Susan Orlean Papers, 1930s-2015, 2019
Susan Orlean Papers, 1930s-2015, 2019
Summary Information
Abstract
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#1777
- Bib ID:
- 11614020 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Orlean, Susan
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 30.75 linear feet (21 record cartons, 10.5 document boxes, 3 card files, 2 cassette boxes, and 3 flat boxes)
- Language(s):
- English .
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
-
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
Some records with sensitive personal information, including social security numbers, are restricted at this time.
If you would like to use audiovisual or digital materials in Series V, please contact the library in advance of your visit to discuss access options.
Description
Summary
This collection documents Orlean's career as a writer and a journalist. The collection contains address books, appointment books, audio recordings, clippings, computer files, contracts, correspondence, drafts, interviews, notes, notebooks, photographs, proofs, publications, research materials, school records, and video recordings.
Documentation of the full process of Orlean's writing is most extensive for her book projects: Saturday Night (1990), The Orchid Thief (1998), and Rin Tin Tin (2011). The records for these projects include Orlean's notebooks, which she brings on research trips, and her research materials. The notes and research for Saturday Night are organized by chapter. For The Orchid Thief and Rin Tin Tin, Orlean also used a system of numbered index cards to plot out her points and to prepare before beginning to write on a computer. These index cards, and related notes also organized by number, are included in the records.
Orlean also kept notebooks and research materials for her projects for The New Yorker and other magazines. Records are most extensive for articles written from the late 1980s to the present. The collection also include copies of many of Orlean's newspaper and magazine articles, including clippings scrapbooks of her early work in Portland, Oregon and Boston, Massachusetts that were created by Orlean's mother.
The collection includes personal, family, and professional correspondence. Most correspondence was only loosely organized, and remains in its original groupings. The personal correspondence files include correspondence, postcards, and greeting cards. Professional files include correspondence on various proposals, projects, and other professional matters, as well as personal messages. In addition to the professional correspondence, the collection includes other professional files that include agreements, contracts, event information, lecture notes, press passes, royalty statements, clippings, interviews, and reviews.
The papers also contain personal materials and school papers, including diaries, diplomas, journals, passports, postcards, and various mementos. Orlean's school records date primarily from middle school, high school and college, and include class notes, student newspapers, notebooks, and writing assignments. In addition, the papers include family correspondence, photographs, and postcards – some of the family correspondence includes Susan Orlean, but other pieces are between other family members, and do not involve her directly.
The collection includes both personal and professional photographs. The printed photographs include childhood photographs, family photographs, professional headshots and photographs from events, and photographs which appear to show Orlean on location at professional assignments.
The collection also includes audiocassettes and videocassettes, compact disks, DVDs, floppy disks, hard drives, and a personal digital assistant device. These materials document Orlean's writing, as well as her professional appearances. Many of these materials have not been reformatted; please contact the Rare Book & Manuscript Library in advance of your visit to discuss access options.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in five series, and several subseries.
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
Some records with sensitive personal information, including social security numbers, are restricted at this time.
If you would like to use audiovisual or digital materials in Series V, please contact the library in advance of your visit to discuss access options.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Susan Orlean Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2015.2016.M071: Source of acquisition--Glenn Horowitz. Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--10/21/2015.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Catherine C. Ricciardi and Tiana Reid (GSAS 2019) in 2017-2018.
Finding aid written by Catherine C. Ricciardi and Tiana Reid in July 2018.
Revision Description
2018-08-22 File created.
2018-08-24 XML document instance created by Catherine C. Ricciardi
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
History
Susan Orlean was born on October 31, 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Edith (nee Gross) and Arthur Orlean.
Orlean studied literature and history at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, graduating in 1976. After graduating from college, Orlean moved to Portland, Oregon. Although she considered attending law school, Orlean began writing for local publications, including Paper Rose Magazine and Williamette Week. In 1982, Orlean moved to Boston, where she wrote for the Boston Phoenix and the Boston Globe. A collection of Orlean's Boston Globe columns on New England were collected and published as Red Sox and Bluefish: And Other Things That Make New England New England in 1987, around the time that she left Boston and moved to New York. Orlean began writing for The New Yorker in 1987, and became a staff writer in 1992. She has also contributed articles to many other magazines, including Rolling Stone, Vogue, Times Magazine, Spy, Esquire, and Outside.
Orlean published the first of her books, Saturday Night, in 1990. Other books followed, including The Orchid Thief (1998) and Rin Tin Tin: The Life and Legend (2011). Orlean's magazine articles have been collected in two anthologies: The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People (2001) and My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere (2004).
Two of Orlean's works have been adapted for film: Charlie Kaufman's film Adaptation (2002) was based on The Orchid Thief, and Blue Crush (2002) was based on Orlean's article "Life's Swell" for Women Outside.
Orlean was married to Peter Sistrom in 1983; they divorced after sixteen years of marriage. In 2001, she married John Gillepsie, and they had one son together, Austin, born in 2004.
Currently, Orlean continues to write for The New Yorker and other magazines, and to work on book projects, including The Library Book, due to be published in October 2018.
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
All links open new windows.
Series I: Writings, 1977-2015
This series contains clippings, drafts, notebooks, notes, outlines, research materials, magazines, proofs, publications, and memorabilia related to Orlean's writings.
This subseries includes clippings, drafts, notebooks, notes, proofs, publications, and research materials. Most of files are organized around the book's individual chapters. There are also drafts and research notes for the afterword that was written for the 2011 edition.
Several related articles and excerpts were published in newspapers and magazines to coincide with the release of the book in 1990; these articles are also filed in this series.
Box 24 Folder 1
Box 24 Folder 2
Uncorrected manuscript.
Box 24 Folder 3-4
Box 24 Folder 5-8
Box 24 Folder 9
Box 24 Folder 10
Box 24 Folder 11
Box 24 Folder 12
Box 24 Folder 13
Box 2 Folder 5
Paperback.
Box 2 Folder 6
Articles written by Orlean to coincide with publication of the book.
Box 33 Folder 1
Box 24 Folder 15
Box 33 Folder 2
Box 24 Folder 16
Box 33 Folder 3
Box 33 Folder 4
Box 1 Folder 9-10
For "Missileering"
Box 1 Folder 13
Box 1 Folder 5-6
For "Debuting"
Box 1 Folder 12
Box 1 Folder 7
Box 1 Folder 15-17
Box 1 Folder 3-4
Box 2 Folder 1
Box 1 Folder 2
Box 1 Folder 8
Box 1 Folder 1
Box 1 Folder 14
Box 1 Folder 11
Box 2 Folder 2-4
Box 24 Folder 14
This subseries contains material related to both the article "Orchid Fever," published inThe New Yorkeron January 23, 1995, and the non-fiction bookThe Orchid Thief, published in 1998.
The research materials include notebooks, notes, publications, and research materials. Some notes and research materials are filed are by topic, others follow the numbering system assigned by Orlean.
The records also include drafts and proofs for both the article and the book, as well as book covers, and hardcover copies of the book.
Box 2 Folder 7
Entitled "Passion". Includes correspondence.
Box 2 Folder 8
Includes draft of "Hunters" (1996).
Box 2 Folder 9-10
Entitled "The Millionaires' Hothouse"
Box 2 Folder 11
Entitled "The Millionaires' Hothouse"
Box 2 Folder 12
Entitled "The Millionaires' Hothouse"
Box 2 Folder 13
Box 2 Folder 14
Box 2 Folder 15
Box 2 Folder 16-17
Box 2 Folder 18-19
Box 2 Folder 20
Box 5 Folder 20
Box 3 Folder 1
With signatures, perhaps from attendees from book talks. Includes three small objects.
Box 3 Folder 2
Box 3 Folder 3
Box 3 Folder 4-7
Box 3 Folder 8
Various notes. Appears to include an outline for Chapter 1.
Box 3 Folder 9
Typed notes.
Box 3 Folder 10
Typed notes.
Box 3 Folder 11-12
Includes notebooks and notes on LaRoche, Show, Library, Seminoles' Tribal Fair, and others.
Box 3 Folder 13
Box 3 Folder 14
Box 3 Folder 15
Box 4 Folder 1
Box 4 Folder 2
Box 4 Folder 3
Box 4 Folder 4
Box 4 Folder 5
Box 4 Folder 6
Box 4 Folder 7
Box 4 Folder 8
Box 4 Folder 9
Box 4 Folder 10
Box 4 Folder 11
Box 4 Folder 12
Box 4 Folder 13
Box 4 Folder 14
Box 4 Folder 15
Box 4 Folder 16
Box 4 Folder 17
Box 4 Folder 18
Box 4 Folder 19
Box 4 Folder 20
Box 4 Folder 21
Box 4 Folder 22-23
Box 4 Folder 24
Box 5 Folder 1
Box 5 Folder 19
Phone numbers of various contacts.
Box 5 Folder 2
Box 5 Folder 3
Box 5 Folder 4-5
Box 5 Folder 6-9
Box 5 Folder 10
Box 5 Folder 11
Annotated.
Box 5 Folder 12
Box 5 Folder 13
Box 5 Folder 14
Box 5 Folder 15-18
Box 23 Folder 5
Primarily related to the publication of the book, but file includes research materials, lists of potential reviewers, notes, miscellaneous proof pages with corrections, jacket proofs, a photograph related to a film award for Adaptation, and a handwritten note from Meryl Streep.
This subseries includes manuscripts, proofs, publications, and research materials.
The research materials include notebooks, notes, and source material, some of which is annotated. The source materials include information on Lee Duncan, Herbert Leonard, Daphne Hereford, and the dog Rin Tin Tin and its history in television and film. Some notes and research materials are filed are by topic, others follow the numbering system assigned by Orlean. The research materials include articles, clippings, film treatments, legal documents, and scripts.
The records also include manuscripts corrections and corrected proofs, as well as a recording script, and a hardcover copy of the book.
Box 5 Folder 21
Box 5 Folder 22
Typescript draft with corrections.
Box 5 Folder 22-23
Typescript draft with corrections.
Box 5 Folder 24
Typescript draft, with all markup (track changes and comments from Orlean and Alice Truax) showing on the printed copy.
Box 6 Folder 1-2
Typescripts drafts, various parts. Most are uncorrected.
Box 6 Folder 3-4
Box 6 Folder 5-6
Box 6 Folder 7-10
Box 6 Folder 11
Box 6 Folder 12
Signed, with messages, by four people.
Box 8 Folder 17-20
Notebooks on various topics, including Tierney, Heyes, Clyde Marsh, Animal Agents, Lost Dogs, Riverside, Corpus Museum, Carolyn, Kleven, Benitez, Sam Manners, Stanley Moger, and Tigers. Some notebooks are also marked as "typed".
Box 7
Box 9 Folder 1
Box 9 Folder 2
Box 7
Box 6 Folder 17-18
Photocopies of notes, and the numbered index cards in Box 7.
Box 8 Folder 1-2
Box 8 Folder 3
Box 8 Folder 4
Box 8 Folder 5
Box 8 Folder 6
Box 8 Folder 7
Box 8 Folder 8
Box 8 Folder 9
Box 8 Folder 10
Box 8 Folder 11
Box 8 Folder 12
Box 8 Folder 13
Box 8 Folder 14
Box 8 Folder 15-16
Files are empty, but many folders are labelled with both the number and the corresponding subject.
Box 9 Folder 3
Box 9 Folder 4-5
Box 34 Folder 1
Box 9 Folder 6
on Rin Tin Tin and descendents, Rin Tin Tin Museum.
Box 9 Folder 7
Box 9 Folder 8-9
Box 9 Folder 10
Based on a story by Christopher Canaan and Herbert B. Leonard.
Box 9 Folder 11
Box 9 Folder 12-14
For television series
Box 9 Folder 15-16
Box 9 Folder 17
Box 9 Folder 18-19
Box 9 Folder 20-21
Box 9 Folder 22
Box 9 Folder 23
Box 9 Folder 24-25
Box 10 Folder 1-5
Depositions
Box 23 Folder 6-7
Deposition of Daphne Hereford.
Box 10 Folder 6
Legal documents related to Leonard v. Tierney and Leonard v. Prior-Fishman.
Box 10 Folder 7
Primarily travel brochures for France, including war memorials, etc.
Box 10 Folder 8
Primarily related to Rin Tin Tin Hero of the West (film).
Box 10 Folder 9
Box 10 Folder 10
Collection inventories
Box 10 Folder 11
Herbert B. Leonard Films.
Box 12 Folder 1
Box 10 Folder 12
Rin Tin Tin screenplay by Hanigan, original story by Herbert B. Leonard.
Box 10 Folder 13
Box 10 Folder 14
Inscribed by author.
Box 10 Folder 15-16
Box 10 Folder 17
Box 10 Folder 18
Box 10 Folder 19-20
Some items by Herbert B. Leonard
Box 11 Folder 1-16
Includes additional materials on Herbert B. Leonard and related legal disputes, Lee Duncan, television and film, etc.
Box 12 Folder 2-4
Includes additional materials on the television series, Lee Duncan, etc.
Box 22
Dog bowl, Viewmaster, finger puppet, sticker, plastic Rin Tin Tin figure, and toy from cereal box.
This subseries includes clippings, manuscripts, notes, notebooks, proofs, publications, and research materials. There are also a few general files containing professional materials, such as fact checking manuals, and drafts.
This subseries primarily consists of notebooks and research materials on topics related to specific articles written forThe New Yorkerby Orlean. There is also a biographical statement, and notebooks related to talks given by Orlean.
The subseries also includes clippings of published articles and full issues ofThe New Yorker.
Materials related toThe Orchid Thiefand its relatedNew Yorkerarticle are filed together in Subseries I.2.
Box 13 Folder 22
Official biographical statement for Orlean
Box 13 Folder 25
Clippings
Box 13 Folder 23
One of these was for the Rock Hall of Fame. 3 Items.
Box 13 Folder 24
Materials related to the 2010 New Yorker Festival, and what appears to be corrected proof pages for "Royalty" (1990).
Box 23 Folder 19
Fact Checking manual and other items.
Box 12 Folder 5
Manuscript corrections and corrected proofs.
Box 12 Folder 6-7
On Sunshine Market in Queens, New York. Manuscript corrections and notes.
Box 14
Full issues of The New Yorker with articles by Orlean.
Box 12 Folder 8
Box 12 Folder 9
Box 15 Folder 1
Box 12 Folder 10
Box 15 Folder 2-3
Box 12 Folder 11
Box 12 Folder 12-13
Box 12 Folder 14
Box 12 Folder 15-16
Box 12 Folder 17
Box 12 Folder 18-19
Box 23 Folder 8
Box 23 Folder 9-12
Box 12 Folder 20
Box 13 Folder 1-2
Box 12 Folder 21
Box 13 Folder 3
Box 13 Folder 4-5
Box 13 Folder 6
Includes notebooks related to Judith Lieber, Sunshine Market, Manhattan Valet, and others.
Box 13 Folder 7
Box 13 Folder 8
Box 13 Folder 9
Box 13 Folder 10
Box 15 Folder 4
Box 13 Folder 11-12
Box 15 Folder 5
Box 13 Folder 13
Box 23 Folder 13
Box 34 Folder 2
Box 23 Folder 14-15
Box 23 Folder 16
Box 23 Folder 17
Probably related to "The Lady and the Tigers"
Box 23 Folder 18
Perhaps related to "The Lady and the Tigers"
Box 13 Folder 17
Includes notes on Trenton, Tiger Lady, etc.
Box 13 Folder 14
Box 13 Folder 15-16
Box 13 Folder 18
Box 13 Folder 19-21
Includes notes, and clippings of New Yorker articles
This subseries contains materials that are not related to the specific publications in Subseries I.1-4. The records include book proposals, drafts, notebooks, and research materials, and as well as clippings, publications, and scrapbooks of Orlean's published articles.
The subseries also contains a paperback copy of Orlean's Twitter feed (a "Twournal") from June-November, 2010.
Articles related toSaturday NightandThe Orchid Thiefare filed in Subseries I.1 and I.2, respectively.
Materials are arranged chronologically.
Box 15 Folder 7
Box 15 Folder 8
Box 25 Folder 1
Box 25 Folder 2-3
Box 25 Folder 4
Box 15 Folder 6
Box 25 Folder 5
Box 23 Folder 20
Draft of script with annotations
Box 38
Includes clippings from Paper Rose Magazine, Williamette Week, and Rolling Stone.
Box 39
Includes clippings from Williamette Week, Boston Globe Magazine, and Boston Phoenix.
Box 40
Includes clippings from newspapers and magazine articles.
Box 26 Folder 2-7
Box 26 Folder 8
Includes clippings from The Boston Phoenix, Boston Globe Magazine, Voice, New England Monthly, and other publications. Most of these are photocopies, originally placed in plastic sheet protectors in a ring binder. Many of the pages are now stuck to the plastic, and cannot be removed, although the publication name and date are usually visible.
Box 15 Folder 24
Box 26 Folder 9
Various articles by Orlean
Box 26 Folder 1
Box 15 Folder 21
Box 15 Folder 22
Box 15 Folder 23
Box 15 Folder 25
Box 15 Folder 25
Box 15 Folder 26
Box 16 Folder 1
Box 33 Folder 5-9
Articles on Jane Wallace, Saturday Night Live, the Bangles, Bon Jovi, and Andie MacDowell.
Box 16 Folder 2
Box 16 Folder 3
Box 33 Folder 10
on Casey Kasem
Box 16 Folder 20
See page 14.
Box 16 Folder 4
Box 16 Folder 5
Box 16 Folder 6
Box 16 Folder 7
Box 16 Folder 8
Box 16 Folder 9
Box 16 Folder 10
Box 16 Folder 11
Box 16 Folder 12
Box 33 Folder 11
Bhutan
Box 16 Folder 13
Box 16 Folder 14
Box 33 Folder 12
Keiko / Free Willy
Box 33 Folder 13
Box 33 Folder 14
on Robert J. Lang
Box 16 Folder 16
Box 16 Folder 17
Box 16 Folder 18
Box 16 Folder 19
Box 16 Folder 15
Box 16 Folder 21
Orlean's Twitter feed, printed as a paperback book.
Box 15 Folder 8a
Box 15 Folder 9
Box 16 Folder 22-24
Box 15 Folder 10
Box 15 Folder 11
Box 15 Folder 12
Related to Smithsonian story
Box 16 Folder 26-27
Box 15 Folder 13
Box 16 Folder 25
Primarily advertisements for fortune tellers and similar persons.
Box 15 Folder 14
Box 34 Folder 3-4
Box 15 Folder 15-16
Box 15 Folder 17-18
Box 15 Folder 19-20
These do not appear to contain articles by Orlean.
Series II: Correspondence, 1950s-2013
This series contains both personal and professional correspondence files. A few files are related to specific activities: The New Yorker, The Orchid Thief, and Saturday Night, but most files are a mix of correspondence, emails, greeting cards, and postcards.
In general, most correspondence was only loosely organized, and the professional correspondence can be a mix of professional correspondence and personal messages from professional contacts.
The personal correspondence files include postcards, greeting cards, and correspondence. Some of the correspondence files, particularly the early postcards, contain items written to/from other family members that do not Susan Orlean herself. Additional family correspondence and materials are filed in Series IV.
Box 17 Folder 1-2
Bulk are from the 1950s. Many are family postcards, written by and/or addressed to Orlean's parents or siblings.
Box 26 Folder 10
Many are family postcards, written by and/or addressed to Orlean's parents or siblings.
Box 26 Folder 11
Box 17 Folder 3-11
This includes letters to and from family members, and others. Includes a birthday card that is a puzzle.
Box 17 Folder 23
Box 26 Folder 12
Box 26 Folder 13
The professional correspondence includes emails, quotes from reviews, correspondence regarding various proposals and projects, fan mail, reactions to particular pieces, and files related toThe New Yorker,The Orchid Thief, andSaturday Night.
Box 17 Folder 12-13
Box 17 Folder 20-21
Box 17 Folder 22
Box 23 Folder 1-4
Box 17 Folder 14
Box 17 Folder 15
Many items are related to The Orchid Thief and writing done for The New Yorker.
Box 17 Folder 16
Box 17 Folder 17-18
Includes quotes from reviews.
Box 17 Folder 19
Includes quotes from reviews, interview schedule.
Series III: Professional Files, 1985-2010
Many contracts and financial documents include personal information that requires restriction until Orlean's death. These files are noted as restricted in the container list.
This series includes agreements, clippings, contracts, correspondence, financial documents, itineraries for book tours and other events, lecture notes, posters and other publicity materials, proposals, and royalty statements.
Many contracts and financial documents include personal information that requires restriction until Orlean's death. These files are noted as restricted in the container list.
This subseries contains agreements, contracts, royalty statements, and other financial records.
Box 31 Folder 1
Restricted until the death of Susan Orlean.
Book contracts for manuscripts, some unpublished, with Alfred Knopf, Random House, Dell, as well as honorarium letters, etc.
Box 27 Folder 1
Box 31 Folder 2-3
Restricted until the death of Susan Orlean.
Box 31 Folder 6
Restricted until the death of Susan Orlean.
Box 27 Folder 2
This subseries includes files related to events for specific publications, includingSaturday Night,My Kind of Place, andThe Orchid Thief. The subseries also includes records on Orlean's master classes and her involvement with the Bush Family's literacy events, as well as general files and lecture notes.
Box 40
For lecture at Rackham Auditorium for the 2005 Graduate and Undergraduate Hopwood Awards.
Box 27 Folder 8-10
Includes brochures, announcements, clippings, programs, etc.
Box 27 Folder 11
Box 7
On index cards.
Box 27 Folder 12
Box 27 Folder 7
Box 27 Folder 3
Box 27 Folder 4
Includes inviations, clippings, programs. Also includes correspondence from Jeb Bush and Barbara Bush.
Box 22
Rolled.
Box 27 Folder 5
Probably for New York University.
Box 34 Folder 7
Box 27 Folder 6
Clippings, announcements, etc.
Box 24 Folder 18
Box 24 Folder 19
Box 40
This subseries includes clippings, interviews, profiles, and reviews, as well as publicity items such as catalogs, posters, and shopping bags.
Box 29 Folder 1
Various articles on Orlean.
Box 36 Folder 4-7
Box 29 Folder 37
Box 28 Folder 2-4
Includes Atlanta Journal Institution, Forbes, Yale Literary Magazine, Barnard Bulletin, Vogue en Español, Columbia: A Journal of Art and Literature; Lumina: Sarah Lawrence College, and Edible Hudson Valley.
Box 36 Folder 8
Box 34 Folder 5
Box 27 Folder 13
Box 34 Folder 6
Box 28 Folder 1
Box 35 Folder 7-8
Box 28 Folder 5
Box 22
Rolled.
Box 22
Rolled.
Box 28 Folder 6-7
Box 33 Folder 15
Box 28 Folder 8-12
Box 36 Folder 1-3
Box 27 Folder 14
Box 6 Folder 13
on Orlean's book contract for Rin Tin Tin
Box 6 Folder 16
Includes Simon & Schuster catalog, book cover proof, publicity, and a book review.
Box 24 Folder 20
Box 24 Folder 21
Box 24 Folder 22
Box 24 Folder 23
Includes material from Ballatine, and a few new reviews and published items noting the availability of the paperback edition.
Box 24 Folder 24-27
Box 33 Folder 16-17
Box 24 Folder 28
Box 27 Folder 15
Includes one photograph.
Box 27 Folder 15
Includes one photograph.
This subseries contains business files, press, proposals, and reviews related to adaptations and proposed adaptations of Orlean's work.
Box 31 Folder 4
Restricted until the death of Susan Orlean.
Box 35 Folder 1-3
Box 28 Folder 13-16
Includes photographs.
Box 35 Folder 4-5
Box 31 Folder 5
Restricted until the death of Susan Orlean.
Film project propsals, script, contracts, etc. based upon Orlean's article "Little Wing".
Box 28 Folder 18
Stage production.
Box 31 Folder 7
Restricted until the death of Susan Orlean.
Series IV: Personal and Biographical Files, 1930s-2009, undated
This subseries includes address books, appointment books, business cards, calendars, diaries, family correspondence and materials, journals, passports, photographs, school papers, and various mementos and souvenirs.
Family correspondence can also be found in Series II; most of the correspondence in Series IV is from the 1940s and does not directly involve Susan Orlean.
Box 29 Folder 2
Box 29 Folder 3
Box 28 Folder 19
Primarily from Florida.
Box 29 Folder 4
Box 30 Folder 1
Box 29 Folder 5-7
Box 29 Folder 8
Box 32 Folder 2
Restricted until 2055
Box 29 Folder 30
Box 29 Folder 9
Box 29 Folder 10
Box 30 Folder 3-4
Box 30 Folder 5-8
Photographs are a mix of personal and professions; some are 4x6" photographs that may be related to some of her travel stories or pieces for the New Yorker.
Box 30 Folder 4
Possibly related to the publication of Saturday Night.
Box 29 Folder 31-36
Includes World's Fair stamps, Chinese firecracker labels, Cleveland Indians pins, etc.
Box 22
Box 29 Folder 11
Box 29 Folder 12
Literary Journal
Box 29 Folder 13
Shaker Heights High School newspaper
Box 29 Folder 14
Box 29 Folder 15
Box 29 Folder 16-17
Box 31 Folder 8
Restricted until the death of Susan Orlean.
Box 29 Folder 18
Box 29 Folder 19
Box 29 Folder 20-29
Box 37 Folder 1-4
Box 32 Folder 3
Restricted until 2055
Includes grades for students other than Orlean.
Box 30 Folder 9-10
Box 30 Folder 11
Box 30 Folder 2
Box 30 Folder 12
Box 30 Folder 13
Box 30 Folder 14
Box 32 Folder 6
Restricted until 2055
Box 30 Folder 15
Box 30 Folder 16
Box 30 Folder 17
Series V: Audiovisual and Digital Materials, 1987-2010, undated
If you would like to use analog or digital materials in Series V, please contact the library in advance of your visit to discuss access options.
This subseries includes all audiocassettes and videocassettes, compact disks, DVDs, floppy disks, hard drives, and a personal digital assistant device.
The materials include answering machine tapes, personal items, recordings of Orlean's appearances, research materials, as well as computer files and backups of files related to Orlean's writing and other professional work.
Box 20
Answering machine tape.
Box 21
Box 21
Box 21
Box 21
Box 21
Box 21
Box 21
Box 19
Answering machine tape.
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
One audiocassette includes a business card from a fortune teller.
Box 19
Box 19
Box 18
Box 18
Box 18
Box 18
Box 18
Box 18
Box 18
Box 18
Box 18
Box 18
Box 18
Box 18
Box 18
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
2 versions, in case of translation problems
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Contains desktop files including PFC files / AOL
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Box 19
Probably related to The Orchid Thief
Box 19
Box 19
Box 18
Buffalo DriveStation 250 GB Desktop External Hard Drive HD-HB250U2; includes power cable.
Box 18
Western Digital (WD). Includes USB cable.
Box 18
PowerSpec. Does not include cables.
Box 18
Includes CD-ROM of Palm desktop software, but no cables.
Series VI: Archived Web Site, 2019-present
Archived web site captures of the official web site of Susan Orlean, at http://www.susanorlean.com/. Captured semi-annually, 2019-present.