Donald Crossley Vining papers

Collection

Call Number: MS 524

Scope and Contents

The papers consist of the diaries of Donald Crossley Vining for the years 1932-1958 and for 1971-1985, as well as typed transcripts from his diaries for 1926-1927. The diaries provide a detailed account of the life of an intellectual, homosexual man in the 1940s and 1950s. Vining, who spent most of his adult life in New York, took a great interest in the arts, and his diaries contain descriptions of operas and plays which he attended; outlines of his current writing projects and theater activities; and details of his daily life and personal relationships. Typescripts of several one and two act plays are included in the papers.

Dates

1926-1997

Creator

Vining, Donald, 1917-1998

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Donald Vining, 1959-1960; gift of the Estate of Donald Vining, 1998-2000.

Arrangement

Arranged by accession.

Associated Materials

Donald Vining diaries, 1959-1970, are located at the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Extent

4.38 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.0524

Additional Description

Overview

Biographical / Historical

Donald Crossley Vining was born on June 20, 1917, in Benton, Pennsylvania. He was educated at West Chester State College, Pennsylvania and at the Yale University School of Drama. In the late 1940s, he published numerous one-act plays for amateurs. Vining worked in the Development Office of Teachers College, Columbia University for thirty years, retiring in 1979 to begin a private publishing company, The Pepys Press, which specialized in diaries and journals. He published the autobiographical work, A Gay Diary. After retiring from publishing, Vining did free-lance writing for gay periodicals and a monthly column for Diarist's Journal. He died on January 24, 1998, in New York City.