Collection Summary
Truman Capote Papers
1947-1965
1947-1965
MSS47043
Capote, Truman,
1924-1984
70 items
8 containers
3.2 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Author and dramatist.
Chiefly literary manuscripts, including notebooks, journals, drafts, and
manuscripts of prose fiction, dramas and screenplays, and other writings.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Brando, Marlon.
Capote, Truman, 1924-1984.
Capote, Truman, 1924-1984. Breakfast at Tiffany's; a short novel and three stories. 1958.
Capote, Truman, 1924-1984. In cold blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences. 1965.
Capote, Truman, 1924-1984. Other voices, other rooms. 1948.
Subjects
American fiction.
American literature.
Drama.
Fiction.
Literature.
Motion picture plays, American.
Musicals.
Short stories, American.
Occupations
Authors.
Dramatists.
Provenance
The papers of Truman Capote, author and dramatist, were given to the
Library of Congress by Capote in 1967-1969.
Processing History
The papers of Truman Capote were arranged and described in 1968 and
1997. The collection was partially rearranged in 2011.
Additional Guides
The Capote Papers are described in
Library of Congress Information Bulletin
, 26, no. 50 (14
December 1967).
Transfers
A photograph of Truman Capote has been transferred to the Prints and
Photographs Division where it is identified as part of the Truman Capote
Papers.
Other Repositories
Other papers of Truman Capote can be found in the New York Public
Library, New York, N.Y.
Copyright Status
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Truman Capote in these papers
and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress is reserved.
Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division for further
information.
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Truman Capote are open to research. Researchers are
advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many
collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these
items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Truman Capote Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1924, Sept. 30
Born Truman Streckfus Persons, New Orleans, La.
1945
Short story, "Miriam," published in
Mademoiselle
magazine
1948
Published first novel,
Other Voices, Other Rooms
. New York, Random House
1958
Published
Breakfast at Tiffany's; A Short Novel and Three
Stories
. New York, Random House
1965
Published
In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its
Consequences
. New York, Random House
1980
Published last novel,
Music for Chameleons
. New York, Random House
1984, Aug. 25
Died, Los Angeles, Calif.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Truman Capote (1924-1984) span the years 1947-1965 and
consist chiefly of literary manuscripts. The collection contains notebooks,
journals, drafts, and manuscripts of prose fiction, dramas (including
screenplays), and other writings, both published and unpublished. Included are
drafts of his novels
Other Voices, Other Rooms
,
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
, and
In Cold Blood
, the musical play
House of Flowers
, the short story "A Christmas Memory,"
and a profile of Marlon Brando. The largest group of material relates to his
nonfiction novel
In Cold Blood
, an account of the murders of the Clutter
family in Kansas. Items include notebooks containing the original holograph
manuscript, interview notes, including of his interviews with convicted
murderer Perry Smith, and observations and notes written while in Holcomb,
Kansas in 1959. Another notebook, entitled "The Nonfiction Novel," contains
Capote's account of the writing of
In Cold Blood
that was part of a January 1966 article in
the
New York Times
.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged by type of writing and material or title
of work.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81047043]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Miscellaneous writings
1
Other Voices, Other Rooms
(10
folders)
2
Breakfast at Tiffany's
(2
folders)
2
Notes for
Observations
, photographic book by Richard
Avedon
2
“A House on the Heights,”
first draft
2
“Moscow,” unfinished,
unpublished article,
1959
1959
2
House of Flowers
, notes and original first act,
1953
1953
2
“Another Day in Paradise,”
unfinished, unpublished short story
2
The Muses are Heard
, clippings,
1957
1957
3
Notebook,
1947
1947
3
“A Christmas
Memory”
3
“Monkeys and Old Stone,”
notes for a novella, never written,
1957
1957
3
“A Curious Gift,” unpublished
short story
3
Notebook,
1956
1956
3
Journal of a trip to Asia,
1957
1957
3
“The Duke in His Domain,”
profile of Marlon Brando,
1957
1957
(2
folders)
3
“Among the Paths to Eden,”
short story
3
“Miriam,” screenplay based on
short story “Miriam,”
(2
folders)
3
“A House in Sicily,”
unfinished, unpublished memoir
4
In Cold Blood
4
Interviews
4
Miscellaneous
4
Smith, Perry
4
Research and
interviews
4
Book drafts
4
Original
4
Part 1
(7
folders)
5
Part 2
(8
folders)
5
Part 3
(6
folders)
6
(10
folders)
6
Part 4
(6
Folders)
7
(2
folders)
7
Revised
(5
folders)
8
First retyped copy
(4
folders)
8
Acknowledgements
8
Galley proofs
(3
folders)
8
"The Nonfiction
Novel"