Summary Information
Vera Caspary Papers
1929-1981
U.S. Mss 53AN; Micro 1015
12.0 c.f. (29 archives boxes, 2 cartons, and 1 package) and 1 reel of microfilm (35mm)
Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research Contact Information
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of Vera Caspary, a novelist, playwright, and writer of motion picture screenplays. Much of the collection consists of progressive drafts of her novels A Chosen Sparrow (1964), The Man Who Loved His Wife (1966), and The Rosecrest Cell (1968). Motion picture files include scripts and revisions, story ideas sold to studios, clippings, printed matter, and photographs for such films as Laura (20th Century-Fox, 1944), Les Girls (MGM, 1957), and Letter to Three Wives (20th Century-Fox, 1948). Writing for other media is less well represented, but there are two television pilots; several short stories; and drafts of Geraniums in My Window (1934), a play written with Samuel B. Ornitz; The Husband (1957); and Wedding in Paris (1954). Two boxes of correspondence contain exchanges with studio executives and literary agents and include some contracts.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0053an ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Prolific novelist, playwright, and author of screenplays, screen stories, and short stories, Vera Caspary was born in Chicago in 1904. Educated in the Chicago public schools, she attributed the start of her training and career to a want ad for a stenographer in an advertising agency. Having heard somewhere that such work could be a stepping stone to writing, she answered the ad, and for the next few years promoted the sales of sausage, cheese, and rat poison. She moved on to writing for a correspondence school for ballet, and taught herself the principles of dramatic structure by writing for a mail order school of drama. In these early years, she edited Fingerprint Magazine, a monthly journal for amateur crime detectors, an experience that provided rich inspiration for her later mystery works.
Caspary moved to New York in 1925, where she met playwright Samuel Ornitz, who encouraged her to begin writing creatively. In 1929, she produced her first novel, The White Girl, which was followed in 1932 by Thicker Than Water, a semi-autobiographical work. She turned to mystery writing in 1942; the first book in this genre was Laura, immediately a bestseller. Caspary later adapted Laura for the stage and the screen. Other best-selling mysteries and psycho-thrillers followed, including Bedelia (1944), The Murder in the Stork Club (1946), Stranger than Truth (1946), and The Weeping and the Laughter (1950). Later writing included Thelma (1952), False Face (1957), The Husband (1957), Evvie (1960), A Chosen Sparrow (1964), and The Man Who Loved His Wife (1966). She also wrote an autobiography, The Secrets of Grown-Ups (1979).
In her early years of writing, Caspary collaborated on several plays. One of the earliest was Geraniums in My Window (1934), written with Samuel Ornitz. She also took her typewriter to Hollywood and began writing plays on her own. These included Bedelia (1946), Out of the Blue (1947), and Illicit (1961). She received the Screen Writers Guild Award for the best written comedy of 1949 for her screen story adaptation for A Letter to Three Wives. Her screen story for Les Girls won her the Screen Writers Guild Award for the best written American musical of 1957.
In 1946, she journeyed to England for the first filming of her novel Bedelia, produced by Isidore Goldsmith, a leading English motion picture producer. When she returned to Hollywood for the filming of Out of the Blue, Goldsmith followed her to produce it, and the two married in 1949. The couple had no children. Goldsmith died on October 8, 1964; Caspary never remarried.
Throughout her writing career, Caspary was not afraid to tackle touchy social issues. The White Girl, her first novel, is the story of an African-American girl who passes for white. The filming of Bedelia involved her in a lively battle with the Hollywood censors on the issue of suicide. As a result, she wrote two versions of the movie, one for English audiences and one for American audiences. Overall, with her independent female characters, Caspary's work gives the appearance of anticipating the feminist movement of the late 20th century.
Vera Caspary died on June 13, 1987; the cause of death was not disclosed.
Scope and Content Note
The Vera Caspary Papers are organized in three main parts. Part 1 is the Original Collection, comprising materials received in the Archives in 1963. The Original Collection covers the period 1929-1963 and is housed in Boxes 1-12, plus a package. Part 2 is designated the 1968 Additions and consists of materials received in the Archives in 1965 and 1968. These materials date 1944-1968 and fill Boxes 13-27. Part 3, the 1984 Additions, includes materials received between 1975 and 1983. The materials in Part 3 date 1929-1981 and can be found in Boxes 28-31 and on the reel of microfilm. Each part is described in more detail in the paragraphs that follow.
Part 1: Original Collection, 1929-1963
The Original Collection consists of correspondence; business papers; writings organized by genre: musicals, novels, plays, screenplays, screen stories, stories, and treatments; and finally a box of awards, ephemera, printed magazine stories and articles, and typescripts of three radio and television interviews and photographs.
Correspondence is arranged chronologically by month and includes letters from movie producers, including Sol Seigel, as well as from Caspary's literary agents. These letters provide insight into the work of producing a novel or play for public consumption. The small assortment of business papers is also arranged chronologically by month.
The writings that form the bulk of the Original Collection consist of manuscripts and mimeographed copies of a large number of Caspary's works, both published and unpublished. These are arranged alphabetically within each genre, as many do not bear dates. However, the earlier and later versions of a work have been filed together regardless of title; thus, the plays Beautiful Evening and Blind Mice are filed together, as are the plays The Husband and The Quick Easy Way. Similarly, her novel, A Chosen Sparrow, is immediately followed by the untitled suspense story from which the novel grew. The exception to this ordering scheme is Play to Win, a play with the same characters as the screenplay Illicit, but with a completely different story. Also, in the case of original works that Caspary later prepared for stage and screen, each version is filed under the appropriate genre. Regarding the genres “treatment” and “screen story” the former term designates specifically commissioned story preparations; whereas the latter represents uncommissioned story preparations that were subsequently sold to movie studios.
Awards include a silver medal from the Screen Writers Guild for Les Girls. The small assortment of printed magazine stories and articles represent only those works not received in any other form. Thus the following stories were discarded:
- “Bedelia,” Woman's Journal, May 1945
- “Gardenia,” Today's Woman, February - March 1952
- “Laura” (“Ring Twice for Laura”), Colliers, October.17 - November 28, 1942
- “Out of the Blue,” Today's Woman, September 1947
- ”Stranger Than Truth,” Colliers, September 14 - October 5, 1946
- “Thelma,” Philadelphia Sunday Bulletin Magazine, January 3, 1954
Part 2: 1968 Additions, 1944-1968
The 1968 Additions to the Vera Caspary Papers include Correspondence, Contracts, writings arranged by genre (Novels, Plays, Screenplays, and Television Pilots); and a General category comprising a few newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and speeches. Since most of the writings are undated, they have been categorized according to the progressive stages of writing, i.e. outlines, holograph notes, typewritten notes, rough drafts, etc. Correspondence pertaining to a specific work is filed with that work. The bulk of the material forming the 1968 additions pertains to Caspary's novels; of particular interest here is the vast number of revisions, which permit the evolution of each work to be easily traced.
Part 3: 1984 Additions, 1929-1981
The 1984 Additions include Correspondence and Other Papers, Early Writings and Reviews, and writings organized by genre (Novels, Plays, Screenplays, and Television). Some of the Correspondence is of a general nature, while some consists of letters exchanged with agents, publishers, and readers; also included are a few items pertaining to charges of un-American activities leveled against Caspary during the 1950s. Among the Other Papers are a few contracts and related correspondence, reviews of books, and royalty statements.
The Early Writings and Reviews consist of microfilmed scrapbooks, arranged by subject, that include samples of form letters and advertising copy that Caspary wrote for cosmetic sales and various other enterprises. Among her clients were the Sergei Marinoff School of Classical Dance, Chicago, which purported to teach ballet by mail; the Perfect Voice Institute, Chicago; and the University of Applied Science, Chicago, which offered a fingerprint identification course for which Caspary also wrote the lessons. The scrapbooks also contain reviews of, or material otherwise related to, Caspary's written works, and of items of personal interest. The original scrapbooks were not retained.
The (later) writings organized by genre constitute the majority of the 1984 Additions. Present are manuscripts, drafts, revisions, outlines, and notes of such published and unpublished novels as A Chosen Sparrow, The Dreamers, The Final Portrait, “The Girls,” Laura, The Mystery of Elizabeth X, “New York House of Detention for Women,” The Rosecrest Cell, Ruth, her autobiography The Secrets of Grown-ups, Thelma, “Woman in White,” and “Women in Crime.” There are also files for Caspary's plays Gift of the Gods, “Texas Guinan Story,” and Wedding in Paris; for screenplays “Haunted Summer” and “The Husband”; for a proposed television series; and for short stories and articles.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Vera Caspary, New York, New York, 1963-1983. Accession Number: MCHC63-025, MCHC65-022, MCHC65-124, MCHC68-084, MCHC75-011, MCHC78-025, MCHC83-075
Processed by MFF, November 19, 1964; J. Minnich, February 4, 1970; and Menzi Behrnd-Klodt and Ann Bloczynski, December 1984.
Contents List
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U.S. Mss 53AN
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Series: Part 1: Original Collection, 1929-1963
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Correspondence
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Box
1
Folder
2
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1942-1952
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Box
1
Folder
3
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1953-1956
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Box
1
Folder
4
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1957-1958
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Box
1
Folder
5
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1959-1960
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Box
1
Folder
6
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1961-1963; undated
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Box
1
Folder
7
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Business papers, 1946-1952; undated
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Musicals
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Wedding in Paris, music by Hans May, lyrics by Sonny Miller
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Box
2
Folder
1
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First draft, undated
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Box
2
Folder
2
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Second draft, undated
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Third draft, undated
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Director's working copy, undated
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Box
2
Folder
5
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Amateur revision, 1956
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Box
2
Folder
6
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Sheet music, 1954
: “Always Young,” “How Do I Know It's Love?” “I Must Have Been Crazy,” “Piano Selection,” “The Simple Things of Life,” “Strike Another Match,” “A Wedding in Paris.”
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Musical Screenplays
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Les Girls, by John Patrick, story by Vera Caspary, 1957, Mar. 29
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Novels
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A Chosen Sparrow, 1962
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Box
3
Folder
1
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First draft with revisions, pp. 72-189, 348
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Box
3
Folder
2-3
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First finished version
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Box
3
Folder
4-5
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Second finished version
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Box
4
Folder
1-2
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Third finished version
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Box
4
Folder
3
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Notes
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Box
4
Folder
4
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Notes and unused scenes
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Box
4
Folder
5-6
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Pages discarded by Vera Caspary
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Box
4
Folder
7
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Untitled suspense story, 1960 (expanded into A Chosen Sparrow)
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Box
5
Folder
1-2
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Evvie, 1960, draft
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Box
5
Folder
3
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Laura, 1942, synopsis
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Box
5
Folder
4
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Thicker Than Water, undated, notes and family tree
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Plays
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Box
5
Folder
5
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Beautiful Evening, 1929, first draft
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Blind Mice, co-author, Winifred Lenihan, undated
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Box
5
Folder
6
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First draft
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Box
5
Folder
7
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Director's copy
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Box
5
Folder
8
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Geraniums in My Window, co-author, Samuel Ornitz, undated
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The Husband, undated
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Box
6
Folder
1
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First draft
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Box
6
Folder
2
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First draft, with revisions
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Box
6
Folder
3
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Second draft, with revisions
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Box
6
Folder
4
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The Quick Easy Way, undated, draft with revisions
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Box
6
Folder
5
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Play to Win, 1955, July 4, first draft
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Screenplays
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Box
6
Folder
6
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Bedelia, undated
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Box
6
Folder
7
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The Chinese Room, 1958, December 15, first draft with revisions
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Illicit, 1961
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Box
6
Folder
8
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First draft with revisions
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Second draft with revisions, October 16
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Box
7
Folder
1
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Copy 1, pp 1-65
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Box
7
Folder
2
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Copy 2, pp 1-65
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Box
7
Folder
3
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Third draft with revisions, November 3
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Box
7
Folder
4
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Fourth draft with revisions
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Box
7
Folder
5
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Revisions
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Box
7
Folder
6
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Revisions for 20th Century Fox
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Box
7
Folder
7
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Sheets done over by Vera Caspary
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Box
7
Folder
8
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Step chart
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Box
7
Folder
9
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Happily Ever After (Illicit), 1961, November 13, 20th Century Fox Edition, first draft
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Box
8
Folder
1
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A Letter to Three Wives, by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, screen story adaptation by Vera Caspary, 1948, May 19, final script
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Box
8
Folder
2
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Out of the Blue, 1947, February 13, revised final draft
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Box
8
Folder
3
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Pay Day, co-author, George Sklar, undated
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Box
8
Folder
4
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The Stars Look Down, by J.B. Williams, produced by Isidore Goldsmith, undated
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Box
8
Folder
5
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Stranger Than Truth, 1948, March
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Box
8
Folder
6
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Three Husbands, undated
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Screen Stories
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Away From Home, 1960
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Box
9
Folder
1
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First draft with revisions, December 1
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Box
9
Folder
2
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Second draft, December
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Box
9
Folder
3
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Easy Living, 1936
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Box
9
Folder
4
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The Exiles, co-author, George Sklar, 1938
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Box
9
Folder
5
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Les Girls, 1956, Feb. 15, first draft
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Box
9
Folder
6
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Give the Girl a Break, circa 1950-1951
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Box
9
Folder
7
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Happy Days Are Here Again, 1952
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Illicit
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Box
9
Folder
8
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First draft with revisions, 1961
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Box
10
Folder
1
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Second draft with revisions, 1961
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Box
10
Folder
2
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Third draft with revision, 1961
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Box
10
Folder
3
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Memo, undated
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Box
10
Folder
4
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Sheets discarded by Vera Caspary, undated
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Box
10
Folder
5
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In Conference, co-author, Bruce Manning, 1933
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Box
10
Folder
6
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It Can't Last, 1935
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Box
10
Folder
7
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Matinee Idol, co-author, Bruce Manning, 1933
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Box
10
Folder
8
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The Nickel Show, 1939
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Box
10
Folder
9
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The Night of June 13th, 1932
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Box
10
Folder
10
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O, Promise Me, 1951
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Box
10
Folder
11
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Odd Thursday, 1933
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Box
10
Folder
12
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They Knew What Happened, undated
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Box
10
Folder
13
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Three Husbands, undated
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Screen Story Adaptation
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Box
10
Folder
14
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A Letter to Five Wives, from the novel by John Klempner, May 28, 1947, first draft
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Stories
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Box
11
Folder
1
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The Gardenia, 1952
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Box
11
Folder
2
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The Jews of Kiev, undated
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Box
11
Folder
3
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Out of the Blue, 1947
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Box
11
Folder
4
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Untitled murder story, 1941
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Treatments
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The Capri Story, 1960
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Box
11
Folder
5
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First draft
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Box
11
Folder
6
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Second draft, May 2
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Box
11
Folder
7
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Gone Are the Days, 1943, November 26, second draft
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Box
11
Folder
8
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The Last Angry Man, 1957, June 3, third draft
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Box
11
Folder
9
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No Wedding Ring, co-author, Isidore Goldsmith, 1949, February 9
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Box
12
Folder
1
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Awards
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Box
12
Folder
2
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Ephemera
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Box
12
Folder
3
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Photographs
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Package
1
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Blind Mice, undated
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Box
12
Folder
4
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Printed Magazine Stories and Articles, 1942-1952
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Box
12
Folder
5
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Radio and Television Interviews, 1942, 1945, 1950
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Series: Part 2: 1968 Additions, 1944-1968
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Correspondence
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Box
13
Folder
1
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January 1944-August 1958
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Box
13
Folder
2
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August 1958-July 1962
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Box
13
Folder
3
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August 1962-February 1968
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Box
13
Folder
4
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Contracts, Miscellaneous
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Novels
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A Chosen Sparrow (1964)
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Box
13
Folder
5
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Correspondence, May 1962-January 1965
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Box
13
Folder
6
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Contracts
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Box
13
Folder
7
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Background Information
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Notes
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Box
13
Folder
8
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Holograph
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Box
13
Folder
9-10
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Holograph and Typewritten (version 4)
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Box
14
Folder
1-4
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Typewritten, random (discards from 4th version)
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Box
14
Folder
5-7
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Third Version - Copy: Edited Manuscript
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Box
15
Folder
1-4
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Fourth Version - Rough Draft
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Box
15
Folder
5
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Clippings - Promotion and Reviews
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The Man Who Loved His Wife (1966)
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Box
15
Folder
6
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Correspondence, May 1965-August 1966
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Box
15
Folder
7
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Contracts
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Box
15
Folder
8
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Background Information
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Box
15
Folder
9
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Outline and Step Chart
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Notes
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Box
15
Folder
10-11
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Holograph
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Box
16
Folder
1
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Holograph and Typewritten
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Box
16
Folder
2-3
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Typewritten
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Box
16
Folder
4-7
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Typewritten, random
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Box
17
Folder
1
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First Version
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Box
17
Folder
2-3
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Second Version - First Draft
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Box
17
Folder
4-6
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Last Revision - First Rewrite
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Copy - Edited Manuscript
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Box
17
Folder
7
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pp. 1-150
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Box
18
Folder
1
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pp. 151-332
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Box
18
Folder
2-4
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Galley, annotated
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Box
18
Folder
5
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Galley
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Box
18
Folder
6
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Serialization: Woman's Mirror, March 5-April 16, 1966
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Box
18
Folder
7
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Clippings - Reviews and Promotions
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The Rosecrest Cell (1968)
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Box
19
Folder
1
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Correspondence, December 1966-February 1968
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Box
19
Folder
2
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Contracts
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Box
19
Folder
3
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Background Information
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Box
19
Folder
4
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Outlines and First Notebook
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Notes
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Box
19
Folder
5
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Holograph
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Box
19
Folder
6
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Holograph, Chapter Outline
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Box
19
Folder
7
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Holograph and Typewritten
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Box
19
Folder
8
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Character Development and Random Notes
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Box
19
Folder
9
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Random Notes and Discarded Pages
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Box
19
Folder
10
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Revisions on Part I (not in sequence)
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Box
20
Folder
1
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Discards and Revisions (after editor's criticism)
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Box
20
Folder
2-3
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Incomplete Draft
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Box
20
Folder
4-5
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Draft Fragment
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Box
21
Folder
1-5
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Complete Draft, December 1966
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Draft, annotated
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Box
21
Folder
6
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pp. 1-150
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Box
22
Folder
1-3
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pp. 151-600
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Box
22
Folder
4-7
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Copy - Edited Manuscript, pp. 1-600
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Box
23
Folder
1
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Annotated Galley
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Box
23
Folder
2
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Clippings - Promotion and Review
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Ruth (Novelette - , February 1968)
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Notes
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Box
23
Folder
3
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Holograph
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Box
23
Folder
4
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Typewritten
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Box
23
Folder
5
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Draft Fragments
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Box
23
Folder
6-7
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Incomplete Draft
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Box
23
Folder
8-9
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Complete Draft
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Box
23
Folder
10
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Published Novelette - Good Housekeeping, February 1968
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Untitled Novel (intended as sequel to Evvie)
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Box
24
Folder
1
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Outline and Character Development, holograph and typewritten
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Box
24
Folder
2-3
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Notes, holograph and typewritten
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Plays
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A Four Letter Word
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Box
24
Folder
4
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Notes, holograph (all three plays)
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First Play
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Box
24
Folder
5
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Incomplete Draft and Theme
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Box
24
Folder
6
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Rough Draft and Loose Pages
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Box
24
Folder
7-9
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Complete Draft
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Second Play
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Box
24
Folder
10
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Synopsis, loose pages
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Box
24
Folder
11
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Rough Draft Fragments
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Box
24
Folder
12-14
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Complete Draft
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Third Play
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Box
24
Folder
15
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Synopsis, loose pages
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Box
25
Folder
1
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Rough Draft Fragments
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Box
25
Folder
2
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Complete Draft
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Box
25
Folder
3
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Complete Draft of Entire Play
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Screenplays
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Bachelors in Paradise
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Box
25
Folder
4
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Correspondence, August 1961-February 1966
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Box
25
Folder
5-7
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Copy - Edited Manuscript
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Box
25
Folder
8
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Studio File Copy of Screen Story, October 9, 1957
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Illicit
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Box
25
Folder
9
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Correspondence, November 1962-August 1963
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Novel Typescript, November 13, 1964
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Box
25
Folder
10
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pp. 1-100
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Box
26
Folder
1-2
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pp. 101-308
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Love Now, Pay Later (original title: “The Bachelors”)
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Box
26
Folder
3
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Notes, holograph and typewritten
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Box
26
Folder
4
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First Version, 1965
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Box
26
Folder
5
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First Draft, incomplete, pp. 1-85
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Box
26
Folder
6
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Second Draft, incomplete, pp. 1-168
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Box
26
Folder
7
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Third Draft, incomplete, pp. 29-122
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Mr. Rigoletto
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Box
26
Folder
8
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Correspondence, August 1965-December 1966
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Box
26
Folder
9
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Background Information
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Box
26
Folder
10
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Story Outline and Character Development
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Box
26
Folder
11
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Notes, 1965
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Box
26
Folder
12
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Notes, holograph and typewritten
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Box
26
Folder
13
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First Rough Draft, 1966
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Box
27
Folder
1
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First Version
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Box
27
Folder
2
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Second Version
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Box
27
Folder
3
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Final Version
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The Stars Look Down (I.G. Goldsmith)
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Box
27
Folder
4
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Dialogue Sheets and Photograph
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Television Pilots
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Apartment 3-C
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Box
27
Folder
5
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“Lonely Saturday,” First Draft
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Box
27
Folder
6
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“New York Is Different,” First Draft
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General
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Box
27
Folder
7
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Clippings - Laura
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Magazine Articles
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Box
27
Folder
8
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“Laura”
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Box
27
Folder
9
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“Protest by a Constant Reader”
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Box
27
Folder
10
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Speeches - UCLA Speech
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Series: Part 3: 1984 Additions, 1929-1981
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Correspondence and Other Papers
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Box
28
Folder
1
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General Correspondence, January 1946, June 1962-March 1980
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Box
28
Folder
2
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With Agents and Publishers, January 1978-April 1981
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Box
28
Folder
3
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With W.H. Allen and Co., April 1969-December 1971
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Box
28
Folder
4
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Correspondence and Notes re: Charges of Un-American Activities, January 1952-October 1955
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Box
28
Folder
5
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From Readers, March 1979-October 1981
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Box
31
Folder
1
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Contracts and Correspondence, January 1967-October 1980
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Box
28
Folder
6
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Reviews of Books, August 1960-January 1979
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Box
28
Folder
6
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Royalty Statements, January 1968-June 1980
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Micro 1015
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Early Writings and Reviews
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Reel
1
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Reviews of The White Girl, 1929
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Advertisements and Copy Written by Vera Caspary
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Reel
1
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Letters to Druggists for Sem-pray Jo-ve-nay Products
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Reel
1
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“Sky-Writing, Limited,” New Yorker, May 18, 1929
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Reel
1
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Form Letters Drafted for Sergei Marinoff School of Classical Dance, Chicago
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Reel
1
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“Enter Your World by Voice Culture,” Brochure of the Perfect Voice Institute, Chicago (copyright 1922)
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Reel
1
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Advertisements for Perfect Voice Institute
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Reel
1
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Advertisements for the University of Applied Science, Chicago - Fingerprint Identification Courses
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Reel
1
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Advertisements for Historical Books, Mysteries
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Reel
1
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“Trianon Topics,” Chicago, Vol. 1, No. 1, May 22, 1924
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Reel
1
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“The Satin Slipper,” Chicago, Vol. 1, No. 1, circa 1925 (published for the Satin Slipper [Dancing] Club)
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Scrapbooks and Clippings of Reviews
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Reel
1
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Bedelia
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Reel
1
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Death Wish
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Reel
1
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Evvie
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Reel
1
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False Face
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Reel
1
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Les Girls
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Reel
1
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The Husband
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Reel
1
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Laura
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Reel
1
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A Letter to Three Wives
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Reel
1
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The Night of June 13
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Reel
1
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Out of the Blue
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Reel
1
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Stranger Than Truth
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Reel
1
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Thelma
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Reel
1
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Thicker Than Water
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Reel
1
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Three Husbands
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Reel
1
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Wedding in Paris
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Reel
1
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The Weeping and the Laughter
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Reel
1
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Personal Clippings
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U.S. Mss 53AN
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Novels
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A Chosen Sparrow
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Box
28
Folder
7
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Portions of a Manuscript re: a Polish Count, cut from A Chosen Sparrow, undated
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The Dreamers
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First Draft
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Box
28
Folder
8
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Vol. 1, annotated with notes, published circa 1976
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Box
28
Folder
9
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Vol. 2, annotated
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Box
28
Folder
11-12
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Book 2, annotated
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Box
28
Folder
12
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Step Chart, January-May 1971
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Box
31
Folder
2
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Revisions, 1973
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The Final Portrait
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Box
28
Folder
13
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Annotated Draft, 1971
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The Girls
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Box
28
Folder
14
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Manon Tingue's Response and Outline of Vera Caspary's Ideas, July 1, 1968
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Laura
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Box
28
Folder
15
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Clippings in German, 1968
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Box
28
Folder
16
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Publicity
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Box
28
Folder
17
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Draft Article About the Production of Laura, entitled “Laura, Otto and I,” annotated, undated
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The Mystery of Elizabeth X
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Box
28
Folder
18-20
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Partial Rough Drafts, undated
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Box
28
Folder
21-24
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Incomplete Drafts and Discarded Pages, annotated, undated
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Box
28
Folder
25
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Early Draft of Chauncey Greenleaf Section, annotated, undated
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Box
31
Folder
3
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Manuscript of Chauncey Greenleaf Section, undated
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Box
31
Folder
4
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Notes and Partial Rough Drafts, undated
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Box
31
Folder
5
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Notes
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Box
28
Folder
26
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Criticisms and Notes, June-July 1978
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“New York House of Detention for Women” (“House of Detention”)
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Box
28
Folder
27
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Notes and Outline, undated
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Box
28
Folder
28
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Early Draft of an Outline for a Book, annotated, and Notes, undated
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The Rosecrest Cell
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Box
28
Folder
29
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Clippings, 1968
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Ruth
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Box
28
Folder
30
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Serialized in Annabel, April 1969
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The Secrets of Grown-ups
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Box
28
Folder
31-33
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Manuscript as Published, circa 1979
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Box
29
Folder
1-2
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Outlines and First Full Rough Draft to 1924, annotated, undated
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Box
29
Folder
3-5
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Working Draft, 1924-1954, annotated
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Box
29
Folder
6-7
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Working Draft, Parts I and II, annotated
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Box
29
Folder
8-10
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Incomplete Drafts and Discards, circa 1976
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Box
29
Folder
11-12
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Discards and Rewritten Pages
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Box
31
Folder
6
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Outlines and Notes, undated
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Box
29
Folder
13
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Notes
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Box
29
Folder
14
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Reviews, June 1979-July 1980
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Box
29
Folder
15
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Edgar Award, March 1980
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Thelma
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Box
29
Folder
16
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Clippings, 1952
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“Woman in White”
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Box
31
Folder
7
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Rough Outline, undated
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“Women in Crime”
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Box
29
Folder
17-18
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Outlines, undated
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Plays
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Gift of the Gods
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Box
29
Folder
19
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Script, January 16, 1977
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Box
29
Folder
20
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Working Script, annotated, undated
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Box
29
Folder
21
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Incomplete Working Draft, annotated
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Box
29
Folder
22-23
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Miscellaneous Pages of a Working Draft, annotated, undated
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Box
29
Folder
24
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Notes
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”Texas Guinan Story” (unproduced)
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Box
29
Folder
25
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Synopsis, circa 1950s
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Wedding in Paris
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Box
30
Folder
1
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Script, undated
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Box
30
Folder
2
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Sheet Music, “A Wedding in Paris,” 1954
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Box
30
Folder
3
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Souvenir Brochure, circa 1954
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Screenplays
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“Haunted Summer,” Original Screenplay by Anne Edwards and Vera Caspary
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Box
30
Folder
4
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Correspondence and Plot Summary, 1972-1974
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Box
30
Folder
5
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First Corrected Draft Screenplay, incomplete, August 15, 1977
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The Husband
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Box
30
Folder
6
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Screenplay by Lange Lewis, from the Novel by Vera Caspary, undated
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Television
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Box
30
Folder
7
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“The Private World of the Morleys”: Idea for a Television Series
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Short Stories and Articles
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Box
30
Folder
8
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“The Movie Original,” New Theatre, August 1936
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Box
30
Folder
9
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“I've Met a Man, Mother,” The Canadian Magazine Star Weekly, October 25, 1969
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Box
30
Folder
10
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Drafts for a Short Piece on Paperback Books, October 1974
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Box
30
Folder
11
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“Pavlova's Words” and “Pavlova's Music,” Draft and Printed Article, Dance Magazine, January 1976
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Box
30
Folder
12
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“New York: Dancing in the '20s,” Draft and Printed Article, Dance Magazine, July 1976
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Box
30
Folder
13
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Grand Rapids Literary Arts Festival, Clippings and Correspondence, 1968
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