SHORNEY, GEORGE H.
Papers, 1950-2002.
MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION NUMBER 324
ACCESS: Unrestricted
REPRODUCTION: All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.
COPYRIGHT: Information on copyright (literary rights) available from repository.
CITATION: George H. Shorney papers, MSS 324, Archives and Manuscripts Dept., Pitts Theology Library, Emory University.
George Shorney was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1931, and earned a BA from Denison University in 1954. In 1958 he began his career at Hope Publishing, a family-run music publisher founded in 1892. Shorney began as Office Manager at Hope, and later held the positions of Vice President (1961-1970), President (1970-1991) and Chairman (1992-2001). He retired in late 2001.
Shorney resides in Wheaton, IL with his wife Nancy. They have four children.
The papers consist of correspondence files kept by George Shorney during his career with Hope Publishing. The files contain correspondence with five prominent hymn writers: Tom Colvin, Timothy Dudley-Smith, Fred Pratt Green, Fred Kaan, and Shirley Erena Murray. Both incoming letters and copies of outgoing letters are included. Interfiled with the correspondence are copies of hymns, contracts, and the occasional photo or cassette tape. The letters concern the business of hymn publishing and hymnal sales, but there are also insights into the creative process of hymn-writing and evidence of the deep friendship between George Shorney and the hymn writers whose works were published by Hope Publishing.
Files are arranged alphabetically by last name of correspondent, and chronologically thereunder. There is also a copy of a dissertation on the hymns of Fred Pratt Green written by Mark Barum in 1989. The dissertation may be found immediately following the Fred Pratt Green correspondence.
Related collections in the Archives and Manuscripts Department of Pitts Theology Library include the Fred Pratt Green Papers (MSS 166).
BOX FOLDER DESCRIPTION/DATES 1 1-2 Colvin, Tom, 1981-1982 1 3-5 Colvin, Tom, 1983-1992 1 6 Colvin, Tom, 1993-2001 2 1-4 Colvin, Tom, 1993-2001 2 5-7 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 1980-1982 3 1-3 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 1983 3 4-7 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 1984-1985 4 1-3 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 1986-1987 4 4-7 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 1988 5 1-4 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 1989-1991 5 5-6 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 1992 5 7 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 1993-1994 6 1 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 1993-1994 6 2-4 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 1995-1996 6 5-7 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 1997-2000 7 1-4 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 1997-2000 7 5-7 Dudley-Smith, Timothy, 2001 8 1-2 Green, Fred Pratt, 1978-1983 8 3-4 Green, Fred Pratt, 1984-1986 8 5-6 Green, Fred Pratt, 1987-1991 9 1-2 Green, Fred Pratt, 1992-2000 9 3-4 Copy of Mark Barum dissertation on Fred Pratt Green, 1989 9 5-6 Kaan, Fred, 1974-1977 10 1-2 Kaan, Fred, 1978-1984 10 3-4 Kaan, Fred, 1985-1988 10 5-7 Kaan, Fred, 1989-1994 11 1-4 Kaan, Fred, 1995-2002 11 5-7 Murray, Shirley Erena, 1990-1993 12 1-4 Murray, Shirley Erena, 1994-1998