Humanities and Social Sciences Library > Collections > Manuscripts > Finding Aids > The New Yorker Records

Scope and Content Note

The New Yorker Records (ca. 1924-1984) consist of the correspondence, interoffice memoranda, edited and corrected manuscripts and typescripts, drawings, posters, statistical reports, lists of story and art ideas and assignments, photographs, and sound recordings generated during the foundation and day-to-day operations of the magazine's editorial departments. The records document the decisions made in producing each issue of the magazine, as well as the careers of its staff and many of the important twentieth-century writers and artists who regularly contributed to the New Yorker.

The general files of Harold Ross (1917, 1924-1957), the magazine's founder and editor until 1951, contain mostly memoranda and correspondence which document Ross's role in shaping each issue of the magazine and its overall identity. His personal papers provide insight into Ross's life and the cultural milieu in which the New Yorker was born and thrived. The collection contains only a few of William Shawn's files, but his role as editor is evident throughout the collection.

Interoffice memoranda are represented in almost every part of the collection and include critical commentary on particular issues or pieces in the magazine, editor's queries, reports on authors' and artists' contractual status, approval or disapproval of advertisers or particular ads, editors' story suggestions, writers' story reservations, and discussions of legal and administrative issues. The memos reveal the meticulous detail with which every aspect of the magazine was addressed.

Editorial correspondence (1928-1980) is an extensive archive of correspondence between New Yorker editors and writers, artists, agents, publishers, organizations, and other New Yorker editors and staff, and so documents the editors' roles in shaping the content from journalistic pieces and fiction, to art and advertising of each issue. The exchanges between editors and writers document the crafting of particular pieces; because many of these writers' stories and articles first appeared in the New Yorker, the magazine's editorial process greatly informed the final versions of their work. The correspondence of writers associated with the New Yorker traces their history with the magazine and its editors, as well as the trajectories of their careers.

Manuscripts in the collection are of two types. "Run & Killed" manuscripts are often edited drafts of mostly non-fiction pieces. Writer's works were passed among several editors for comments, and if approved, manuscripts were circulated among editors for suggestions and for revisions. These comment memos often accompany the manuscripts in the "Run & Killed" series. "Copy & Source" files contain typescripts of all the copy in each issue of the magazine from 1951-1981 (see Provenance Note). Because of the rigorous editing and fact-checking processes at the New Yorker, most manuscripts/typescripts are heavily revised and corrected and are often accompanied by memos, queries, or correspondence between author and editor.

In Editorial Business files (1926-1984) letters to the editor (never published in the magazine until 1992), the staff's answers to these letters, and reprints and permissions requests illustrate the impact and popularity of the magazine's articles, stories, and cartoons; log books, lists, and files of ideas for articles and art document methods by which the magazine generated editorial content and how writers chose assignments. Other administrative records include accounts of contributor payments and staff salaries, memoranda concerning contractual status of artists and writers, and correspondence related to legal matters. The legal and financial files contain material relating to suits and counter-suits, contracts with authors and artists, and additional information regarding staff and contributor payments.

Artwork is spread throughout the collection mostly in the form of tearsheets. The "Non-Textual Materials" series consists of original drawings and photographs removed from other parts of the collection; original spot drawings; tearsheets of published cartoons and accompanying editors' comments, notes, and memoranda; and Harold Ross's recorded dictation. There are some original drawings in "Magazine Make-Up: Copy and Source."

For more detailed information, see the series descriptions.

Provenance Note

The New Yorker Records were donated to the New York Public Library by The New Yorker Magazine Inc. in March 1991. Before it could be transferred to the Library, approximately 144 linear feet of material disappeared during The New Yorker's move to new offices in February 1991. The missing files included the "Copy & Source" files (discrete weekly files of setting copy of each issue) covering the years 1929-1950 (88 linear feet); eight linear feet of "Killed," or rejected, non-fiction manuscripts (1941-46, 1950, 1954-1955); records of payments, advances, and royalties to authors and artists (1942-1949, 1979, 34 linear feet); directors' minutes and annual reports for 1948-1949 (12 linear feet); and correspondence and memoranda relating to advertisers, advertising policy, and results of advertising (1973-1974, 4 linear feet).

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