Manuscripts and proofs of New Directions books
Overview
Manuscripts, galley proofs and page proofs of books published by New Directions Publishing.
Dates
- Creation: 1937-2021
Creator
- New Directions Publishing (Organization)
Language of Materials
Includes materials in English and Spanish.
Conditions Governing Access
Most of this collection is housed offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval of these items requires advance notice. Readers should ask the Public Services staff at Houghton Library for retrieval policies and times.
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
Extent
99.75 linear feet (490 boxes, 181 volumes)Each publication of the New Directions Publishing Corp. left a deposit of unedited and edited manuscripts, galley proofs, page proofs, and various other materials (such as original photographs or drawings for illustrations) in the New York editorial office. The office deposited such items in Houghton Library from time to time beginning in 1944. Until ca. 1960 these deposits were irregular and did not cover either all publications or all the manuscripts and proofs for any one publication. From 1960, however, the collection is fairly complete until its cut-off date of 1997 (the death of James Laughlin).
The "manuscripts" are usually typescripts or else previously published material in photocopy. Usually there is a "setting copy", that is, a manuscript marked up by an editor for typesetting. Sometimes there are also earlier or unedited manuscripts. The galley and page proofs typically are in threes: one for the author (or translator or editor), one for a ND reader, and one "master" on which changes from both were recorded. Often there are further sets or partial sets of proofs incorporating corrections. In later parts of the collection, the galley-proof stage was usually skipped.
In addition to the bulk of the collection from the New York office of New Directions, some material has been included from James Laughlin's home office. This can be identified by the accession number *97M-49.
Arrangement
The manuscripts and proofs are arranged alphabetically by the name of the author of the publication (or the title, if there is no author). Within one author, the arrangement is alphabetically by title. Within one title, the items are arranged to follow the production of the book: first manuscripts, then galley proofs, then page proofs, index and jacket copy, etc. One writer's foreword to another writer's book will be found under the author of the book.
Additions to this collection are listed by accession number (i.e., by date of receipt), then by author, then by title.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Physical Location
b
Immediate Source of Acquisition
*44L-1-7, *44LM-1F-8F, *44N-1-20F, *44NM-1F-16F, *45L-1-3, *45N-1F-17F, *45NM-1F-20F, *46N-1F-7F, *46NM-1F-4F, *48NM-1-7, *49NM-1, *51M-183F-190F, *53-1917-1945, *53M-174F-182F, *54-331-356, *54M-27F-45F, *54M-307-324, *55-429-433, *55M-210-222, *55M-298, *56-696-702, *56-1730-1732, *56M-77-79, *57-1063-1076, *57M-236F-238F, *57M-266, *59-1724-1728, *60-1080-1096, *60M-140-151, *61-6-40, *61M-52-67, *62M-310, *63-1059-1086F, *63M-187-195, *65M-221, *67M-171, *70M-39, *70M-129, *75M-69, *75M-79, *76M-77, *78M-69, *81M-11, *82M-104, *83M-89, *84M-49, *85M-60, *85M-61, *85M-67, *85M-73, *87M-112, *88M-70, *90M-61, *91M-72, *92M-45, *93M-78, *93M-156, *95M-56, *96M-3, *96M-5, *96M-6, *96M-25, *96M-44, *97M-49, *98M-65, *99M-50, *2000M-2. Deposited by Mr. James Laughlin, IV; received: 1944-1997. Pre-1965 material was bequeathed in 1997. Material for books published 1965-1997 is deposited by New Directions Publishing Corp.
2019M-83. Gift of Benjamin Moser, 2019 March.
2019M-97. Gift of New Directions Publishing, 2019 April.
2023M-11. Gift of New Directions Publishing, 2022 August 18.
2023M-31. Gift of New Directions Publishing, 2022 October 7.
General note
Most of this collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. See use restrictions below for additional information.
Processing Information
Processed by: J.F. Coakley; with the assistance of Jackie Dean, Mary Hammer, Vicki Denby, Jermaine Hollins, Michael Newton, and Meghan Keil.
Creator
- New Directions Publishing (Organization)
- Title
- New Directions Publishing. Manuscripts and proofs of New Directions books, 1937-2021 (MS Am 2077.1): Guide.
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- hou00069
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
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