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Ian and Betty Ballantine Books and Business Records, 1935-1994, bulk 1945-1973

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Series I: Business Records, 1940-1994

Series I contains Ian and Betty Ballantine's business records from their work in publishing at four different presses: Penguin Books, Bantam Books, Ballantine Books, and Peacock Books. However, the bulk of the records are from Bantam and Ballantine. They cover a range of functions including order lists and inventories, book reports, financial documents, and meeting minutes. The series also includes Ian Ballantine's files from when he taught a sociology course about the book business at Columbia in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Subseries I.1: Bantam Books, 1940-1952

Subseries I.1 contains files related to Bantam Books or that were created during the time that the Ballantines were employed there, from 1945-1952. Most of the records are from Ian Ballantine, including his correspondence and memos as well as his diaries. There are reports on books that the press was deciding whether to publish and information about inventory, orders, and finances. The subseries also contains executive committee meeting minutes and other documentation from 1952 when Ian Ballantine was leaving his position as president under investigation into his management style by the committee.


Box 61 Folder 40 Miscellaneous Scraps of Paper, circa 1940s


Box 65 Folder 2 Magazines, 1942-1951


Box 60 Folder 1 Printing Records, 1943-1953


Box 61 Folder 32 Book Reports, 1944-1950

Box 61 Folder 19 Pitkin, Walter: Miscellaneous, 1944-1952


Box 64 Folder 10 Founding of Bantam Books, 1945


Box 61 Folder 41 Ian Ballantine Personal: Ballantine and Company, 1945-1946


Box 63 Folder 15 Book Reports, 1945-1949


Box 61 Folder 42 Ian Ballantine Personal: Contract with Bantam and Curtis, Grosset, 1945-1951


Box 62 Folder 5 Bantam Books Financial Agreement, 1945-1954


Box 61 Folder 26 Bantam Union Trouble, 1946


Box 64 Folder 5 Old Bantam Minutes, 1946-1949


Box 61 Folder 38 Ian Ballantine Personal: Loans and Debts, 1946-1952


Box 63 Folder 14 Continung Audit of Marquee Values, 1947


Box 64 Folder 40 Ian Ballantine's West Coast Trip, 1947-1948


Box 61 Folder 30 Book of the Film Series, 1948

Box 61 Folder 31 Insurance, 1948

Box 61 Folder 35 Writers and Artists Company, 1948

Box 61 Folder 34 Deiss, Jay Correspondence, 1948-1949


Box 63 Folder 2 Inter-Office Memos and Book Reports, 1948-1949


Box 64 Folder 36 Christmas Card List, 1948-1949

Box 64 Folder 42 Profit and Loss Statement and Financial Report, 1948-1949

Box 64 Folder 25 Bantam Advertising, 1948-1950

Box 64 Folder 14 Statistics, Financial Figures, 1948-1951

Box 64 Folder 33 Bantam Setting Up: Capital Call, Grosset and Dunlap Purchase, Salaries, 1948-1951


Box 61 Folder 37 Ian Ballantine Bersonal: Notes Payable, 1948-1952


Box 62 Folder 2-3 Diaries, 1948-1959


Box 63 Folder 1 Bestsellers Program Plan, 1949


Box 60 Folder 12 John O'Connor: 50 Cent Deal, 1949-1950


Box 61 Folder 12 Financial Statements, 1949-1950

Box 61 Folder 13 Inventory, 1949-1950

Box 61 Folder 14 Petty Costs, 1949-1950


Box 63 Folder 3 Incoming Correspondence, 1949-1950

Box 63 Folder 12 Pitkin, Walter Correspondence, 1949-1950


Box 61 Folder 9 Kramer Miscellaneous Memos, 1949-1951

Box 61 Folder 10 Ginsberg Memos, 1949-1951

Box 61 Folder 11 Confidential Memos, 1949-1951

Box 61 Folder 15 Royalty Reports, 1949-1951


Box 63 Folder 16 Pitkin, Walter Miscellaneous, 1949-1951


Box 64 Folder 30 Production Costs, 1949-1951


Box 61 Folder 16 Stockroom, 1949-1952


Box 63 Folder 13 Studies and Publications on Business and Publishing, 1949-1954


Box 61 Folder 17 Personnel - Todd, 1950

Box 61 Folder 18 Unexpected Expenses, 1950


Box 63 Folder 9 Curtis Circulation Company, 1950


Box 64 Folder 17 Order Notes, 1950

Box 64 Folder 31 Ian Ballantine Personal - Writers and Artists, 1950


Box 60 Folder 6 Regular Contact Work with Original Publishers, 1950-1951

Box 60 Folder 11 Routines and Ideas Not Followed Up, 1950-1951


Box 64 Folder 9 Scheduling, 1950-1951

Box 64 Folder 35 Definitive Memos, 1950-1951

Box 64 Folder 44 Newspapers, 1950-1951

Box 64 Folder 22 Miscellaneous, 1950-1952


Box 63 Folder 22 Miscellaneous, circa 1950-1952


Box 64 Folder 18 Executive Committee Meeting (Regarding Transworld, 1951 July 13


Box 63 Folder 6 Book Ideas, circa 1951


Box 64 Folder 19 Executive Committee Meeting, 1951 August 22


Box 61 Folder 20 Copy in the Non-Text Pages of Our Books, 1951

Box 61 Folder 21 Marquand (Little, Brown and Company), 1951

Box 61 Folder 23 Harper, 1951

Box 61 Folder 24 Publisher Submissions, 1951


Box 63 Folder 4 Transworld Table of Organization, 1951

Box 63 Folder 7 Nan Lyons Correspondence, 1951

Box 63 Folder 8 Diary Entries, 1951

Box 63 Folder 10 Notes and Publishing Materials, 1951

Box 63 Folder 18 Saturday Review of Literature Articles, 1951


Box 64 Folder 2 Diary Leaves, 1951

Box 64 Folder 4 Diary, 1951

Box 64 Folder 6 Ian Ballantine Personal - Book Collection, 1951

Box 64 Folder 7 Officers Committee, 1951

Box 64 Folder 8 Pitkin, Walter Interst Notes, 1951

Box 64 Folder 20 Discussion with Ginsburg, 1951

Box 64 Folder 24 Trust Fund Notes Payable, 1951


Box 60 Folder 7 Scheduling, 1951-1952


Box 61 Folder 25 Random House, 1951-1952


Box 64 Folder 21 Bantam Table of Organization and Plan for Editorial Reorganization, 1951-1952

Box 64 Folder 32 Working Papers, 1951-1952

Box 64 Folder 34 Memos Never Sent, 1951-1952

Box 64 Folder 43 Memos and Inventory, 1951-1952


Box 60 Folder 8 Promptness in Reacting to Associate Editors' Recommendations, 1952

Box 60 Folder 9 Bible, 1952

List of Random House titles


Box 61 Folder 22 Farar, Strauss and Young, 1952

Box 61 Folder 33 Private and Confidential, 1952


Box 63 Folder 11 Editorial Plan and Table of Organization for Editorial, 1952

Box 63 Folder 19 Miscellaneous Notes, 1952


Box 64 Folder 3 Diary Dictation, 1952

Box 64 Folder 13 Bantam Books Titles, 1952

Box 64 Folder 15 Receipts from Bantam, 1952

Box 64 Folder 23 Agenda of Special Committee Meeting, 1952

Box 64 Folder 29 Bantam Books Inc., 1952


Box 61 Folder 29 Report to the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Bantam Books Inc., 1952 January 22

Box 61 Folder 28 Meeting of the Special Committee, 1952 January 23

Box 61 Folder 27 Meeting of the Special Committee, 1952 January 29


Box 60 Folder 10 Board of Directors: Special Meting, 1952 February 5th


Box 64 Folder 26 Bantam Books Inc. Executive Committee Minutes, 1952 February-April

Box 64 Folder 27 Board of Directors' Meeting (Canada), 1952 March

Box 64 Folder 28 Board of Directors' Meeting, 1952 April


Box 62 Folder 1 Dictaphone Cylinders, undated, 6 audio cylinders


Box 63 Folder 17 Sales Notes, undated

Box 63 Folder 21 Diary Notes, undated

Subseries I.2: Ballantine Books, 1952-1974

Subseries I.2 contains files related to Ballantine Books or that were created during the time that the Ballantines worked there, from 1952-1973. These include records from both Ian and Betty, and cover finances as well as inventory and orders. There are also contracts and correspondence with other publishing companies with whom they worked.

Box 63 Folder 23 Hearst CorporationContract, 1952


Box 60 Folder 3 Printing Records, 1952-1972

Box 60 Folder 13 Stock Lists, 1952-1972

Box 60 Folder 18 Numerical Index, 1952-1973


Box 62 Folder 11 Ballantine Stock Sale, 1953


Box 63 Folder 5 Personal - Richard Ballantine Report Card, 1953


Box 64 Folder 38 Houghton Mifflin, 1954


Box 62 Folder 12 Auditors' Reports, 1954-1968


Box 64 Folder 39 Reprints, 1956


Box 60 Folder 15-16 Pocket Book Numbers, 1963-1970


Box 61 Folder 1 Ian Ballantine/Barrie Pitt Folder - London, 1967-1973

Box 61 Folder 4 Schedule of Contracts on Unpublished Books, 1969

Box 61 Folder 6 Title Lists and Reports, 1971


Box 60 Folder 3 Betty Balantine's Working Folderr, 1970-1971


Box 61 Folder 3 Intext Weekly Management Reprots, 1971-1972

Box 61 Folder 7 Pan Books/Ballantine Books Illustrated Histories, 1971-1972

Box 61 Folder 2 Memos to Ken Artz, 1971-1973


Box 65 Folder 1 Stock Status, 1972


Box 61 Folder 8 Proposal Sheets, 1972 August-1973 January


Box 60 Folder 17 Print Orders, 1972-1973

Box 60 Folder 4 Print Orders, 1973


Box 61 Folder 5 Ballantine Books Catalogue, 1974


Box 64 Folder 37 Space, undated

Subseries I.3: Other Ballantine Presses, 1943-1994

Subseries I.3 contains files related to Penguin Books USA and Peacock Books. The Penguin Materials, from the early 1940s, document Penguin's work with the Military Services Publishing Company and distribution of paperbacks during World War II. The subseries also includes files on the Ballantines' departure from Penguin in 1945. There are just two files on Peacock Books from the 1970s-1990s in the subseries, including an order book and title list.


Box 61 Folder 39 Ian Ballantine Personal: Penguin Split, 1943-1944


Box 64 Folder 1 Alan Lane Penguin Books, Early Correspondence, 1943-1945

Box 64 Folder 41 Penguin Books, Inc. Accounting, 1943-1946

Box 64 Folder 11 Military Service Publishing Company, 1944-1945


Box 61 Folder 41 Penguin: Military Service Publishing Infantry Journal Transfer, 1945


Box 64 Folder 16 Military Sales, 1945


Box 61 Folder 36 Penguin: Military Service Publishers Company, circa 1946


Box 64 Folder 12 Curtis Contract, 1947


Box 60 Folder 2 Peacock Press Print Order Book, 1975-1981

Box 60 Folder 14 Inventory Report, 1982

Box 60 Folder 19 Peacock Press Chronological Publication, 1994

Subseries I.4: Columbia Course, 1947-1952

Subseries I.4 contains files from the course that Ian Ballantine taught at Columbia's School of General Studies. His course was in the sociology department and was about the book publishing business. The records include syllabi and course materials as well as clippings used in the course and correspondence with Columbia University.  These materials date from the late 1940s and early 1950s.


Box 62 Folder 14 Sociology Syllabi and Resources, 1947-1948

Box 62 Folder 10 Magazines and Newspapers, 1948-1954

Box 62 Folder 9 Clippings and Covers for Course, 1949-1954

Box 62 Folder 6 Student Questionaires, 1950

Box 62 Folder 8 Columbia University Course Mimeographed Sheets, 1950

Box 62 Folder 7 School of General Studies, 1951-1952

Box 62 Folder 13 Columbia Course Correspondence, 1951-1952

Box 62 Folder 4 Student Papers, 1952

Restricted until 2027.