Summary Information
Peter Lyon Papers 1884-1998
U.S. Mss 73AF; M2002-158; Audio 1557A
7.2 c.f. (18 archives boxes); plus additions of 4.8 c.f., 44 photographs, and 33 tape recordings
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of Peter Lyon, a freelance writer of books, articles, and radio scripts. Drafts, correspondence, research files, reviews, and advertising for four books written or ghosted by Lyon comprise the bulk of the collection. Of these, material on To Hell in a Day Coach: An Exasperated Look at American Railroads (1968) and Success Story: The Life and Times of S. S. McClure (1963) are the most complete. In addition, there are published works on alcoholism and Coney Island and unpublished manuscripts about Isaac Singer and confidence men of the past, some biographical information, materials on Lyon's other two books, Eisenhower: Portrait of a Hero and The Wild, Wild, West, and sound recordings of interviews for book projects.
There is a restriction on use of this material; see the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0073af ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Peter Lyon, the grandson of muckraking journalist S. S. McClure, was born in Madison, Wisconsin on September 30, 1915 and grew up in Princeton, New Jersey. After attending St. James School near Hagerstown, Maryland, Lyon spent a year at L'Ecole du Montcel, France. Before graduating from Williams College in 1936, he served as its college paper editor and yearbook editor.
Peter Lyon began his writing career in radio. From 1936 to 1939 he worked for Time, Inc. on Architectural Forum and briefly served as Time's senior writer. After leaving Time in 1939, Lyon steadily increased his activities as a free lance writer for such radio series as The Court of Missing Heirs, 1939-1942, Cavalcade of America, 1939-1942, and The Eternal Light, 1948-1951. Scripts he wrote for specials include Bretton Woods, 1945, and The Hollywood Picture, 1948. During World War II Lyon wrote for radio programs of the Office of War Information and the Commission of Inter-American Affairs. In the 1940s he also wrote miscellaneous scripts for the Red Cross, the Cancer Society, U. S. Public Health Service, and the United States Treasury. In 1948 Lyon served his industry as president of the Radio Writer's Guild and negotiated large wage increases for writers of the Columbia Broadcasting System. After the war he began to diversify and contributed scripts to television.
In the mid-1950s Lyon turned his talents to writing books and articles. In 1955 he co-authored Alcoholism, Its Scope, Cause and Treatment, and in 1957 he ghosted several books including Edo McCullough's Good Old Coney Island. His articles were accepted by such magazines as Holiday, Horizon, American Heritage, Redbook, and Saturday Evening Post. His Success Story: The Life and Times of S. S. McClure won the Frank Luther Mott Research Award of Kappa Tau in 1963. In 1968 his study of railroad history, To Hell in a Day Coach: An Exasperated Look at American Railroads, was published, and his 1971 book The Wild, Wild West concerns the myths of the American West.
Arrangement of the Materials
This collection was received in multiple parts from the donor(s) and is organized into 2 major parts. These materials have not been physically interfiled and researchers might need to consult more than one part to locate similar materials.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Copyright is retained by Peter Lyon until February 1, 2014.
Presented by Peter Lyon, Woodstock, New York, 1971; Additions presented by Jane Lyon, Woodstock, New York. Accession Number: M2002-158
Original collection processed by Philip Driscoll, July 24, 1972.
Contents List
U.S. Mss 73AF
|
Part 1 (U.S. Mss 73AF): Original Collection, 1884-19697.2 c.f. (18 archives boxes) The Peter Lyon Papers concern the professional development of a mid-20th century muckraker between 1939 and 1969. The documentation includes biographical material, general correspondence, 1942-1969, materials on his articles and books, book reviews, radio scripts, and photographs. There is one folder of biographical material concerning a wealth of personal and medical information. The general correspondence covers many facets of Peter Lyon's career and consists of business, financial, fan, and family letters. Many of the outgoing letters, which contain long commentaries on Lyon's activities, were in poor condition upon arrival at the Historical Society and have been replaced by photocopies. The letters mainly concern his activities as a writer, however Lyon often made comments on his financial status and political beliefs. Other correspondence on specific articles, books, and radio programs is filed with the material it relates to. The articles section includes correspondence, research notes, outlines, drafts, and tear sheets of Lyon's articles. These articles, dating mainly from 1949 to 1969, cover a wide topic range including historical essays on the West, urban problems, and railroads. The section on books contains documentation for four of his published books as well as unpublished manuscripts and book proposals. There is only a draft copy for Alcoholism, Its Scope, Cause and Treatment. Material on his other published books is more extensive and includes correspondence, research material, drafts, galleys, reviews, and advertising. The research file for To Hell in a Day Coach is unusually complete. Lyon's major book is Success Story: The Life and Times of S. S. McClure (1963). The correspondence contains fan mail, business letters with the publisher, information on McClure and his era from family members, and critical reactions from prominent historians like Eric F. Goldman. The research material contains notes, clippings and articles by Lyon, photocopies of manuscript drafts by Lincoln Steffens, and an original manuscript by publisher Curtis Brady. The McClure family allowed Lyon to use McClure's correspondence with Stephen Crane, Ida Tarbell, Mark Twain, and others. There is also other correspondence about McClure written by immediate family members. Ida Tarbell, and other individuals who knew him well. This collection contains only photocopies of the McClure letters; the originals were added to the S. S. McClure Papers at the Lilly Library, the University of Indiana, Bloomington. Unpublished manuscripts and book proposals contain research materials and manuscripts for “Isaac Singer,” “Scoundrels, Imposters, and Healers,” and one unidentified manuscript. One folder contains book reviews written by Lyon during the 1960s. The radio section contains correspondence and scripts for series and special programs. The correspondence includes CBS radio agreements and letters concerning Lyon's scripts and financial arrangements. The scripts for series cover the period 1939 to 1951 and include such series as Cavalcade of America, 1939-1942, The Eternal Light, 1948-1951, and Labor for Victory, 1942-1944. The scripts for specials include Bretton Woods, 1945, and The Hollywood Picture, 1948, which has six drafts in chronological order, correspondence, and clippings. One folder contains miscellaneous fragmentary scripts for specials. The remainder of the collection is made up of photographs of Peter Lyon and one picture of Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt.
|
|
Box
1
Folder
1
|
Series: Biographical Material
|
|
|
Series: General Correspondence, 1942-1969
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2
|
“A,” General
|
|
Box
1
Folder
3
|
American Heritage, 1958-1968
|
|
Box
1
Folder
4
|
“B,” General
|
|
Box
1
Folder
5
|
“C,” General
|
|
Box
1
Folder
6
|
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1956-1968
|
|
Box
1
Folder
7
|
“D,” General
|
|
Box
1
Folder
8
|
“E-H,” General
|
|
Box
1
Folder
9
|
Holiday Magazine
|
|
Box
2
Folder
1
|
“I-L,” General
|
|
Box
2
Folder
2
|
“M,” General
|
|
Box
2
Folder
3
|
“N-S,” General
|
|
Box
2
Folder
4
|
“T-Z,” General
|
|
Box
2
Folder
5
|
Unidentified
|
|
|
Series: Articles
|
|
|
Published and Unpublished, A-Z
|
|
Box
3
Folder
1
|
“A Capsule History of New York City,” - “Bucks County”
|
|
Box
3
Folder
2
|
“By Way of Contrast...” - “The Exurban Syndrome”
|
|
Box
3
Folder
3
|
“Four Special Men”
|
|
Box
3
Folder
4
|
“The Guggenheims” - “The North Shore”
|
|
Box
3
Folder
5
|
“Paul Boyton” - “Rockland County”
|
|
Box
3
Folder
6
|
“Sleuth Among the Roller Coasters” - “Speed Week in Daytona Beach”
|
|
Box
3
Folder
7
|
“The Triumph of the Small Boy” - “Verchoc Vice Xerosis”
|
|
Box
4
Folder
1-2
|
Unidentified Drafts
|
|
Box
4
Folder
3-5
|
Miscellany-Research Notes
|
|
|
Series: Books
|
|
Box
4
Folder
6
|
Alcoholism, Its Scope, Cause, and Treatment(1955), Draft Copy
|
|
|
Good Old Coney Island (1957)
|
|
Box
5
Folder
1
|
Correspondence, 1956-1958
|
|
Box
5
Folder
2-3
|
Research Materials, Writer's Notes
|
|
Box
5
Folder
4
|
Draft Copy #1
|
|
Box
5
Folder
5
|
Draft Copy #2
|
|
Box
5
Folder
6
|
Book (volume 1)
|
|
Box
6
Folder
1
|
Reviews and Advertising
|
|
|
Success Story: The Life and Times of S. S. McClure(1963)
|
|
|
Correspondence, 1956-1968
|
|
Box
6
Folder
2
|
Samuel Hopkins Adams - Curtis P. Brady
|
|
Box
6
Folder
3
|
Edwin H. Cady--Mrs. Huntington
|
|
Box
6
Folder
4
|
Inez Haynes Irwin - Yale University Library
|
|
|
Research Materials
|
|
Box
6
Folder
5
|
Articles and Manuscripts
|
|
|
S. S. McClure Correspondence
|
|
Box
6
Folder
6
|
A-R, 1887-1944
|
|
Box
7
Folder
1
|
S-Z, 1887-1944
|
|
Box
7
Folder
2
|
S. S. McClure Related Correspondence, 1889-1933
|
|
Box
7
Folder
3
|
S. S. McClure Papers
|
|
Box
7
Folder
4-5
|
Writer's Notes
|
|
Box
7
Folder
6
|
Writer's Notes and Clippings
|
|
|
Draft
|
|
Box
7
Folder
7
|
Part I
|
|
Box
8
Folder
1
|
Part II
|
|
Box
8
Folder
2
|
Part III and IV
|
|
Box
8
Folder
3
|
Reader's Copy #1
|
|
Box
8
Folder
4
|
Reader's Copy #2
|
|
Box
9
Folder
1
|
Galley Proofs
|
|
Box
9
Folder
2
|
Book (volume 2)
|
|
Box
9
Folder
3
|
Reviews and Advertising
|
|
|
To Hell in a Day Coach: An Exasperated Look at American Railroads(1968)
|
|
Box
9
Folder
4
|
Correspondence, 1966-1968
|
|
|
Research Materials
|
|
|
Transportation, General
|
|
Box
9
Folder
5
|
Airlines, Buses, and Commuter
|
|
Box
10
Folder
1
|
Morris Forgash's Articles
|
|
Box
10
Folder
2
|
Claiborne Pell, Megalopolis Unbound, 1966 (volume 3)
|
|
Box
10
Folder
3
|
James N. Sites, Quest for Crisis, 1963 (volume 4)
|
|
Box
10
Folder
4
|
Trucks and Trucking
|
|
Box
10
Folder
5
|
Miscellany--Articles and Bulletins
|
|
|
Transportation, Railroads
|
|
Box
10
Folder
6
|
Financial Trends and Statistics
|
|
Box
11
Folder
1
|
Future
|
|
|
General Information
|
|
Box
11
Folder
2
|
Author's Notes
|
|
Box
11
Folder
3
|
Statistics, Articles, and Clippings
|
|
Box
11
Folder
4
|
Highspeed
|
|
Box
11
Folder
5
|
Interstate Commerce Commission
|
|
Box
11
Folder
6
|
Labor Relations
|
|
Box
11
Folder
7
|
Mass Transit
|
|
|
Mergers
|
|
Box
11
Folder
8
|
General and Regional--Eastern
|
|
Box
12
Folder
1
|
Southern and Western
|
|
|
National Association of R. R. Passengers
|
|
Box
12
Folder
2
|
Correspondence, 1966-1968
|
|
Box
12
Folder
3
|
Other
|
|
Box
12
Folder
4
|
New Haven Railroad
|
|
|
Passenger Service
|
|
Box
12
Folder
5
|
Congressional Investigation, 1967
|
|
Box
12
Folder
6
|
Decline
|
|
Box
12
Folder
7
|
General
|
|
Box
13
Folder
1
|
General (continued)
|
|
Box
13
Folder
2
|
Southern Pacific
|
|
Box
13
Folder
3
|
Presidential and Congressional Action on Transportation
|
|
Box
13
Folder
4
|
Progress and Statistical Records
|
|
|
Technological Advances
|
|
Box
13
Folder
5
|
Federal Report, 1963
|
|
Box
13
Folder
6
|
General
|
|
Box
13
Folder
7
|
Piggyback Transport
|
|
|
Drafts
|
|
Box
14
Folder
1
|
Outline
|
|
Box
14
Folder
2-3
|
Copy #1
|
|
Box
14
Folder
4
|
Copy #2
|
|
Box
15
Folder
1
|
Reviews and Advertising
|
|
Box
15
Folder
2
|
Unpublished Manuscripts and Book proposals
|
|
|
“Isaac Singer,” undated
|
|
|
“Scoundrels, Imposters, and Healers,” undated
|
|
|
Unidentified manuscript, undated
|
|
Box
15
Folder
3
|
Series: Book Reviews
|
|
|
Series: Radio Scripts
|
|
Box
15
Folder
4
|
Correspondence, 1948-1958
|
|
|
Scripts for Series
|
|
|
Cavalcade of America
|
|
Box
15
Volume
5
|
1939-1942
|
|
Box
16
Volume
6
|
1942-1944
|
|
Box
16
Folder
1
|
The Eternal Light, 1948-1951
|
|
Box
16
Volume
7
|
Labor for Victory and Win the War, 1942-1943
|
|
Box
17
Volume
8
|
Labor for Victory,
1942-1944
|
|
Box
17
Folder
1
|
The Lives of Harry Lime, undated
|
|
|
Scripts for Specials
|
|
Box
17
Folder
2
|
Assigned to Treasury, circa 1945
|
|
Box
17
Folder
2
|
Barnaby: An Outline, 1944
|
|
Box
17
Folder
3
|
Bretton Woods, 1945
|
|
|
The Hollywood Picture, 1948
|
|
Box
17
Folder
4
|
Drafts, #1 and #2
|
|
Box
18
Folder
1
|
Drafts, #3 and #4
|
|
Box
18
Folder
2
|
Drafts, #5 and #6, Correspondence, and Clippings
|
|
Box
18
Folder
3
|
Medicine U.S.A.,
1952
|
|
Box
18
Folder
3
|
Turnabout,
1947
|
|
Box
18
Folder
3
|
[No Title Unidentified Script], undated
|
|
Box
18
Volume
9-10
|
Miscellaneous Scripts, undated
|
|
Box
18
Folder
4
|
Series: Photographs
|
|
M2002-158
|
Part 2 (M2002-158, Audio 1557A): Additions, 1924-1998 4.8 c.f. (3 record center cartons, 2 archives boxes, 1 index card box, and 1 flat box), 44 photographs, and 33 tape recordings : The additions consist of personal files; school records; correspondence; book contracts; and research conducted for Lyon’s books and articles. This last category includes hand written notes, typed manuscripts, reviews, index cards, photo layouts, and finished works. The photographs are from a published biography of Dwight Eisenhower completed in 1974. Also included are sound recordings consisting of interviews conducted to research various book projects. Previous accession MCHC77-031 has been integrated into this accession.
|
|
|
Personal files
|
|
Box
1
Folder
1
|
Curriculum vitae, awards, and obituaries, 1996
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2
|
Early school records, 1924-1929
|
|
Box
7
Folder
1
|
Early school record, 1932
|
|
|
Correspondence
|
|
Box
1
Folder
3-4
|
Business, 1969-1972
|
|
Box
1
Folder
5-11
|
General, 1959-1998
|
|
Box
1
Folder
12-15
|
Writings, 1956-1977
|
|
Box
1
Folder
16-17
|
Contracts, 1950-1998
|
|
|
Writing and research
|
|
Box
1
Folder
18-21
|
Book reviews of Lyon books, 1949-1970
|
|
Box
1
Folder
22
|
Proposal for compulsive/addictive behaviors book, 1976
|
|
Box
1
Folder
23
|
Woodstock, New York article, 1985
|
|
Box
1
Folder
24
|
Reviews written by Lyon, 1970
|
|
Box
1
Folder
25
|
The Wild, Wild West manuscripts and reviews, 1960-1968, undated
|
|
Box
1
Folder
26
|
McClure book research, 1960-1962
|
|
Box
1
Folder
27
|
Coney Island materials, 1957 and 1964
|
|
Box
1
Folder
28-29
|
American Express typed manuscript, undated
|
|
Box
1
Folder
30-33
|
American Express research, 1973-1975, undated
|
|
Box
1
Folder
34-36
|
Research for proposed book on Stimson, 1984-1987
|
|
Box
4
Folder
5
|
Research notes for book on Stimson, undated
|
|
Box
2
Folder
1-2
|
Unpublished Henry Stimson manuscript, undated
|
|
|
Eisenhower Biography
|
|
Box
2
Folder
3-8
|
Typed manuscript, undated
|
|
Box
2
Folder
9-18
|
Research notes and clippings, 1947-1973
|
|
Box
3
Folder
1
|
Eisenhower files (photocopies and clippings), 1948-1954
|
|
Box
3
Folder
2-3
|
Reviews, 1974-1975
|
|
Box
3
Folder
4
|
Research cards and quotations, undated
|
|
Box
3
Folder
5-8
|
Typed manuscript, undated
|
|
Box
4
Folder
1-4
|
Research notes, undated
|
|
Box
5
Folder
1-2
|
Research notes, undated (continued)
|
|
Box
6
|
Index cards of research notes, undated
|
|
Box
3
Folder
9
|
Eisenhower: Portrait of a Hero, 1974
|
|
Box
3
Folder
10
|
The Wild Wild West, 1969 and The U.N. in Action, , 1963
|
|
Box
3
Folder
11
|
Promises to Pay: The Story of American Express, 1977 and Alcoholism: Its Scope, Cause and Treatment, , 1955
|
|
Box
3
Folder
12
|
The Exurbanites, 1955
|
|
Box
7
Folder
2
|
Lyon articles written for The American Heritage and The Saturday Evening Post, 1957-1968
|
|
Box
7
Folder
3
|
Lyon articles written for Holiday, 1958-1965
|
|
PH Box
3
|
Photographs from Eisenhower: Portrait of a Hero
|
|
1557A/1-33
|
Audio recordings containing information related to Lyon's research for his books on Eisenhower, American Express, and for a proposed book on compulsive and addictive behavior. 33 cassette tapes
|
|
|