Frederick Lewis Allen
A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress
Prepared by Roland A. Lambert, and others Revised and
expanded by Joseph K. Brooks
![http://lcweb2.loc.gov/xmlcommon/lcseal.jpg](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090114214628im_/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/xmlcommon/lcseal.jpg)
Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
2008
Contact information:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division,
2008
Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms008024
Title: Frederick Lewis Allen
Papers
Span Dates: 1890-1954
Bulk Dates: (bulk 1933-1954) ID No.: MSS10470 Creator:
Allen, Frederick
Lewis Extent: 10,500
items;
30 containers;
12 linear feet
Language: Collection material in
English
Repository:
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress,
Washington, D.C. Abstract: Editor and author.
Correspondence, articles, biographies, date books, diaries, radio scripts,
histories, and speeches documenting Allen's career as editor of
Harper's Magazine, director of the Foreign Policy
Association, author of many popular works on American social history, and an
overseer of Harvard University.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person
or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed
alphabetically therein.
Personal Names Allen,
Frederick Lewis, 1890-1954. Allen,
Hildegarde--Correspondence. Conant,
James Bryant, 1893-1978--Correspondence. De Voto,
Bernard Augustine, 1897-1955--Correspondence. Dean, Vera
Micheles, 1903-1972--Correspondence. Highet,
Gilbert, 1906-1978--Correspondence. Lippmann,
Walter, 1889-1974--Correspondence. McKinney,
Laurence--Correspondence. Perkins,
Milo, 1900---Correspondence. Pfeiffer,
George--Correspondence. Roosevelt,
Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945. Wallace,
DeWitt, 1889-1981--Correspondence. Zuill, W.
S. (William S.)--Correspondence.
Organizations Foreign
Policy Association. Harvard
University.
Subjects American
periodicals. Harper's
magazine. Industries--United
States. Journalism.
Locations London
(England)--Description and travel. San
Francisco (Calif.)--Description and travel. United
States--History. United
States--Social conditions.
Occupations Authors. Editors.
Provenance: The papers of Frederick Lewis Allen, editor and author, were donated
to the Library of Congress by his wife, Agnes Rogers Allen, and his son, Oliver
E. Allen, between 1954 and 1996.
A press release on the Frederick Lewis Allen Papers was issued by the
Library of Congress on 22 September 1955, and an acquisitions note appeared in
the Library's
Information Bulletin, Vol. 14, No. 38 (19 September 1955),
pp. 2-3. The collection was also described in the Library of Congress
Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisitions, Vol. 13, No. 3
(May 1956), pp. 155-156.
Processing History:The papers of Frederick Lewis Allen were arranged and described in
1956. The collection was expanded between 1978 and 1996, and the finding aid
was revised in 2008.
Copyright Status:Copyright in the unpublished writings of Frederick Lewis Allen in
these papers and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress
is reserved. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division for
further information.
Preferred Citation:Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Frederick Lewis Allen Papers,
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Date |
Event |
1890, July 5 |
Born, Boston, Mass. |
1912 |
B. A., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. |
1912-1914 |
English instructor, Harvard University, Cambridge,
Mass.
|
1913 |
M. A., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. |
1914-1916 |
Assistant editor,
Atlantic Monthly |
1916-1917 |
Managing editor,
Century Magazine |
1918 |
Married Dorothy Penrose (died 1930) |
1918-1919 |
Member, Council of National Defense |
1919-1923 |
Secretary to Harvard Corporation, Harvard University,
Cambridge, Mass.
|
1923-1931 |
Assistant editor,
Harper's Magazine |
1931 |
Published
Only Yesterday. New York: Harper &
Brothers
|
1931-1941 |
Associate editor,
Harper's Magazine |
1932 |
Married Agnes Rogers Hyde |
1933 |
Published with Agnes Rogers Allen
The American Procession. New York: Harper &
Brothers
|
1934 |
Published with Agnes Rogers Allen
Metropolis. New York: Harper & Brothers
|
1935 |
Published
The Lords of Creation. New York: Harper &
Brothers
|
1937-1944 |
Trustee, Bennington College, Bennington, Vt. |
1940 |
Published
Since Yesterday. New York: Harper
|
1941-1953 |
Editor-in-chief,
Harper's Magazine |
1942-1948 |
Overseer, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. |
1945-1950 |
Director, Foreign Policy Association |
1947 |
Published
I Remember Distinctly. New York: Harper
|
1949 |
Published
The Great Pierpont Morgan. New York: Harper
|
1950-1954 |
Overseer, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. |
1952 |
Published
The Big Change. New York: Harper
|
1954, Feb. 13 |
Died, New York, N.Y. |
The papers of Frederick Lewis Allen span the years 1890-1954, with
the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1933-1954. The papers are
organized in five series:
Diaries, Date
Books, and Biographical Material;
General
Correspondence;
Subject
File;
Literary
File; and an
Addition.
The
Diaries, Date
Books, and Biographical Material series covers the years 1933-1954 and
includes diaries kept by Allen during visits to London in 1943 and to San
Francisco in 1945.
The bulk of the
General
Correspondence focuses on the period 1945-1954 and includes letters
written on a weekly basis by Allen to his sister, Hildegarde Allen.
Correspondence relating to a particular literary work is kept with other papers
related to that work in the Literary File. Prominent correspondents include
James Bryant Conant, Vera Micheles Dean, Bernard Augustine DeVoto, Gilbert
Highet, Walter Lippmann, Laurence McKinney, Milo Perkins, George Pfeiffer,
DeWitt Wallace, and W. S. Zuill.
Included in the
Subject
File is material related to Allen's term as a member of the Board of
Overseers of Harvard University, 1942-1948; his work with the Foreign Policy
Association; and his speech to the National Publishers' Association in 1947 on
the "closed mind" of journalists regarding American industry.
The
Literary
File contains manuscripts and notes related to Allen's writings,
including popular social histories of the United States such as
Only Yesterday and
The Big Change,
March of Time movie scripts about the 1920s, biographies,
magazine articles, speeches, and other short works.
The
Addition,
consisting of material added to the papers in 1978, 1983, and 1996, supplements
the original collection. A travel journal documenting Allen's trip to Great
Britain in 1953 was added in 1996.
Material on Allen can be found in the
Harper's Magazine Records also housed in the
Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress
This collection is arranged in five series:
Container |
Series |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BOX 1
|
|
|
Pocket diaries, travel journals, and biographical sketches. |
|
Arranged alphabetically by type of material. |
|
BOX 1-6
|
|
|
Letters sent and received. |
|
Arranged chronologically. |
|
BOX 7
|
|
|
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, and topical files. |
|
Arranged alphabetically by topic. |
|
BOX 8-25
|
|
|
Drafts of books, magazine articles, speeches, scripts, and
miscellaneous works.
|
|
Arranged by type of material or work and therein by title or
topic.
|
|
BOX 26-30
|
|
|
Journals, correspondence, writings, notes, printed matter, and
clippings.
|
|
Arranged alphabetically by type of material. |
Container |
Contents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BOX 1
|
Diaries, Date Books, and
Biographical Material,
1933-1954
|
|
Pocket diaries, travel journals, and biographical sketches. |
|
Arranged alphabetically by type of material. |
|
BOX 1
|
Biographical file,
circa 1942-1954, n.d.
|
|
BOX 1
|
Diaries |
|
BOX 1
|
England,
1943
|
|
BOX 1
|
San Francisco, Calif.,
1945
|
|
BOX 1
|
Pocket diaries,
1933-1954
|
|
(22
vols.)
|
|
BOX 1-6
|
General Correspondence,
1913-1954
|
|
Letters sent and received. |
|
Arranged chronologically. |
|
BOX 1
|
1913-1933
|
|
BOX 2
|
1934-1941
|
|
(9
folders)
|
|
BOX 3
|
1942-1947
|
|
(7
folders)
|
|
BOX 4
|
1948-1950
|
|
(6
folders)
|
|
BOX 5
|
1951-1952
|
|
(5
folders)
|
|
BOX 6
|
1953-1954, n.d.
|
|
(5
folders)
|
|
BOX 7
|
Subject File,
1946-1952
|
|
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, and topical files. |
|
Arranged alphabetically by topic. |
|
BOX 7
|
Foreign Policy Association
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
BOX 7
|
Harvard University, Cambridge,
Mass.
|
|
(3
folders)
|
|
BOX 8-25
|
Literary File,
1930-1953
|
|
Drafts of books, magazine articles, speeches, scripts, and
miscellaneous works.
|
|
Arranged by type of material or work and therein by title or
topic.
|
|
BOX 8
|
Articles |
|
BOX 8
|
"Bermuda Base" |
|
BOX 8
|
"Drafting This Army"
|
|
BOX 8
|
Life articles
|
|
(3
folders)
|
|
BOX 8
|
Miscellaneous short
works
|
|
BOX 9
|
Published articles by
Allen
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
BOX 9
|
Review of Whitaker Chambers's
Witness |
|
BOX 9
|
Woman's Home Companion articles
|
|
BOX 9
|
Books |
|
BOX 9
|
The American Procession |
|
BOX 9
|
The Big Change |
|
(1
folder)
|
BOX 10
|
(7
folders)
|
|
BOX 11
|
The Great Pierpont Morgan |
|
(4
folders)
|
BOX 12
|
(3
folders)
|
BOX 13
|
(3
folders)
|
|
BOX 14
|
I Remember Distinctly
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
BOX 14
|
Lords of Creation
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
BOX 15
|
Metropolis |
|
BOX 15
|
Only Yesterday |
|
(3
folders)
|
BOX 16
|
(2
folders)
|
|
BOX 16
|
Since Yesterday |
|
(2
folders)
|
BOX 17
|
(3
folders)
|
BOX 18
|
(5
folders)
|
BOX 19
|
(5
folders)
|
BOX 20
|
(5
folders)
|
BOX 21
|
(5
folders)
|
BOX 22
|
(2
folders)
|
|
BOX 22
|
Unpublished |
|
BOX 22
|
"The American
Tradition"
|
|
BOX 22
|
Roosevelt, Franklin D., notes
and other material for an uncompleted book
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
BOX 23
|
Documentary films and radio and
television programs
|
|
BOX 23
|
"Golden Twenties," documentary
film
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
BOX 23
|
Ford television
program
|
|
BOX 23
|
General plans for "Cowboys"
radio program
|
|
BOX 23
|
Memorandum re possible subjects
for a television series
|
|
BOX 23
|
Radio script of interview with
Allen re
Harper's Magazine's one hundred years of
publication
|
|
BOX 24
|
Harper's Magazine file
|
|
BOX 24
|
Miscellany |
|
BOX 24
|
Speeches and
conferences
|
|
BOX 24
|
"Closed Mind," correspondence
re speech on journalism and industry
|
|
BOX 24
|
"Economic Security: A Look Back
And A Look Ahead,"
Economic Security for Americans, Columbia
University, New York, N.Y.
|
|
BOX 25
|
Miscellany |
|
(3
folders)
|
|
BOX 26-30
|
Addition,
1890-1954
|
|
Journals, correspondence, writings, notes, printed matter, and
clippings.
|
|
Arranged alphabetically by type of material. |
|
BOX 26
|
Journals |
|
BOX 26
|
Journal about Allen as a baby
by his father, Frederick B. Allen,
1890-1893
|
|
BOX 26
|
Travel journals |
|
BOX 26
|
Trip to Great Britain,
1953
|
|
BOX 26
|
"Thomas Jefferson Book: Notes
on How To Be More Like Thomas Jefferson," kept by Allen and Agnes Rogers Allen
during trip from Scarsdale, N.Y., to Chapel Hill, N.C.,
1936
|
|
BOX 26
|
General
correspondence
|
|
BOX 26
|
1892-1908
|
|
(3
folders)
|
|
BOX 27
|
1910-1935
|
|
(4
folders)
|
|
BOX 28
|
1936-1954, n.d.
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
BOX 28
|
Writings |
|
BOX 28
|
Books |
|
BOX 28
|
The Big Change drafts
|
|
BOX 28
|
Chapters 1-5 |
|
(2
folders)
|
|
BOX 29
|
Chapters 6-18 |
|
(4
folders)
|
|
BOX 30
|
Foreword, notes, research
material
|
|
BOX 30
|
Short works and
notes
|
|
BOX 30
|
Chronology of the 1930s and
notes used for
Since Yesterday |
|
BOX 30
|
"Last Time and This Time:
Postwar Eras I and II"
|
|
BOX 30
|
"President Ell" |
|
BOX 30
|
"Three Years of It: America
at War, 1941-1944"
|
|
BOX 30
|
"The State of the
States"
|
|
BOX 30
|
"The Transformation of
Suburbia"
|
|
BOX 30
|
"The Suburban
Crisis"
|
|
BOX 30
|
"Who's Getting the
Money?"
|
|
BOX 30
|
Miscellany |
|
BOX 30
|
Book contracts |
|
BOX 30
|
Printed matter |
|
BOX 30
|
Clippings |
|