Collections : [Rare Book & Manuscript Library]

Correspondence, manuscripts, contracts, memos., and photographs. The correspondence pertains to the publications of numerous important fiction and non-fiction authors. The files are particularly strong for authors included in two important historical series"The New American Nation" Richard B. Morris and Henry S. Commager, editors; and "The Rise of Modern Europe" William L. Langer, editor. The files of Cass Canfield Sr. contain substantial material on Planned Parenthood and International Planned Parenthood.

The collection consists of the editorial and production archives of Random House, Inc. from its founding in 1925 to the 1990s. The correspondence and editorial files include many of the prominent novelists and short story writers from 20th-century American and European literature: Saul Bellow; Erskine Caldwell; Truman Capote; William Faulkner; Sinclair Lewis; André Malraux; Gertrude Stein and Thornton Wilder. Among the poets there are files for W. H. Auden; Allen Ginsberg; Robinson Jeffers; Robert Lowell; and Stephen Spender. In the area of theater there are files for Maxwell Anderson; Moss Hart; Lillian Hellman; Eugene O'Neill; and Tennessee Williams. Random House transacted business with many fine presses and noted typographers and the archives contain files for Nonesuch Press, Grabhorn Press and Golden Cockerel Press, as wll as for Bruce Rogers, Valenti Angelo, and Edwin, Jane, and Robert Grabhorn.

The Corporation awards grants to nonprofit organizations and institutions for projects that are broadly educational in nature and that show promise of having national or international impact. Certain appropriations are made for activities, such as Corporation-led initiatives that are administered by the foundation's officers. The trustees set the overall policies of the foundation and have final authority to approve all grants above $50,000 recommended by the program staff. Grants of $25,000 or less, called discretionary grants, are made upon the approval of the president and are reported to the board; larger discretionary grants, those between $25,000 and $50,000, are also reviewed by a Corporation-wide group, which makes recommendations to the president. (from Program Guidelines 2003-2004 (http://www.carnegie.org/sub/program/areas.html))

Correspondence, minutes, and financial records, 1915, 1928-1974, 1983, in the organization's archives, including announcements of meetings, letters of acceptance and regret, membership lists, financial records, some miscellaneous notes concerning members, and material relating to the history of the Archons.

Professional correspondence, notes, clippings, pamphlets, photographs, publications, and related printed materials of Reece. Although the collection spans Reece's career, the early years are sparsely documented. Half of the collection deals with his monograph and periodical publications, including book reviews of them. There are letters from prominent American librarians, with numerous letters from Robert B. Downs and Jack Dalton. Many of these are letters congratulating him on being the first recipient of the Melvil Dewey Professorhip at Columbia and upon his retirement. Also, many handwritten drafts of his letters.

These files have been compiled by the Rare Book and Manuscript Library from its origin in 1930 through the present day. The material derives largely from gifts, and the occasional purchase; much of the subject file in particular is made of ephemera included in the American Type Founders, Co. Library, purchased in 1942. Prospectuses and information sent by fine presses and book artists are added to the relevant files in an ongoing fashion. The files cover subjects from the beginning of printing to the current day.

Business and editorial records of Granary Books. The collection includes the production files for these limited edition and trade titles, as well as Steve Clay's extensive correspondence with writers and printers, and other artist book press proprietors. Electronic records include almost two decades of email, editorial and production files, and the "Archaic Smile Lecture Series".