Title: Albert Stevens Crockett Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1903-1965

Creator:

• Crockett, Albert Stevens, 1873-1969

Call Number: U.S. Mss 35AF; Micro 1123; PH 3742; Disc 185A; Audio 1186A

Quantity: 2.2 c.f. (5 archives boxes), 1 reel of microfilm (35 mm), 1 disc recording, 1 tape recording, and photographs

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of Albert Stevens Crockett, a prominent early journalist, writer, and publicist. Crockett's published and unpublished books include Revelations of Louise (1920), Ditties from a Ditty Bag (1922), and When James Gordon Bennett Was Caliph of Bagdad (1926). Of special note is an unpublished autobiography concerning his early experiences as a journalist and foreign correspondent and his observations of New York City culture and nightlife during Prohibition; clippings and photographs pertaining to his coverage of a 1904 automobile tour in Europe, and a typescript of a 1913 journal concerning conditions in the Philippines.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0035af

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Albert Stevens Crockett was born in Solomons, Maryland on June 19, 1873. After graduating from Western Maryland College, with an undergraduate degree in 1891 and a master's degree in 1894, he worked at several private schools and colleges. In 1899 he began his career as a journalist in Philadelphia, first with the Times and later with the Inquirer. During the first decade of the century he covered many foreign news stories both for the London Daily Telegraph and as a free-lance correspondent. His first important news story was his coverage of an automobile tour of Europe in 1904. He then worked for the New York Sun (1909-1912), the New York Herald, and the New York Times (1912-1915). While with the Herald he worked in London, Paris, and South America. While working for the Sun he originated the first non-theatrical column about New York, “Heard in Hotel Corridors.” Although not syndicated the column was widely quoted. Prior to World War I Crockett worked as a publicist for the Waldorf-Astoria, but with the outbreak of war he volunteered to work in Washington, D.C. and was assigned to the Hotel, Restaurant, Dining Car, and Steamship Division of the U.S. Food Administration, which he headed, although the division was nominally under hotel magnate John McE. Bowman.

After the war he was briefly vice-president and general manager of the Bryant Advertising Company. From 1920 to 1929 he edited World Traveler and Nomad magazines. For much of this period he also worked again as news editor for the Waldorf-Astoria and he wrote several books: Revelations of Louise (1920), When James Gordon Bennett Was Caliph of Bagdad (1926), Old Waldorf Bar Days, Peacocks on Parade, and a book of poetry, Ditties from a Ditty Bag (1922).

From 1939 to 1945 he worked as publicist for the Biltmore Hotel. At this time his wife died (he had married Dolores Newkirk Tousey in 1905), and Crockett suffered from the first of a series of nervous breakdowns. Although he published several short pieces, Crockett was never able to work professionally again. Eventually he became largely dependent upon friends, who included Louis Lochner and Bob Considine. When he died in 1969 he was a non-paying guest of the Overseas Press Club.

The Crockett Papers are a small, fragmentary collection, which fail to document fully his long and interesting career, but which nevertheless contain some important documentation on the early development of journalism and public relations. The collection was received from the donor in a highly deteriorated condition, and it seems likely that part of the collection received by the Historical Society may have been literally peeled off the walls of his room at the Overseas Press Club. Other items such as his scrapbooks had been partially disassembled, no doubt as Crockett attempted to reuse earlier, successful material. Internal evidence suggests several scrapbooks concerning his public relations work and other topics may have been turned over to the New York Public Library and to Western Maryland College.

The papers consist of biographical material, correspondence, a diary, and writings of several types. The most deteriorated portions of the collection have been microfilmed and are available only in that form.

The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL consists of notes concerning some of the highlights of his career apparently prepared by Crockett for various self-promotion efforts; biographical clipping scrapbooks and loose clippings; and memorabilia. Of special interest is one item that chronicles his frequent nervous breakdowns and paranoia. The scrapbooks also contain sufficient references to Crockett's hotel public relations work to confirm how well known he was in New York City society. Also present is a recording of a short radio program about Crockett on the occasion of his 89th birthday and a biographical interview by MCHC donor Gregor Ziemer about Crockett's career and blindness. In truth, much of the collection can be properly regarded as biographical material, for his life and personal experiences were a frequent topic for his writings.

The CORRESPONDENCE consists of five folders of general letters, 1903-1965. Unfortunately most of the letters are incoming and a large number are acknowledgements of articles or letters sent by Crockett to prominent people that only hint at the content of Crockett's letter. Prominent correspondents include Brooks Atkinson, Alben W. Barkley, Bennett Cerf, Elmer Davis, Jim Farley, Arthur Godfrey, James C. Hagerty, Herbert Hoover, J. Edgar Hoover, H.V. Kaltenborn, William F. Knowland, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., Claire Boothe Luce, H.L. Mencken, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Chase Smith, E.R. Stettinius Jr., Robert Taft, Arthur Vandenberg, and Walter Winchell. Also included in this series are copyright-related material, letters concerning Crockett's patriotic World War I songs, and a small file on the Pilgrim Society.

The DIARY is a typescript of Crockett's experiences during a visit to the Philippines in 1913. Crockett's observations of the Filipinos and their American governors were acute and his opinions of the Philippine situation were quite influential in the shaping of official U.S. policy.

WRITINGS of various kinds form the most important part of the collection. These files have been arranged by genre as: books, a musical, magazines, and articles. Many of Crockett's articles and stories were published without a by-line, but he clearly identified in the collection all published articles which he wrote or ghosted.

The collection includes published copies of several of Crockett's books, as well as some examples of the publicity which he developed in order to market them. Several of the volumes are extensively annotated, suggesting that the elderly Crockett hoped to revise them for publication. Similarly motivated is an unpublished book “An American School of Drinking,” which was a reworked version of Old Waldorf Bar Days and The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book, and a collection of short stories written for World Traveller.

Among the unititled book-length manuscripts is a draft of Crockett's unpublished autobiography. Probably the single most valuable document in the collection because of first-hand observations of the early days of journalism and public relations work, this autobiography was worked and reworked during his latter years. The collection includes one complete draft which is undated, as well as numerous drafts of individual chapters, many of which appear unconnected to the complete draft.

The collection also include a large file of unidentified and undated articles, a number of which were probably intended for his column of reminiscent writings, “Springboard to Yesterday.” Also of note here is a scrapbook containing the articles which he wrote about his 1904 automobile tour of Europe, together with some of the original photographs (now in the Visual and Sound Archives) he took to illustrate the series, and a scrapbook containing articles for World Traveller.

Other writings include several issues of Nomad and World Traveller magazines and an unproduced musical about China.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Albert Stevens Crockett, New York City, New York, and portions via Louis Lochner, 1958-1966. Accession Number: M61-57, M61-59, MCHC66-43 and portions accessioned without numbers

Processing Information

Processed, 1961; additions processed and prepared for microfilming by Kalleen Mortensen (archives intern, 1987).

U.S. Mss 35AF	Series: Biographical Material
Box   1 Folder   1	Biographical material and resumes, undated
Audio 1186A	Biographical interview, undated, conducted by Gregor Ziemer Scope and Content Note: Concerning Crockett's experiences as a journalist and his blindness. Also included is a dictation concerning his hotel public relations work and the New York World's Fair.
Disc 185A	Radio biography, 1962
PH 3742	Photographs Scope and Content Note: Photographs, negatives, and ephemera related to the personal and professional activities of Crockett, including images from the 1904 automobile tour in Europe and his ninetieth birthday celebration.
Micro 1123	Scrapbooks Note: Filmed without a counter.
Reel   1 Segment   1	1905-1945
Reel   1 Segment   1	1918-1941
Reel   1 Segment   1	circa 1939-1963
Reel   1 Segment   2	Loose clippings
U.S. Mss 35AF Box   1 Folder   2	Memorabilia, undated
	Series: Correspondence	⇧
Box   1 Folder   3-7	General correspondence, 1903-1965, undated
Box   1 Folder   8	Correspondence extracts, undated
Box   1 Folder   9	Copyright correspondence, 1916-1962
Box   2 Folder   1	Song correspondence, 1916-1961
Box   2 Folder   2	Pilgrim's Society, 1911-1963
Box   2 Folder   3	Series: Diary, 1913	⇧
	Series: Writings	⇧
	Books
Micro 1123	Titled works
Reel   1 Segment   3	An American School of Drinking, undated
U.S. Mss 35AF Box   2 Folder   4	Bull Burleigh Bucked All the Elements, typescript, undated
Box   2 Folder   5	Ditties From a Ditty Bag and War-time Memories, 1928, Annotated, , 1935
Box   2 Folder   6	Peacocks on Parade and Peacock Alley advertising material, undated
Box   2 Folder   7	Revelations of Louise, 1920, Annotated , circa 1948, and article, , 1935
Box   2 Folder   8	Running Big Hotels, 1920, Written for John McE. Bowman
Box   2 Folder   9	The Wake of the Painted Suicide: A Tale of the New York of the Twenties, typescript, undated
Box   3 Folder   1	When James Gordon Bennett Was Caliph of Bagdad, 1926, and advertising material
	Untitled works
	Autobiography, undated
Box   3 Folder   2	Preliminary matter
Box   3 Folder   3	Segment 1, pp. 1-111, “Journey into Sophistication”
Box   3 Folder   4-6	Segment 2, pp. 112-545
Box   4 Folder   1-3	Individual chapter drafts
Micro 1123	Collected short stories: “Series Two”
Reel   1 Segment   4	First draft, undated
U.S. Mss 35AF Box   4 Folder   4	Second typed draft
Box   4 Folder   5	World Traveller short stories (Sylvester McSweeney stories), Typescript, undated
Box   4 Folder   6	Musical, “A Piece of Old China,” 1964, undated
	Magazines
Box   5 Folder   1	Nomad, 1928-1929
Box   5 Folder   2	World Traveller, 1921
Micro 1123	Articles
Reel   1 Segment   5	Auto tour article scrapbook, 1903-1904
Reel   1 Segment   6	World Traveler articles scrapbook, 1920-1924
Reel   1 Segment   7	Loose clippings, 1903-1960
U.S. Mss 35AF Box   5 Folder   3	“Springboard to Yesterday” columns, 1940, undated
Box   5 Folder   4-6	Articles
Box   6 Folder   1	Articles (continued)
Box   6 Folder   2	Article fragments