Scope and Contents
The Russell Lynes papers contain material documenting the career and personal life of American author and editor Russell Lynes. The collection contains writings, correspondence, photographs, personal and family papers. Early gifts from Russell Lynes consist chiefly of writings, including drafts, setting copies, and proofs for works of the period, such as The Tastemakers (1954), A Surfeit of Honey (1957), Cadwallader (1959), The Domesticated Americans (1963), and Good Old Modern (1973). Later acquistions also contain writings, with some additional drafts for book-length works, though chiefly shorter works, as well as correspondence, photographs, and personal and family papers.
Dates
- 1939-1991
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Russell Lynes Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Russell and Mildred Lynes, 1958-1993.
Arrangement
Organized into fourteen groupings: 1958 Acquisition, 1959 Acquisition, 1960 Acquisition, 1961 Acquisition, 1962 Acquisition, 1967 Acquisition, 1973 Acquisition, 1976 Acquisition, 1977 Acquisition, 1980 Acquisition, 1981 Acquisition, 1992 Acquisition (Uncat Za Ms 253), 1993 Acquisition (Uncat Za Ms 277), and 1983 Acquisition.
Extent
45 Linear Feet (44 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
The Russell Lynes papers contain material documenting the career and personal life of American author and editor Russell Lynes. The collection contains writings, correspondence, photographs, and personal and family papers. Early gifts from Russell Lynes consist chiefly of writings, including drafts, setting copies, and proofs for works of the period, such as The Tastemakers (1954), A Surfeit of Honey (1957), Cadwallader (1959), The Domesticated Americans (1963), and Good Old Modern (1973). Later acquistions also contain writings, with some additional drafts for book-length works, though chiefly shorter works, as well as correspondence, photographs, and personal and family papers.
Russell Lynes (1910-1991)
Russell Lynes, born Joseph Russell Lynes, Jr. on 2 December 1910 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was an American art historian, photographer, author and managing editor of Harper's magazine. Lynes may be best remembered for his satirical commentary on American tastes and mores. In early works such as Highbrow, Lowbrow, Middlebrow (1949), Snobs (1950), and The Tastemakers (1954), Lynes mocked what he considered to be Americans' questionable preferences in art and architecture. Other works include Guests (1951), The Domesticated Americans (1963), and The Art-Makers of Nineteenth Century America (1970). Lynes died on 14 September 1991 in New York City.
Biographical information taken from "(Joseph) Russell (Jr.) Lynes." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2000. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.
Processing Information
This collection received a basic level of processing, including in some instances rehousing and minimal organization, when it arrived at the library. Each acquisition is described separately in the contents list below, identified as a unique grouping and titled according to year of acquisition.
As a rule, descriptive information found in the Collection Contents section is drawn in large part from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during initial processing.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
Formerly classed as Za Lynes, Uncat Za Ms 253, and Uncat Za Ms 277; 1958 through 1981 acquisitions formerly classed as Za Lynes and 1992 and 1993 acquisitions formerly classed as Uncat Za Ms 253 and Uncat Za Ms 277 respectively.
- Title
- Guide to the Russell Lynes Papers
- Author
- by Beinecke staff
- Date
- 17 November 2011
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.