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Correspondence, manuscripts, memorabilia, photographs, phonograph and tape recordings, and printed files. Included are Cerf's personal correspondence files, 1929-1945, and the diaries and scrapbooks which he maintained from his school days throughout his active career. The diaries, in date-book format, contain terse notes on Cerf's meetings with authors and friends, on his travels and publishing activities; the scrapbooks contain correspondence and photographs, as well as memorabilia and printed items, and were annotated by Cerf and his wife, Phyllis Fraser Cerf Wagner. Also in the collection are manuscripts and proofs for Cerf's books including "The Laugh's on Me""Treasury of Atrocious Puns""The Sound of Laughter""Stories to Make You Feel Better", and "At Random: the Reminiscences of Bennett Cerf", which was edited by Phyllis Cerf Wagner and Albert Erskine, 1977. The papers also include condolence letters written at the time of Cerf's death, photographs and photo albums,certificates and awards, and miscellaneous printed material, including Random House and Modern Library catalogues. Among the major correspondents are: Truman Capote, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Edna Ferber, Moss Hart, J. Edgar Hoover, Hubert Humphrey, Lyndon B. Johnson, John Lindsay, Joshua Logan, John O'Hara, Jacqueline Onassis, Richard Rodgers, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gertrude Stein, Adlai Stevenson, Harry Truman, and Robert Penn Warren

Papers of Smedley, including correspondence, memoranda, manuscripts, and printed materials about the United Nations, national politics and elections, and civic organizations in New York City and in Connecticut. Correspondents include Hubert Humphrey, John F. Kennedy, and Bertrand Russell.

Correspondence, manuscripts, contracts, memos., and photographs. The correspondence pertains to the publications of numerous important fiction and non-fiction authors. The files are particularly strong for authors included in two important historical series"The New American Nation" Richard B. Morris and Henry S. Commager, editors; and "The Rise of Modern Europe" William L. Langer, editor. The files of Cass Canfield Sr. contain substantial material on Planned Parenthood and International Planned Parenthood.