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This additional material for the Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Records contains editorial
files spanning 1949-1984, concentrated in the latter years 1970-1984. The files,
received at the Ransom Center in 1996, are arranged in two series: I. Editor Files,
1965-1984; II. Editorial Department Files, 1949-1983. |
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Series I. contains the working files of three Knopf editors: Subseries A. Angus
Cameron, 1965-1973; Subseries B. William Koshland, 1971-1977; and Subseries C.
Vicky
Wilson, 1972-1984. The Cameron files, the largest group spanning twenty-eight
boxes,
are arranged alphabetically by the author with whom, or on whose behalf, Cameron
worked. Koshland's files are arranged in three date sequences: 1971-1975, including
larger files on specific authors such as Simone Beck, Elizabeth Bowen, Willa Cather,
Julia Child, Dietrick Fischer-Dieskau, Dashiell Hammett, John Hersey, William
Humphrey, Irving Kolodin, Margaret Lane, and H. L. Mencken; and two additional
date
sequences, 1975 and 1976-1977, which contain straight alphabetical listings without
individual author folders. Wilson's files are arranged by specific authors and
their
works with standard subheadings such as editorial, legal, production, and publicity.
In general, the editor files contain incoming and outgoing correspondence, internal
memoranda, and related documents pertaining to publications. |
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Series II. is further subdivided into three subseries. Subseries A. Contract Data
Sheets is arranged alphabetically by author in folders labeled A to L for the
years
1949-1971, completing earlier accessions that contained only letters M to Z. As
with
the latter part of the alphabet, these data sheets contain information on the
author's contract and sales records, highlighting rights, contract options,
translations, and royalties. |
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The Foreign Rights files in Subseries B. contain correspondence and internal forms
relating to the publication of Knopf books in other countries, primarily European
nations, but also Japan, Canada, and South Africa. Arranged alphabetically by
author, each file pertains to one author and one book for the years 1981-1983. |
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As with the Contract Data Sheets, the Rejection Sheets in Subseries C. contain the
alphabetical segment for C-H, 1970-1974, lacking from earlier accessions. The
rejection sheets contain information on the author's name, manuscript title and
form
(whether typescript, proofs or sheets), name of the person submitting it, a list
of
the manuscript's readers, and a space for comments on the work. A few forms are
accompanied by correspondence (such as a letter of recommendation for the author),
narrative manuscript abstracts, internal notes, and blue manuscript reader's
forms. |
