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/mm78039495
Collection material in English, with Norwegian
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 Eric Sevareid were given to the Library of Congress by Sevareid in 1958-1991. Three additions were given by Suzanne St. Pierre in 1994, 2018, and 2019. A single item was given by Mora A. Gregg in 2010.
The papers of Eric Sevareid were arranged and described by Anita L. Nolen in 1971. Part II, comprised of several additions from Sevareid and a large donation from Suzanne St. Pierre, was processed and the finding aid revised by Karen Linn Femia, with the assistance of Scott McLemee, in 1994. Part III, consisting of two separate additions, was processed and the finding aid revised by Femia in 2018 and by Rachel McNellis in 2023.
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Photographs taken during Sevareid's experience in Burma (now Myanmar) in 1943 and other photographs of Sevareid have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division where they are identified as part of the Eric Sevareid papers. A 1954 film of American diplomat John Paton Davies has been transferred to the Moving Image Section of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. Patrons are encouraged to contact these divisions in advance of a research visit.
The Library's Motion Picture Section holds films of some of Sevareid's CBS television broadcasts, most of which were acquired by the Library as copyright deposits.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Eric Sevareid in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
The papers of Eric Sevareid 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.
A microfilm edition of a portion of Part I of these papers is available on seventeen
reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability
for purchase or interlibrary loan.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Roman numeral designating the Part followed by a colon and container number or reel number, Eric Sevareid Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of
The papers in Part I span the period from 1930 to 1967 but cover primarily the two
decades from 1940 to 1960. They consist of personal correspondence, fan mail, office
files, scripts, a speech, an article and book file, and a miscellany. Scripts and
fan mail constitute the majority of this part of the collection. The Scripts consist mainly of
radio news analyses which were broadcast almost daily from 1946 to 1959. In these
much-revised and annotated drafts, Sevareid, as chief Washington correspondent for
Although labeled by Sevareid as Personal Correspondence, the material in this series is predominantly
professional in character. Most of the correspondents appear to be Sevareid's
personal friends, but they write about business rather than personal matters. Much
of the correspondence is similar to the fan mail, but there is no family
correspondence. Included, however, are copies of letters from
The Miscellany series
contains abundant material from World War II, including scripts of Sevareid's
broadcasts and cables from war zones in
The Office Files and the Speech, Article, and Book File contain material related to
Sevareid's professional life. The Office Files include large amounts of
The Correspondence series of Part II includes one folder of correspondence between family members or about family matters. Most of the series, however, is organized as general correspondence. Special correspondence includes material that Sevareid usually had labeled as "V.I.P." or "media personalities."
The Part II Fan Mail series holds correspondence from Sevareid's general viewing and reading public, usually with copies of his responses attached.
The Subject File includes
correspondence with Sevareid's friends and acquaintances, such as
The Scripts series of
Part II contains Sevareid's commentaries for the
The final series of Part II, Speeches and Writings, contains the texts of articles, letters to the editor, and speeches, some with attached correspondence.
The Part III: 2018 Addition consists primarily of correspondence from prominent politicians, journalists and writers. The addition also includes genealogical material, a scrapbook from Sevareid's grandparents' hometown of Etne, Norway, and items from Sevareid's second marriage to and subsequent divorce from Belén Marshall. Correspondents with multiple items or letters of special interest are organized by name into individual folders. The miscellaneous correspondence is organized alphabetically by name. Also included is a file of condolence letters from prominent politicians, writers, and journalists written upon Sevareid's death. Notable correspondence files in Part III include those for Svetlana Allilueva, Robert Ardrey, Warren E. Burger, Hubert H. Humphrey, Alfred M. Landon, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Norman MacLean, Richard M. Nixon, Vincent Sheean, Adlai E. Stevenson, Harry S. Truman, and Theodore H. White.
The Part III: 2023 Addition complements other materials in the collection documenting Sevareid’s activities as a news correspondent while offering greater insight into his life prior to World War II. It is comprised of newspapers and magazine articles, photographs, family correspondence, fan mail, school memorabilia, business memoranda, and awards. Sevareid’s adolescent diary is especially noteworthy as it provides an account of his earliest aspirations as a journalist. The photographs, arranged chronologically, include rare images from Sevareid’s childhood, 1930 canoe trip on the Mississippi River, and experience in the Burmese jungle. Others depict Sevareid participating in numerous presidential interviews, radio and television broadcasts, and press events during his lengthy career at CBS. This addition also includes material related to memorials honoring Sevareid as well as articles by other journalists regarding newscaster David Brinkley’s controversial 1998 appearance in Archer Daniels Midland Company commercials.
This collection is arranged in three parts composed of twelve series:
Part I:
Part II:
Part III:
Letters received and copies of letters sent.
Arranged chronologically by year and, in some cases, alphabetically within a given chronological period.
Letters received and copies of letters sent.
Arranged chronologically by month and year.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, memoranda, near-print, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Scripts of radio and television broadcasts.
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence and scripts relating to lectures and books.
Arranged chronologically.
Notes, printed matter and other memorabilia.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Family, general, and special correspondence.
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received and copies of letters sent to viewers, listeners, and readers of Sevareid's work.
Arranged chronologically by year.
Correspondence, biographical material, contracts, reviews, interviews, newsclippings, and photographs.
Arranged alphabetically by name of individual, institution or topic.
Scripts, some with attached correspondence, from broadcast and film appearances.
Arranged chronologically by year and alphabetically therein.
Texts of Sevareid's speeches and writings, some with attached correspondence.
Arranged by articles, letters to the editor, and speeches and chronologically therein.
Primarily correspondence from prominent politicians, journalists, and writers, but also includes genealogical material, condolence letters, and items from Sevareid's second marriage to and subsequent divorce from Belén Marshall. The miscellaneous correspondence is organized alphabetically by name.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent or subject matter.
Articles, photographs, family correspondence, fan mail, awards, business memoranda, and biographical material, including school memorabilia and Sevareid's adolescent diary.
Arranged alphabetically by subject or type of material.