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From: leonardsma at aol.com <leonardsma>
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:56:23 -0400
The situation varies considerably from publisher to publisher. Publishers that have archives seem increasingly reluctant to grant researchers access to them. It is often necessary to be crafty and, for example, to locate the papers of a given author, and look there for letters from that author's editor. If the process can repeated successfully often enough, a picture of that editor's working methods and publishing philosophy will emerge. A large portion of Louise Seaman Bechtel's papers went to the library of her alma mater, Vassar. But the collection contained only letters she received from authors. I wondered what might have happened to the other side of the correspondence--the letters she herself wrote. The author she was closest to over the years was her former college friend Elizabeth Coatsworth. I found Coatsworth's papers at the U. of New England, and sure enough among them was a cache of letters from Bechtel, the very ones I had been hoping to find. Interestingly, ne
ither Vassar nor the U. of New England knew the whereabouts of the other half of the correspondence. Disturbng trend: at least one major publisher now charges for permission to quote from its editorial correspondence. This can hardly be a major "revenue stream" for them, but it does put a chill on research, making it less likely that major publishing figures will be written about by biographers and others.
Leonard S. Marcus
54 Willow Street, #2A
Brooklyn, New York 11201
tel 718 596-1897
e-mail leonardsma at aol.com
web www.leonardmarcus.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ruth I. Gordon <druthgo at sonic.net>
To: CCBC Net <ccbc-net at ccbc.ad.education.wisc.edu>
Sent: Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:23 pm
Subject: [CCBC-Net] Archives
Leonard: First of all, what a great new word: "litigrate". It would seem that the scraping of E-mails makes history unclear and downright theoretical. (e.g., the present administration in D.C. and Enron files) About archives: Some time ago I asked Sharon MacQueen about the status and condition of archives. She told some horror stories to which I can relate because of my own research. I also know that several major publishers rid themselves of their archives--lack of space, they claimed--and no archivist. What have you found-- or not found--in the archives--if they exist? I, too, will send my papers, contracts, correspondence to the Kerlin (when I manage to get to them). Thank you for an energetic and fascinating discussion. Bug Grandma (Ruth I. Gordon) _______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.e
ducation.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Tue 22 Jul 2008 11:56:23 AM CDT
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:56:23 -0400
The situation varies considerably from publisher to publisher. Publishers that have archives seem increasingly reluctant to grant researchers access to them. It is often necessary to be crafty and, for example, to locate the papers of a given author, and look there for letters from that author's editor. If the process can repeated successfully often enough, a picture of that editor's working methods and publishing philosophy will emerge. A large portion of Louise Seaman Bechtel's papers went to the library of her alma mater, Vassar. But the collection contained only letters she received from authors. I wondered what might have happened to the other side of the correspondence--the letters she herself wrote. The author she was closest to over the years was her former college friend Elizabeth Coatsworth. I found Coatsworth's papers at the U. of New England, and sure enough among them was a cache of letters from Bechtel, the very ones I had been hoping to find. Interestingly, ne
ither Vassar nor the U. of New England knew the whereabouts of the other half of the correspondence. Disturbng trend: at least one major publisher now charges for permission to quote from its editorial correspondence. This can hardly be a major "revenue stream" for them, but it does put a chill on research, making it less likely that major publishing figures will be written about by biographers and others.
Leonard S. Marcus
54 Willow Street, #2A
Brooklyn, New York 11201
tel 718 596-1897
e-mail leonardsma at aol.com
web www.leonardmarcus.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ruth I. Gordon <druthgo at sonic.net>
To: CCBC Net <ccbc-net at ccbc.ad.education.wisc.edu>
Sent: Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:23 pm
Subject: [CCBC-Net] Archives
Leonard: First of all, what a great new word: "litigrate". It would seem that the scraping of E-mails makes history unclear and downright theoretical. (e.g., the present administration in D.C. and Enron files) About archives: Some time ago I asked Sharon MacQueen about the status and condition of archives. She told some horror stories to which I can relate because of my own research. I also know that several major publishers rid themselves of their archives--lack of space, they claimed--and no archivist. What have you found-- or not found--in the archives--if they exist? I, too, will send my papers, contracts, correspondence to the Kerlin (when I manage to get to them). Thank you for an energetic and fascinating discussion. Bug Grandma (Ruth I. Gordon) _______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.e
ducation.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Tue 22 Jul 2008 11:56:23 AM CDT
