Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81075856
Collection material in English
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.
The papers of Anthony Lewis, newspaper columnist and author, were deposited in the Library of Congress by Lewis in 1977. In 2002 Lewis donated the collection to the Library. Material received between 1977 and 1979 were processed as Part I of the papers. Several additions were sent to the Library between 2002 and 2008 and were processed as Part II.
Part I of the papers of Anthony Lewis was processed in 1996 by Margaret McAleer. The finding aid was revised in 2012. Part II was processed in 2017 by Connie L. Cartledge with the assistance of Chad Conrady, Pang Xiong, Jeffery Bryson, Rosa Hernandez, Sherralyn McCoy, and Tammi Taylor.
Sound recordings and videotapes have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division where they are identified as part of the Anthony Lewis Papers.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Anthony Lewis in these papers and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress is dedicated to the public.
The papers of Anthony Lewis 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.
Government regulations control the use of security classified items in this collection. Manuscript Division staff can furnish information concerning access to and use of classified material.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Roman numeral designating the Part followed by a colon and container number, Anthony Lewis Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Joseph Anthony Lewis (1927-2013) span the years 1941-2007, with the bulk of material dating from 1963 to 2001. The papers document primarily Lewis’s career as a newspaper reporter and columnist for the
Part I of the Lewis Papers spans the years 1941-1975, with the bulk of material produced from 1963 to 1974. Drafts, research files, and letters from readers of Lewis's
The Letters from Readers series comprises the largest part of Part I. Lewis's staff organized most of the letters he received between 1969 and July 1973 into a topical file and those received after July 1973 into a chronological file. The series provides insight into public opinion during a politically and socially turbulent era. Most of the letters were written by the general public and concern issues such as busing for racial integration of schools, medicine and health care, student protests, the Vietnam War, and Watergate. Prominent correspondents include Hubert H. Humphrey on busing; Allen Ginsberg on crime and drugs; general comments by David Halberstam and Daniel P. Moynihan; and Alfred M. Landon, John Le Carré, Lewis Mumford, and Benjamin Spock on Vietnam. Lewis's replies to these letters are included in the series.
The Writings series contains drafts and research files for two of Lewis's books. In
The collection also contains a small Subject File comprising research material for some of Lewis's articles.
Part II of the Lewis Papers spans from 1944-2007, with the bulk of material dating from 1964 to 2001. Papers in this addition supplement Part I of the collection. The majority of the papers in Part II document Lewis’s career with the
The Annual File in Part II, 1949-2007, includes correspondence, subject files, interviews, notes, reports, newspaper clippings, and speeches and writings by Lewis. It is the largest series and focuses mainly on his tenure as a reporter and columnist for the
In 1969 while still in London, Lewis began a column for the
The Annual File is arranged by year except for the first group of files from 1949 to 1965 which were filed together as a group by Lewis. Annual File topics "A-L" for 1966 were not received by the Library. Items from a prior Annual File year are occasionally carried over to the next year. Also some years of the Annual File contain background information items that are dated earlier than the year in which they are filed. The majority of the papers in the Annual File were used by Lewis as background research for his reporting and columns. Lewis, however, also traveled to gather information for his articles and columns. The Annual File is replete with trip files, particularly for Africa, the Middle East, and Vietnam, documenting Lewis’s insights. Information relating to his trips is also chronicled in Part II of the Notebooks series.
The Annual File also documents Lewis’s correspondence with an array of individuals including colleagues, Supreme Court justices, judges, lawyers, members of Congress, government officials, academics, entertainers, friends, and the public. The bulk of the correspondence, usually including both incoming and outgoing, features praise by Lewis relating to an achievement by a correspondent or vice-versa. Most of the letters are filed in the miscellaneous folders located after topics in the Annual File. Also documented in the Annual File are invitations and arrangements for social engagements. Correspondents include Russell Baker, Felix Frankfurter, Anna Freud, Henry Kissinger, James Reston, and Arthur Ochs Sulzberger.
The Letters from Readers series in Part II complements the Letters from Readers in Part I. This series includes incoming letters, usually accompanied by Lewis’s outgoing replies. The incoming letters are usually a one-time response to Lewis’s articles and commentary, although the letters do feature recurring correspondents. Topics represented are the Middle East, Cambodia, the Vietnam War, South Africa, abortion, race, immigration, the environment (filed under surroundings by Lewis and his staff), Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and political conflict in Yugoslavia during the 1990s.
The Writings in Part II are comprised chiefly of drafts of Lewis’s “London weekender articles,” and files relating to several of Lewis’s books. Most of the book files pertain to
The Notebooks series documents many of Lewis’s endeavors as a reporter and columnist from 1974 to 1999. The Notebooks from his London bureau tenure, 1965-1972, cover a wide range of topics such as the beginning of the political violence in Northern Ireland, the British entry into the European Economic Community (EEC), the withdrawal of British forces abroad, and the relationship between the United States and Great Britain. The Notebooks include Lewis’s interviews of people from Northern Ireland regarding the Irish Republican Army bombings and the policies of the Democratic Unionists Party. Also represented in the series are the British Parliament’s discussions on withdrawing forces from territories east of Suez and military forces which were a part of the British Army of the Rhine. Other notebooks chronicle the parliamentary discussions about the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War and the bombing of Cambodia. Notebooks from 1973 to 1999 document mainly Lewis’s many trips to London, Africa, and the Middle East. One 1973 notebook contains notes relating to Watergate.
The Miscellany series consists chiefly of files pertaining to Lewis’s teaching files about legal issues and journalism. The majority of the teaching files document Lewis’s lectures at Harvard Law School, Columbia University, and Yale University. This series also includes appointment books, photographs, and a few family papers.
This collection is arranged in nine series in two parts:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81075856
Clippings, correspondence, speeches, reports, press releases, notes, and photographs used in research for Lewis's newspaper columns.
Arranged alphabetically by topic.
Letters from readers of Lewis's columns, accompanied in most cases by copies of his replies.
Arranged in a chronological and a topical file.
Drafts, correspondence, and research files for
Arranged alphabetically by type of material under each title.
Correspondence, memoranda, notebooks and notes, articles and columns by Lewis, reports, interviews, speeches, newsletters, photographs, press releases, newspaper clippings, printed matter, and other material documenting Lewis's professional activities.
Arranged chronologically by year, although files from 1952-1965 are filed as one group, and therein alphabetically by name of organization or person, topic, or type of material.
Letters from readers of Lewis's columns, usually accompanied by his replies.
Arranged chronologically by year and therein alphabetically by name of person or topic. Filed at the end of each year are letters to the editor about Lewis's columns.
Correspondence, drafts of "London weekender" articles, book drafts, notes, letters to the editor, and research material.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically or alphabetically.
Notebooks relating to Lewis's professional activities.
Arranged chronologically.
Appointment books and calendars, address files, family papers, notes and jottings, photographs, teaching files, telephone messages, and press credentials.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material and therein alphabetically or chronologically.
Transcript of telephone call and a portion of an off-the-record talk.
Arranged according to the series, container, and folder from which the items were removed.