 by Marilyn M. Gordon and originally housed in the Mervyn Sterne Library with the Proust letters (MC123). Upon administrative merger of Sterne and Lister Hill Library in 2014, the collection was transferred to the UAB Archives. |
| Copyright | The UAB Archives maintains its proprietary rights to all material in this collection; the current holder of the copyrights is unknown. |
| Fnding Aid | Printed descriptive guide by Tim L. Pennycuff available in repository. |
| Access Points | Forssgren, Ernest A., d 1894-1970. Proust, Marcel, d 1871-1922. Proust, Marcel, d 1871-1922 x Friends and associates. |
| Document Types | Correspondence, typescript, monographs, photographs |
| Location | Manuscript Stacks |
| Related Series | PMC124, Forssgren Photographs. MC122, William C. Carter Papers. MC123, Marcel Proust Letters. |
| Physical Condition | Acid free folder, acid free box |
This page created 2016
Copyright: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.