Sylvia Ardyn Boone Papers, 1925-2011, bulk 1961-1993

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Series I: Manuscripts and Publications, 1970-1986

This series comprises chapter drafts, revisions, and related papers for Boone's Master's thesis, doctoral dissertation, and books, dating from 1970 to 1986. Materials also include her writing proposals, publication contracts, book notes, and correspondence with publishers. The writing proposals and notes provide a reflection of her experience and identity as an African-American. The series also contains manuscript drafts by others that were collected as part of her collection.


The Sande Society Mask "Bundu" (1973), 1972-1973

Master Thesis



Box 2 Folder 20 Bundu, Master's Thesis, 1973


Box 2 Folder 21 Bundu, Master's Thesis Photocopy, 1973



Box 3 Folder 14 The Sande Society--Notes and Newspaper Clippings, 1973



Box 4 Folder 49 The Sande Society Mask--Master's Thesis--Binder, 1973, 2002



Box 27 Folder 51 Sande Society--Drafts, undated



Box 44 Folder 1 Research notes for Eliot Elisofon: Art of the Yoruba and Their Neighbors, circa 1970s


Box 44 Folder 2 Notes, Bud Mask, circa 1973


Box 44 Folder 3 Research notebook, circa 1970s


Box 44 Folder 4 Women and Art in Wolff and Mende Civilizations, circa 1973

Proposal for Master thesis and notes


Box 44 Folder 5-6 M.A. Thesis: Research materials, 1972


Box 44 Folder 7 M.A. Thesis: Manuscript, The Sande Society Mask "Bundu", 1973 September


Box 44 Folder 8-15 M.A. Thesis: Manuscript, Chapter drafts, circa 1973


West African Travels (1974), 1973-1974



Box 4 Folder 1 West African Travels 1--Photocopies, 1974


Box 4 Folder 2 West African Travels 2--Photocopies, 1974


Box 4 Folder 4 West African Travels – Manuscript on Accra, Ghana, undated


Box 4 Folder 5 West African Travels – Manuscript Chapter on Ghana, circa 1970


Box 4 Folder 6 West African Travels – Manuscript on Timbuctoo, undated


Box 4 Folder 7 West African Travels, notes, undated



Box 12 Folder 1 West African Travels Binder (1), 1974


Box 12 Folder 2 West African Travels Binder (2), 1974



Box 38 Folder 1-6 Manuscript, Typescript edited drafts, circa 1973-1974


Box 38 Folder 7-15 Manuscript chapters, handwritten drafts, circa 1973-1974



Box 39 Folder 1-7 Manuscript chapters, handwritten drafts, circa 1973-1974


Box 39 Folder 8-14 Manuscript chapters, typed copy, circa 1973-1974



Box 40 Folder 1-2 Manuscript chapters, circa 1973-1974


Box 40 Folder 3 Manuscript: Art in Nigeria, Phantasies, Myth and Lies; outgoing correspondence, Charles Talbot, circa 1973-1974


Box 40 Folder 4-5 Manuscript: Master proof, circa 1973-1974


Box 40 Folder 6 Manuscript, Master proof, Index, circa 1973-1974


Box 40 Folder 7 Manuscript, Master proof, Photographs, circa 1973-1974


Box 40 Folder 8 Manuscript, Master proof, Maps, circa 1973-1974


Box 40 Folder 9-12 Manuscript, "Dead copy", 1974


Box 40 Folder 13-14 Manuscript, 1974



Box 60 Folder 3 Manuscript, Photographs and maps on plates, 1974


Box 60 Folder 4 Manuscript, Blue folio prints, 1974



Box 41 Folder 1 Manuscript, Photocopy, 1974


Box 41 Folder 2-4 Manuscript, Proof copy, 3 copies, 1974


Box 41 Folder 5-7 Manuscript, Duplicative, 1973


Box 41 Folder 8-9 Manuscript, Proof copy with edits, 1974



Box 42 Manuscript, Drafts and Binders (2 binders and 1 folder), circa 1973-1974



Box 43 Folder 1-2 Manuscript: Master proof with Edits, 1974


Box 43 Folder 3-4 Manuscript, 1974


Box 43 Folder 5 Manuscript, handwritten drafts, circa 1973-1974


Box 43 Folder 6 West African Travels: Book promotion, 1974


Box 43 Folder 8 Correspondence, Random House, 1969-1974


Box 43 Folder 9 Correspondence, Congratulatory, 1974


Sowo Art in Sierra Leone: The Mind and Power of Woman on the Plane of the Aesthetic Disciplines (1979), 1977-1982

Ph.D. Dissertation



Box 1 Folder 33 Dissertation Manuscript--Pages 17-136, undated


Box 1 Folder 34 Dissertation Manuscript--Prologue Draft with Revisions, undated



Box 2 Folder 13 Sowo Art in Sierra Leone--Dissertation, 1979


Box 2 Folder 14 Sowo Art in Sierra Leone--Dissertation (Yale), 1979


Box 2 Folder 15 Sowo Art in Sierra Leone--Dissertation (Yale), 1979


Box 2 Folder 16 Sowo Art in Sierra Leone--Dissertation Critiques, 1979



Box 3 Folder 13 Sowo Art in Sierra Leone--Selected Manuscript, 1979


Box 3 Folder 22 Sowo Art--Yale University Press Letter of Agreement, 1979


Box 3 Folder 29 Doctoral Dissertation Prospectus, 1974



Box 4 Folder 13 Dissertation Papers, circa 1977


Box 4 Folder 21 Dissertation--Selected Bibliography, circa 1979


Box 4 Folder 24 Dissertation –Reader originals, circa 1979-1982


Box 4 Folder 31 Dissertation, Pages 1-139, 1979


Box 4 Folder 32 Dissertation, Pages 138-285, 1979


Box 4 Folder 33 Dissertation Excerpt, Chapter 3, 1979


Glory Put on, 1985



Box 2 Folder 17 Glory Put On--Manuscript, undated


Box 2 Folder 18 Glory Put On--Manuscript, undated



Box 3 Folder 1 Glory Put On--Bound Manuscript, undated


Box 3 Folder 2 Glory Put On--Revisions, Folder 1 of 2, undated


Box 3 Folder 3 Glory Put On--Revisions, Folder 2 of 2, undated


Box 3 Folder 4 Glory Put On--Draft, Folder 1 of 2, undated


Box 3 Folder 5 Glory Put On--Draft, Folder 2 of 2, undated



Box 4 Folder 17 Glory Put On, 1--Photos, 1985


Box 4 Folder 18 Glory Put On, 2--Photos, 1985


Radiance from the Waters: Ideals of Feminine Beauty in Mende Art (1986), 1983-1990



Box 1 Folder 1 Index, undated


Box 1 Folder 2 Manuscript with Editorial Comments, 1983


Box 1 Folder 3 Manuscript with Editorial Comments, 1983


Box 1 Folder 4 Dissertation--Chapter IV (Chapter 3--Original), undated


Box 1 Folder 5 Chapter III--Kpanguima Working Papers, undated


Box 1 Folder 6 Bibliography--Photographs, undated


Box 1 Folder 7 Bibliography, undated


Box 1 Folder 8 Footnotes, undated


Box 1 Folder 9 Dissertation and Book Manuscripts--Prologue, undated


Box 1 Folder 10 Notes from Anne Granger, Editor, undated


Box 1 Folder 11 Chapter I--Mende History: Culture Edited by J. Metro, undated


Box 1 Folder 12 Glossary--Photocopies, undated


Box 1 Folder 13 Glossary--Drafts and Notes, undated


Box 1 Folder 14 Aspects--Chapter IV--Working Pages, undated


Box 1 Folder 15 Final Kpanguima--Submitted May 9, undated


Box 1 Folder 17 Chapter I--Final "Mende History"--Submitted May 9, undated


Box 1 Folder 16 Chapter II--Final, "The Sande Society--Submitted May 9, undated


Box 1 Folder 18 Prologue--Final--Submitted June 18, undated


Box 1 Folder 19 Chapter III--"Kpanguima" Edited by J. Metro--Draft, undated


Box 1 Folder 20 Chapter II--"The Sande Society" edited by J. Metro--Draft, undated


Box 1 Folder 21 Chapter II--"The Sande Society" Working Papers, undated


Box 1 Folder 22 Chapter V Originals--Handwritten, undated


Box 1 Folder 23 Chapter V--Scrubbed, undated


Box 1 Folder 24 Chapter V--Part 2, undated


Box 1 Folder 25 Chapter V Dissertation, 2nd Draft--Working Papers, undated


Box 1 Folder 26 Chapter IV Final, Minus Aspects, Submitted May 18, undated


Box 1 Folder 27 Chapter V, undated


Box 1 Folder 28 Aspects of Beauty--Working Papers, undated


Box 1 Folder 29 Chapter V--"Sowo: The Good Made Visible"--Read Edited by J Metro, undated


Box 1 Folder 30 Chapter I--Working Papers, Mende Culture, undated


Box 1 Folder 31 Chapter IV--Working Papers, Physical and Metaphysical Aspects of Female Beauty, 1983


Box 1 Folder 32 Chapter VI--Pages to be Retyped, undated


Box 1 Folder 35 Manuscript--Mende People, Culture Chapters, undated


Box 1 Folder 36 Manuscript--Mende Culture--Animals and Objects, 1983


Box 1 Folder 37 Manuscript--Masks and the Senses, 1983


Box 1 Folder 38 Manuscript--Female Beauty, undated


Box 1 Folder 39 Manuscript Draft with Revisions--"The Sande Society", undated


Box 1 Folder 40 Manuscript--Beauty: The Body, 1983


Box 1 Folder 41 Manuscript--Chapters 3-4, undated


Box 1 Folder 42 Manuscript--Prologue Draft, undated


Box 1 Folder 43 Manuscript with Comments and Revisions, Chapter 1, undated



Box 2 Folder 1 Manuscript with comments and revisions, Chapter 4, undated


Box 2 Folder 2 Manuscript – Chapter 3 endnotes, undated


Box 2 Folder 3 Manuscript with Comments and Revisions--Un-numbered Chapter, undated


Box 2 Folder 4 Manuscript, undated


Box 2 Folder 5 Manuscript – Introduction, undated


Box 2 Folder 6 Manuscript – Pages 146-313, undated


Box 2 Folder 7 Radiance From the Waters--Proofs, 1986


Box 2 Folder 8 Radiance From the Waters--Index, 1986


Box 2 Folder 9 Radiance From the Waters 1--Draft, 1983


Box 2 Folder 10 Radiance From the Waters 2--Draft, 1983


Box 2 Folder 11 Radiance from the Waters--Draft, undated


Box 2 Folder 12 Radiance From the Waters, Bibliography--Draft, undated


Box 2 Folder 19 Radiance From the Waters, Spiral Bound, 1986



Box 3 Folder 19 Radiance From the Waters--Reviews, 1986-1987


Box 3 Folder 20 Radiance--Images and Photos for, undated


Box 3 Folder 21 Radiance--Publicity File, 1985


Box 3 Folder 26 Yale U Press--File, 1979-1990


Box 3 Folder 27 Radiance--Packet, Flyers, Notes, Slides, circa 1986


Box 3 Folder 28 Book Promotion--File, 1990



Box 4 Folder 8 Radiance, London, 1986


Box 4 Folder 9 Radiance--Reviews, 1986


Box 4 Folder 10 Radiance or Dissertation Index, undated


Box 4 Folder 11 Radiance--Yale University Press Booklets, 1986


Box 4 Folder 36 Radiance--Book Reviews, 1986-1987


Box 4 Folder 37 Radiance From the Waters--Book Review (Essence), 1987


Box 4 Folder 38 Radiance From the Waters--Reviews, 1986-1987


Box 4 Folder 39 Radiance from London Review of Books--Review, 1986


Box 4 Folder 40 Radiance From the Waters in The Weekly Bulletin and Calendar--Article, 1986


Box 4 Folder 41 Radiance From the Waters--Proofs, 1986


Box 4 Folder 42 Radiance From the Waters--Royalty Statement, 1990


Box 4 Folder 43 Radiance From the Waters--Proofs, undated


Box 4 Folder 44 Radiance From the Waters--Book Cover, undated


Box 4 Folder 45 Radiance--Publication Announcement, 1998


Box 4 Folder 46 Radiance From the Waters--Correspondence, 1986


Box 4 Folder 47 Radiance From the Waters--Photos from, undated


Other Manuscripts and Writings by Boone, 1967-1986



Box 3 Folder 6 "…Aspects of Mende Feminine Beauty" -1--Manuscripts, undated


Box 3 Folder 7 "…Aspects of Mende Feminine Beauty" -2--Manuscripts, undated


Box 3 Folder 8 "…Aspects of Mende Feminine Beauty" -3--Manuscripts, undated


Box 3 Folder 9 "…Aspects of Mende Feminine Beauty" -4--Manuscripts, undated


Box 3 Folder 10 Mother is Gold, 1--Draft and Notes, undated


Box 3 Folder 11 Mother is Gold, 2--Draft and Notes, undated


Box 3 Folder 12 Name of Woman--Manuscript, undated


Box 3 Folder 15 Mende Art Manuscript 1, undated


Box 3 Folder 16 Mende Art Manuscript 2, undated


Box 3 Folder 17 Selected Bibliography, undated


Box 3 Folder 18 Illustration List and Guidelines, undated


Box 3 Folder 23 Four African Artists--Manuscript, undated


Box 3 Folder 24 Ideas for Books and Projects, undated


Box 3 Folder 25 Sande society--Manuscript, undated



Box 4 Folder 3 "Radiance," "West African Travels"--Photocopies from, undated


Box 4 Folder 12 Manuscript, undated


Box 4 Folder 14 Research Papers, circa 1970-1975


Box 4 Folder 15 Research Papers, Mende people, 1, undated


Box 4 Folder 16 Research Papers, Mende people, 2, undated


Box 4 Folder 19 Tabaski--Partial Manuscript, undated


Box 4 Folder 20 Tentative Bibliographies, undated


Box 4 Folder 22 Table of Contents and Illustrations, undated


Box 4 Folder 23 Illustration guide, undated


Box 4 Folder 25 Creative Women in Artistic and Literary Change," by S.A. Boone, 1982


Box 4 Folder 26 Four African Artists by S.A. Boone, undated


Box 4 Folder 27 Time Longer Than Rope by Sylvia Ardyn Boone, undated


Box 4 Folder 28 Boone "Mother is Gold: Image of Women in African Art", undated


Box 4 Folder 29 Images of Mende Masks (photocopies), undated


Box 4 Folder 30 Illustrations – Mende masks, undated


Box 4 Folder 34 Four African Artists, Sylvia Boone, undated


Box 4 Folder 35 Mother is Gold--Notes: Proposal, 1985


Box 4 Folder 48 West African Travels and Radiance From the Waters--Book Excerpts, 1974-1986



Box 8 Folder 16 Drafts--The Harlem Renaissance--Draft of Paper, undated



Box 31 Folder 17 Queen Mother"/"Mother is Gold," --Prospectus Draft, circa 1974-1976



Box 49 Folder 19 Manuscript: Chapter II, The Women's Sphere: Art, Power, and the Supernatural (Senufo Society), undated



Box 43 Folder 10 Book proposals, publication contract, 1969


Box 43 Folder 11 Correspondence, 1971


Box 43 Folder 12 Book notes, 1972


Box 43 Folder 13 West African culture book, 1974

Materials on unpublished title "Highlife: The Contemporary Cultural Scene in Africa"


Box 43 Folder 14 Forthcoming books and correspondence, 1974



Box 47 Folder 14 Publication Contracts and Proposals, 1969-1970


Box 47 Folder 15 Outline of "Notes of a Black Girl in Search of God", circa 1967-1970


Box 47 Folder 16 Notes on Race issue in New York, 1967-1968


Box 47 Folder 17 Notes on Black men, religion, and Black Americans, circa 1967-1969


Box 47 Folder 18 Notes on Social structure, values, politics, etc., circa 1968-1969


Collected Manuscripts by others, 1975-2008



Box 19 Folder 2 Brown, Kimberly Juanita, "The Repeating Body" -1, 2006


Box 19 Folder 3 Brown, Kimberly Juanita, "The Repeating Body" -2, 2006


Box 19 Folder 4 Peabody, Rebecca Rae. "A Strategic Cut", 2006


Box 19 Folder 5 Raiford, Leigh Renee. "Imprisoned in a Luminous Glare", 2003


Box 19 Folder 6 Hamlin, Francoise. "The Book Hasn't Closed"– 1, 2004


Box 19 Folder 7 Hamlin, Francoise. "The Book Hasn't Closed"– 2, 2004


Box 19 Folder 8 Hamlin, Francoise. "The Book Hasn't Closed"– 3, 2004


Box 19 Folder 9 Boittlin, Jennifer. "Soleil Noir"-1, 2005


Box 19 Folder 10 Boittlin, Jennifer. "Soleil Noir"-2, 2005


Box 19 Folder 11 Runstedtler, Theresa. "Journeymen", 2008


Box 19 Folder 12 Martinex-Ruiz, Barbaro. "The Kongo Machinery", 2004


Box 19 Folder 13 Woodard, Laurie Avant. "Performing Artists of the Harlem Renaissance" 1, 2007


Box 19 Folder 14 Woodard, Laurie Avant. "Performing Artists of the Harlem Renaissance" 2, 2007



Box 31 Folder 25 Draft - Barry Hallen, "The Art Historian As Conceptual Analyst", undated


Box 31 Folder 53 Draft, Ruth Phillips, "The Iconography of the Sowei Mask", undated



Box 30 Folder 4 Mende Carvers Dissertation, L. Reinhardt, 1975