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Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2004659958
Finding aid written in English.
DACS was used as the primary description standard.
Collection material in English
The American Folklife Center acquired the collection on June 7, 2005, from Wendy Lindsay, daughter of Ken Lindsay, and her siblings.
The Ken Lindsay Collection of Woody Guthrie Correspondence was processed by Sarah Bradley Leighton in June 2005. This finding aid was encoded by Amarantha Dyuaaxchs in August 2006 and updated by Nora Yeh in March 2010.
Alan Lomax Collection of Woody Guthrie
Recordings,
Alan Lomax CBS Radio Series Collection,
Almanac Singers Audition for Wm. Morris &
Co.,
Songs by Woody Guthrie,
Woody Guthrie Manuscript Collection,
Woody Guthrie Concert and Conversation,
Duplication of collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.
The Ken Lindsay Collection of Woody Guthrie Correspondence is open to research. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact
Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container number], Ken Lindsay Collection of Woody Guthrie Correspondence (AFC 2005/006), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The correspondence between Ken Lindsay and Woody Guthrie began in 1952, while Lindsay was responsible for the mail order record department at the International Bookshop on Charing Cross Road in London, England. Lindsay first wrote to Guthrie encouraging him to write and record material for the European market. Although the recording projects and the European tours discussed in their letters never materialized, this correspondence (1952-1953) captures the development of a special relationship between two men who never met, but shared a passion for music. The correspondence also provides a glimpse at the creative flair and the personal challenges that shaped this period of Guthrie's life.
In his letters to Lindsay, Guthrie discusses music, politics, and family relationships and reveals his struggle with alcoholism and the disease that claimed his life, Huntington's chorea. The letters also document Guthrie's whereabouts during these years as he writes from Brooklyn, New York; Jacksonville, Florida; and Topanga, California. Additionally, there is correspondence from Guthrie's second and third wives, Marjorie Mazia Guthrie and Anneke Van Kirk, who communicate details about Guthrie's personal health and professional endeavors to Lindsay. Letters MS01, MS03, MS04, and MS24 are even embellished with sketches made by Guthrie and Anneke Van Kirk.
Interestingly, Guthrie concluded many of his letters with the number "30." This symbol is often found at the closing of a press release and is believed to have descended from the practice of typing "XXX" at the conclusion of telegraph transmissions during the Civil War.
There are fifteen letters written by Ken Lindsay, seven written by Woody Guthrie, two written by Marjorie Guthrie (Guthrie's second wife), and two written by Anneke Van Kirk (Guthrie's third wife). In addition to the letters, there are four pages of song lyrics written by Woody Guthrie that he sent to Ken Lindsay with his letters. Some of the letters and song lyrics are embellished with drawings. The letters written by Ken Lindsay are carbon copies that Lindsay kept of his original letters.
The letters are arranged in chronological order to represent the development of communication between Ken Lindsay and Woody Guthrie. Each letter was assigned a unique manuscript (MS) number and the recto and verso of the letter's leaves were assigned decimal derivations of that unique manuscript number. For example, in the number "MS01.02," "MS01" represents the first item of correspondence in the collection and ".02" signifies the verso of the first leaf of the item. Decimal derivations were not assigned if the side of an item is blank.
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.
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2004659958
MS01.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS01.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS01.03 [leaf 2, recto]
MS01.04 [leaf 2, verso]
MS02.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS02.02 [leaf 2, recto]
[EMPTY FOLDER: See Oversized Box 2 of 2, Folder 31]
[EMPTY FOLDER: See Oversized Box 2 of 2, Folder 31]
[EMPTY FOLDER: See Oversized Box 2 of 2, Folder 31]
MS06.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS06.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS06.03 [leaf 2, recto]
MS07.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS08.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS09.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS09.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS10.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS11.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS12.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS13.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS13.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS14.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS15.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS16.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS16.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS17.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS18.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS18.02 [leaf 2, recto]
MS19.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS19.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS20.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS20.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS21.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS21.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS22.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS23.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS24.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS24.02 [leaf 2, recto]
MS25.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS25.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS26.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS26.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS27.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS27.02 [leaf 1, verso]
MS28.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS29.01 [leaf 1, recto]
Song lyrics, "Un Americans," by Woody Guthrie sent to Ken
Lindsay. 1 leaf.
MS03.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS03.02 [leaf 1, verso]
Song lyrics, "Sunny Sun Sun," by Woody Guthrie sent to Ken Lindsay. 1
leaf.
MS04.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS04.02 [leaf 1, verso]
Song
lyrics, "Love Says No," by Woody Guthrie sent to Ken Lindsay. 1 leaf.
MS05.01 [leaf 1, recto]
MS05.02 [leaf 1, verso]