The Norman Bassett Papers (1932-1956) consist primarily of correspondence between Bassett, his literary editors, and various American writers, publishers, artists, and composers concerning the publication of Demcourier. Included in the correspondence are bibliographic checklists and manuscript drafts of articles for the journal. American notables considered as subjects for Demcourier special issues included artists, authors, poets, play- wrights, cartoonists, and composers. For more detail, see the container list.
The correspondence ranges from initial requests for a person's permission to prepare a special feature, through the solicitation of articles, photos, and bibliographies, to the post-publication problems of distribution. Some files contain frank evaluations of the individual and his or her work. Individual files vary greatly in fullness, and often overlap. For example, John Steuart Curry and Thomas Hart Benton, contributed both to their own and to each other's issues. Rockwell Kent, a personal friend of Bassett, contributed to several issues. The papers are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the person to whom the issue was to be devoted, and then chronologically within.
The file on Robert Henry (1945-1946), a Wisconsin Congressman, does
not concern Demcourier, but contains a series of letters between Henry and his friend Bassett concerning Henry's opposition to the Office of Price Administration and the full employment issue of 1946.
The file on Mary Reely (1937) consists of correspondence concerning the “American Authors as Printers” series and draft articles on Artemus Ward, William Dean Howells, Lafcadio Hearn, and William Allen White.
The Miscellaneous file includes requests for copies of the Rockwell Kent cover design and photo, correspondence concerning issues that never were used in publication, and draft articles on topics such as the Library Research Division of Demco, serious and light reading, and newspaperman Roman Coffman.
